Wham – O touches down in Europe
Over 60 years, Wham-O has developed into a classic American toy company, with an enviable range of outdoor toys and iconic brands such as Hula Hoop, Frisbee, Hacky Sack, Boogie Board and Slip n Slide. Now Wham-O has opened a European offi ce, located in West London and supported by distribution centres in both the UK and Germany, which Wham-O CEO Kyle Aguilar refers to as “a major step forward in Wham-O’s commitment to delivering its beloved brands and products across Europe.” Toy World met with Wham-O European brand manager, Alex Kovacevic, who was understandably enthusiastic about the move saying: “It’s a hugely exciting time. The aim is to signifi cantly increase the presence of the Wham-O range across Europe, by continuously releasing great quality products.
“These are classic products with fantastic heritage, and it’s our job to educate the consumer – and the retailer – that they are high quality brands, not just generic terms for everyone else’s ‘me too’ lines.” Initially, says Alex, the company is looking to partner with forward- thinking retailers whose strategy is to buy into top quality, market- leading products. “Our range provides the right retailers with the opportunity to maximise cash returns from the category, by working with brands which command a premium.” Initial response has, he says, been extremely encouraging.
The products themselves are timeless, known and loved by generations, and Wham-O has an ambitious brand promotion and support programme to increase awareness among a new generation of consumers and to encourage families to “go outside and play.” Next year, for example, Frisbee will be added to the National Curriculum for PE, so Wham-O will be distributing its Ultimate Frisbee to over 4000 secondary schools across the country.
As owners of such iconic IP, it’s not surprising that the company acknowledges the need to be protective of its brands: “We will be cracking down on toy companies and retailers using our names on generic products. These are genuine trademarks, owned by Wham-O, and we have to protect them,” asserts Alex.
In addition to the extensive spring/summer line, the company will also be offering a selection of innovative outdoor lines for winter, such as the Snowball Blaster (think water guns, but with snow!), and infl atable sledges featuring penguin and polar bear designs.
“The winter range is really innovative and compelling and we expect them to prove massively popular – not just if we have another bad winter, but also for people to take on holiday with them ,” states Alex. Stock arrives in October, and whilst much of it has already been allocated, there’s still some availability if you move quickly. W:
www.whamo-o.com Tel: 0208 568 6398
40 Toyworld
“These are classic
products
with fantastic heritage, not just generic terms for everyone
Alex Kovacevic
else’s ‘me too’ lines.”
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