Q4 TRENDS Stocking fi llers
As we enter the fi nal quarter of the 2014, the pressure is mounting on retailers to make sure they have their shelves fi lled with what kids – and parents – want for Christmas. From loom bands, through to Frozen and interactive dinosaurs, Samantha Loveday asks an expert – The Entertainer’s Stuart Grant – for his view on the trends of the moment
AT TIME of writing this piece, there were 146 shopping days remaining until Christmas. By the time you read this, you can subtract at least another 28 from that number, maybe more if your post is a bit slow. Sorry … please don’t shoot the messenger. Retailers began releasing their Christmas must-have lists as early as June, but as we move into the all important fi nal quarter of the year the pressure to have the right products at the right prices on shelves is really mounting. We wanted an expert to talk us through the key trends for this season, and who better than The Entertainer’s buying director – and the former guest editor of T Stuart Grant.
oyNews –
The Entertainer released its top 20 Christmas picks (see separate box out) at the mi-Christmas Open House in early July, and it was a strong mix of tech, traditional, role-play and construction.
“NPD noted from 2013 that is was actually the mid-priced volumes that were lower – consumers were still buying the big present, but not necessarily supplementing this with lots of smaller ones,” he explains.
LOOMS The one exception to this rule, however, is Loom Bands. It may have taken everyone else by surprise with its surge in popularity, but The Entertainer backed them as early as last December and they will be a sizeable percentage of its turnover this year. “Loom bands have
signifi cantly expanded the age of a child coming into our stores – up to 15 years old, those who wouldn’t necessarily want to be seen in a toy store any more,” says Grant. “Of course, everyone is asking how long the craze is going to last, but if you look at what happened in the US market, it picked up in January 2013 for a
Loom bands have signifi cantly
expanded the age of a child coming into our stores.
Stuart Grant, The Entertainer “We think that our top
20 toys will absolutely dominate our overall top 40 best sellers this Christmas,” states Grant. “What quickly became apparent was that the products that we believed would make a diff erence to our Christmas trading were all high priced - £50, £60, £70. Now, consumer perspective in the past may have seen this as negative, but we believe it is a true refl ection of what is going to happen.
20 September
good 12-month period. We believe we will have a comfortably strong year up to Christmas with looms – they will evolve as a craze, but we are innovating in the market to keep up.” The Entertainer has
a variety of bands and accessories, with over 50 skus currently in stock and Grant readily admits that he “immersed” himself in looms when he fi rst heard of the craze. The fi rst bit of innovation is the use
of licences – Hello Kitty and WWE are both on the way, while F
rozen is also
imminent. “We had to think of what we could do that meant we weren’t just selling the same as other stores,” Grant says. This thinking has led to the introduction of scented bands, which are sold in solid colour packs thanks to customer feedback, as well as the arrival of double packs, accessories and limited edition charms. “We’re introducing
two charms a week and there will be 40 to collect for £1 each, or free when customers spend £5. We want to be the place that kids continually come to for their bands.”
In addition, The
Entertainer is also hoping to raise half a million pounds for charity with a range of special bands for organisations including Together for Short Lives, Reach, Kidscape, Stop the Traffi k, Children with Cancer UK, Chasing Zero, the Durrell Wildlife Trust, New Hope Trust and the Crisis Centre Ministries. The Entertainer has also
invested in new storage options, plus a new three- in-one loom, a pocket loom and fi nger loom – all due in time for Christmas. A Super Loom, allowing children to make even bigger structures, plus a new H-shape grid which will enable looming from both sides, are also set to be big sellers in the run up to the festive season. “We’re giving children and parents a reason to continually buy new looms,” continues Grant. “I feel like we’re going to get a really, really good Christmas out of looms.”
THE ENTERTAINER’S CHRISTMAS TOP 20 (in alphabetical order)
DOC MCSTUFFINS DOCTOR BAG SET (£20) FURBY BOOM (£64.99) LEAPFROG LEAPBAND (Green, Pink, Orange & Blue - £29.99) LEGO ARCTIC BASE CAMP (£69.99) LEGO HEARTLAKE MALL (£79.99) LOOPY LOOM (Standard and Hello Kitty - £15) MINECRAFT FIGURINES (£8) MIP INTERACTIVE ROBOT (£99.99) MY FRIEND CAYLA (£59.99) MY MONOPOLY (£22) NERF ELITE DEMOLISHER (£44.99) ROBO MERMAID (£10) SNOW GLOW ELSA (£34.99) STOMP AND CHOMP GRIMLOCK (£89.99) TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES FIGURINES (£10) TEKSTA (Kitty or T-Rex - £59.99) THE HAPPY PETS (£20) VTECH KIDIZOOM SMART WATCH (Pink, White & Blue - £39.99) XENO (£79.99) ZOOMER (Dalmatian or Dino - £99.99)
www.toynews-online.biz
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72