B
allegedly...
y the time you read this column, the remaining TJ Hughes stores will have closed after administrator Ernst and Young failed to find a buyer for the rest of the group. In total,
six of the group’s outlets were saved in a deal with Lewis Home Retail. The six stores – in Liverpool, Glasgow, Eastbourne, Newcastle, Sheffield and Widnes – were rumoured to represent around 25 per cent of TJ Hughes’ turnover, and the deal is believed to have saved as many as 500 jobs....
In a month of some turbulence for the licensing sector, perhaps the most disappointing (although not necessarily the most surprising) news was the dual resignation of Chorion chairman Lord Alli and deputy chairman William Astor. The duo stepped down after the business failed to successfully renegotiate terms to alleviate the company’s debt burden with the bank. Despite attempts to restructure the business, Lord Alli failed to gain the support of Chorion’s backers, the likely upshot being the sale of the company and its properties, either as a whole or piecemeal. The big question is, though, who will want to buy it? A few of Chorion’s properties – notably Octonauts – have shown promise in the UK of late, but whether that would be enough to tempt potential suitors to pay what current owner 3i would want is another matter entirely. With a reported £70m debt burden, the omens don’t look overly promising....
The Sanrio managing director has been quoted as saying that the company aims to spend nearly $400m buying other characters, to reduce its reliance on Hello Kitty. He was quoted as saying that: “We want to diversify our portfolio instead of spending time boosting recognition of our existing characters in overseas markets.” An alternative translation could possibly be: “We have already tried that and it was an unmitigated disaster” (allegedly)....
Sad to see Irish toy chain Byrne’s Worlds of Wonder call in the receivers. At its peak, the chain operated 21 stores, but this number
114 Toyworld
had declined over the past couple of years to seven outlets. Nevertheless, this development puts up to 70 jobs at risk, and with the retailer admitting it is operating in “an environment of collapsing consumer demand”, unfortunately hopes are not high for a positive resolution....
The toy section of the Argos catalogue is once again full-to-bursting with a vast (some might even say too vast) selection of toys, and yet there was still no room for Mattel’s Dance Star Mickey, or Hasbro’s Let’s Rock Elmo. Both lines have been hotly tipped for Christmas success and whilst they will inevitably end up in Christmas gift guides and flyers over the coming months, at least for now other retailers can enjoy the opportunity of having the field to themselves for just a little while....
There have been a few notable personnel changes recently. Brian Mclaughlin’s summer move from Toys R Us to Mothercare came as surprise to a few people, as did Edward Catchpole’s (rather quiet) disappearance from Disney Consumer Products and Claire Shaw’s departure from Classic Media. David Barker has also parted company with Hong Kong- based Dragon-i Toys, whilst there were a raft of casualties after the downscaling of Chapman Entertainment’s licensing division....
As we go to press, there is still no further news on the acquisition of Hit Entertainment. Newspaper reports in early August pointed to Mattel as a potential suitor, and whilst the company is believed to have been a front- runner in the process for some time now, there is still no official comment from either party as to the likelihood of a deal being completed in the near future....
Meanwhile, Coolabi’s shares rose by a whopping 18 per cent after revealing that the company was in discussion with an undisclosed third party over a potential takeover. A consortium lead by Harvey Goldsmith and DJ Pete Tong was subsequently identified as the potential purchaser, but talks are thought to be at a very early stage, so no further news is likely for a while yet....
Your Allegedly correspondent recently enjoyed
This month Toyworld will be....
Visiting Autumn Fair – Interviewing the voice behind Sesame Street’s Elmo – Attending the Think Asia conference – Hitting the Licensing Awards – Recovering from the Licensing Awards - Sourcing the hottest new kids’ properties to feature in next month’s Brand Licensing Preview.
Next month’s edition will be published on 4th October.
a most enjoyable lunch with representatives from the Nuremberg Toy Fair. The Spielwarenmesse organiser will be introducing a number of interesting new initiatives to the show in 2012, and we’ll bring you more details of these in future editions of Toy World. But for now, it’s worth remembering that the date of next year’s event has changed; the 2012 event will now start on the Wednesday (1st February), as opposed to the traditional Thursday opening day. Southern-based UK visitors should also note that the departure airport for the popular Air Berlin flight has relocated from Stansted to Gatwick. Someone will inevitably get it wrong on one or both counts. Hopefully by flagging these changes up at an early stage, that someone won’t be a Toy World reader!
Watching the Rob Brydon show on the Friday evening before August Bank Holiday, Allegedly was slightly taken aback to see Zeon’s Andrew Smith on screen, discussing his love of metal detecting with the show’s host. Andrew’s appearance on prime time television will no doubt have been seen by many in the trade, which will no doubt result in him being subjected to his fair share of metal detecting mimicry over the coming months....
Calling all Fantasy Premier League players. If you would like to pit your team against a group of football-loving toy people, why not join the Toyworld Masters mini-league? In addition to the glory of winning and the attendant toy trade bragging rights, it will also give us all something else to talk about outside Bulldogs in January. So if you’d like to join teams including Barry Hughes’ amusingly titled ‘One vowel in Szczesny’, Andrew Coplestone’s ‘NowThatWasGiggsMagic’ (presumably not a reference to Ryan’s footballing ability...) and Andrew Hardwidge’s ‘Waxy Boys’, email john@
toyworldmag.co.uk for how to join the league....
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