6 NEWS
Retailers told “hold your nerve” on Olympics lines
Sales are climbing steadily, but big lift off will occur once the Games begins... by Samantha Loveday
LOCOG HAS told toy retailers stocking London 2012 product to hold their nerve, as the sales peak will come and when it does it
will take off steeply. Suppliers including Golden Bear,
Hornby, Winning Moves, Merrythought, Panini, MV Sports and Lego are looking forward to increased sales of their ranges. Lesley Low, retail manager, licensing and retail, London 2012 (above) told ToyNews that it is on track to achieve its £1 billion figure for sales of licensed merchandise, with approximately 30 per cent of forecast trade already in the bank. “We have been experiencing a steady climb in sales since the turn of the
Hornby, Golden Bear and Lego are among the official licensees...
year, but we don’t expect the big lift until Games time itself,” she said. “Although long lead time product is no longer available to order, some licensees are holding healthy stocks of best selling lines. This stock will be sold on a first come, first served basis,
NPD: UK business is holding its own in Europe
NEW FIGURES from NPD have revealed that the UK toy market is down one per cent in value and four per cent in units for the first four months of 2012. Compared to other European territories, the UK isn’t shaping up too badly, Frederique Tutt, Eurotoys industry analyst said. “To put that into context, we have results across Europe which show
there is only one country growing, and that is Germany, which is up five per cent,” she said. “France is down two per cent, Italy is down three per cent and Spain is down 12 per cent.”
JUNE 2012
Categories doing well in the UK include building sets (up 33 per cent) and dolls (up 13 per cent). Within dolls, fashion dolls are up 18 per cent, while play-sets are up 33 per cent, buoyed by Moshi Monsters. Indeed, Moshi Monsters is the fastest growing property in the market. The top new properties are both from Lego –
Friends and Superheroes. “We might not be recession proof, but we are definitely recession resilient,” said Tutt. NPD: 01932 355580
so the best advice is if you haven’t already bought into London 2012 and want to, don’t delay, do it now.” Low also advised making it clear to customers which product is official. “For those trading in London and the South East, be prepared to welcome
shoppers from all over the world – they may well need your informed help to fully appreciate some of our very British toy and game offer.” To find out which toy suppliers have official London 2012 product, turn to our special guide on pages 49-52.
Demand soars for Skylanders
SELL-THROUGH OF Activision’s toy/video games hybrid Skylanders is being classed as phenomenal by many in the trade, although some retailers have raised concerns over the lower than usual margins for the toy business. In excess of 30 million Skylanders figurines have been sold worldwide, and Toys R Us has likened it to the frenzy which surrounded the Tamagotchi virtual pet in the 1990s. However, Stuart Grant, buying director at The Entertainer, said that Activision has built the margin models and the retail price around the expectations of a games retailer. “This means they have completely locked themselves out of trade with the likes of us,” he said. However, MD of indie Toy Planet, David Middleton, said that the toy industry being supplied with product was the main thing.
The In Thing has recently signed
an exclusive deal to supply Skylanders to indies. “Although the margins are low for the toy industry, the sell-through is phenomenal,” he said. “In effect, as Skylanders sells so quickly retailers can actually make more cash from the same space they afford to a higher margin line. Activision has a superbly run allocation system that gives me weekly deliveries, so I am hopeful of always being able to give retailers stock.”
The In Thing: 0845 365 3030
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