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SECTOR GUIDE OUTDOOR TOYS 49 The great outdoors
The outdoor and sports toys sector was worth £363m in 2011, up ten per cent thanks to some extremely mild weather and, unusually, enjoys two peak periods. NPD offers up the stats before we take a look at what some of the key players are promoting this year…
OUTDOOR AND sports toys is the second largest supercategory within traditional toys by value and worth over £363 million in the latest 12 months, which is up ten per cent (source: NPD Consumer Panel).
Total sales of Outdoor & Sports Toys Value (£M) 2010 – 2011
(source: NPD)
While outdoor and sports has always been reliant on the British weather, 2011 was an extremely mild year which helped the category show growth for ten months out of 12. Unlike other toy categories, there were two peaks for outdoor sales last year – in April where the weather was warm and dry, which lead to a surge of sales in ride-ons, and in December when Nerf was very popular as a Christmas present. The grocer channel accounted for a large proportion of outdoor and sports toys growth over the last year, with sales up 39 per cent, although continued in the specialist and mixed channel as well. The largest area of outdoor remains sports toys, which was also the fastest growing category with Nerf proving extremely popular and now the number one property in outdoor, accounting for ten per cent of the total category as well as the top two items – N-Strike Maverick and N-Strike Barricade RV-10. Within sports toys, skates, skateboards and scooters also saw strong growth, up 30 per cent with Razor USA driving sales, up 73 per cent. The Razor E100 Electric Scooter is the number four best seller across total outdoor, with Grossman’s Nebulus Folding Scooter and Lightning Strike Scooter ranked seven and eight. Within summer seasonal toys, water guns showed a 45 per cent increase as children took advantage of the mild weather. Playground equipment also grew, although dominated by exclusives and own label items. Ride-ons are always popular with children, with MGA’s Little Tikes Cozy Coupe the third best selling item in the category, and Mookie’s Smart Trike at number five.
Month
Licences account for a small percentage of total sales – just 12 per cent, with strong performers reflecting the total toy licence performance. In 2011, the top licences were Hello Kitty and Cars.
MARCH 2012
Value £ millions
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