Disappointing November puts the pressure on December sales
THE ALL important quarter four had a slow start for the toy market, with both October and November sales down on 2011. November 2012’s value decline of six per cent was disappointing and meant that December weekly sales would ultimately be the make or break of the year. Traditionally, December accounts for one pound in every five spent on toys throughout the year. However, there were three
supercategories in growth in November. Youth electronics growth continued to be driven by Furby, the top selling toy in the market for the month. Meanwhile, infant and pre-school toys returned to growth with sales up one per cent, driven by the revival in pre- school figures and the play-sets category. Playmobil experienced a very strong month with double digit growth, while new licences Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Mike the Knightadded to the category, along with the continued growth of Batman and Imaginext. The final area of growth in
November was dolls, with fashion dolls propelling the category driven by Monster High’s success, which was the number ten top property across total toys for the month.
Properties
Best item progression November 2012
The Logo Board Game
(Drumond Park) Board games always excel in the
Christmas period, and this one jumped an impressive 328 places to number 54 in November.
Sales
UK toy sales (value, year-to-date)
YTD 2011
The top property for November
was Star Wars, which was helped by the success of the LEGO Star Wars calendar, accounting for ten per cent of the month’s sales. Star Wars also benefitted from the launch of the new Star Wars Angry Birds range, with the Mystery Bag the top selling line by volume. Other properties which benefitted from seasonal sales were the LeapPad Explorer and Innotab 2, which were the number two and three best sellers across total toys for the month.
UK RETAIL SALES TRENDS November 2012(£ sales – value)
8. LEAPSTER EXPLORER GAME ASSORTMENT 9. SM WEB SHOOTING SPIDER-MAN 10. CITY GREAT VEHICLES
Hasbro LeapFrog Vtech Vtech Vivid
Mattel Vtech
LeapFrog Hasbro LEGO
“In the build-up to Christmas, high priced items like Furby and the pre-school tablets appeard at the top of the best sellers lists as parents and families looked for the main present for their children,” said Jez Fraser-Hook, director of NPD Group’s UK toy business. “However, it was the mid-price points which were being overlooked, perhaps as parents looked to cut back on the number of gifts purchased – a sign of austerity reflected in the toy market at present.”
YTD 2012
Source: NPD -6%
Average toy price Nov ‘11: £10.44
Nov ‘12: £10.27
November 2012(Unit sales - volume) LEGO MINIFIGURES
1 2. MATCH ATTAX BOOSTER
3. MOSHI MONSTERS BLIND BAG ASSORTMENT 4. HOT WHEELS BASIC CAR ASSORTMENT 5. MOSHI MONSTERS MOSHLING FIGURES 6. MOSHI 3 CODE BREAKER TRADING CARDS 7. SKYLANDERS COLLECTOR CARDS 8. FURBY HOT & COOL ASSORTMENT 9. NERF N-STRIKE JOLT EX-1 10. LEAPPAD EXPLORER
Notes: All participating NPD retail data suppliers provide weekly data via epos systems. NPD figures are not projected to represent non-participating retailers but provide 100 per cent of the sales from participating stores. Epos sample includes the following retailers: Amazon.co.uk, Argos, Asda, Boots, Debenhams, ELC, Firebox, Freemans, Grattan, Halfords, Hamleys, HMV, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Mothercare, Next, Play.com, Sainsbury’s, Shop Direct, Tesco, The Entertainer, Toys R Us, Toymaster, WHSmith, Wilkinsons. NPD estimates that the epos now accounts for 78% of the total toy market.