Lisa Carter speaks to some of the industry’s biggest execs to find out how the past year has been for them, how their key lines performed – and the challenges facing us all in 2013
How have the past 12 months been for you in terms of the toy business in general? Gary Hunter: It's certainly been a busy year managing the integration of TOMY and RC2; we have had our challenges but feel like we are coming out the other side and looking forward to a turnaround year in 2013...
Dominic Geddes: Given the economic challenges, we are delighted with our performance. Monster High, Hot Wheels and WWE have all seen double digit growth and Fisher-Price has shown solid single figure growth as well. The fashion doll market has been extremely competitive this year but we have been really pleased with Barbie’s performance. She was the number four property for the total market in October compared to number seven last year.
Sue Barratt: 2012 has been one of the most challenging years in living memory for retail in general. One of the few upsides has been the growth in online demand, but this has been at the cost of traditional retail. Meccano has
experienced a very mixed 12 months, with some of our retailers bucking the general High Street gloom and doing exceptionally well, whilst others have faced a much more challenging picture. But we finished the year with a real flourish. Our new licences – Gears of War, Sonic the Hedgehog and Rabbids – have received a fantastic reception.
Gray Richmond: It’s been a very exciting year here at Jumbo Games. With the launch of iPieces we’ve been able to tap into the technology gaming sector,
which has been a significant move for the brand. It's been great for us to engage with new retailers and attend new events like the Gadget Show Live.
Nick Austin: Business for Vivid has been wonderful – strong double digit growth, driven primarily by the unstoppable juggernaut that is Moshi Monsters. However we are very conscious that we are in a very fortunate position as the industry generally has been struggling.
What were your top-selling products or categories in 2012?
Gary Hunter: Lamaze has been our stand-out top selling range, with growth of over 40 per cent year on year. I think this is primarily due to it being a competitively priced, great product, with strong distribution and an ability to sell year round as it has such strong gifting appeal. It's great to walk down the High Street and see a Lamaze toy hanging from almost every pushchair you see.
Sue Barratt: Fortunately for Meccano, the construction category is enjoying resurgence in popularity, so interest in Meccano continues to be good. Our perennially popular core ranges, such as metal Multi Models continue to perform really strongly as they are the embodiment of the brand, appealing to nostalgic purchasers, as well as enticing new, younger modelers to pick up Meccano.
Dominic Geddes: Fashion dolls have had a great year, driven by Monster High and Barbie. New innovation and
(Left to right): Darrell Jones, Marketing Director, Bandai UK; Gary Hunter, President, Tomy Europe; Gray Richmond, Managing Director, Jumbo Games
great marketing plans have kept these as hot properties for girls.
Gray Richmond:We’ve experienced very strong sales across our adult puzzle range this year, particularly for Wasgij. We’re currently ranked number one in the adult puzzle category and it’s
imperative that we see continued growth within this sector next year. We are really focused on staying at the top.
Darrell Jones: The alien collection figures from the new Ben 10 OmniverseTV series remain the number one selling item by both value and volume in the
action figure category. Everything from the
Power Rangers Super Samurai toy line is selling extremely well and the Harumika Style Studio is also proving to be very popular. One of our big surprises