allegedly...
Harrods has drawn praise for its attempts to make its new toy department gender neutral, by organising the various zones by theme rather than sex. The lead designer behind the revamp explained: “Zones are deliberately non-gender-specific, because we felt that was an antiquated way of looking at toys.” However, there does appear to be one minor flaw in the plan: Harrods toy department employees wear T-Shirts with the words ‘Team Toy’ on the back. Unfortunately, female employees wear pink shirts and male employees wear blue. The devil really is in the detail...
Change is afoot for next year’s TRA awards ceremony, which will now be held in the Upper West Hall at Olympia on the first evening of the show. The format of the evening has been redesigned to incorporate a drinks reception and what is described as ‘bowl food’, followed by the awards ceremony itself. The whole event is due to finish around 9 PM, leaving guests the rest of the evening to head out to dinner, go back to the hotel room and check their emails, or just walk over the road to the Hand and Flower to continue the celebrations (admittedly, it’s more likely to be the winners who opt for the latter option). In fairness, much as Allegedly enjoyed the previous venue, it probably was time for a change; it will certainly be much easier to pop upstairs straight after the show rather than have to traipse half way across London in a cab during rush hour. And the significant reduction in price (tickets will cost £75, around 50% less than last year) may hopefully encourage a few more independent retailers to attend this time round...
Allegedly has started to attend a handful of Spring / Summer previews over the past few weeks, illustrating that the trade already has one eye firmly on 2013. Some great new lines have been on view – in fact, we’ve seen one absolutely cracking new range which will be available this November, but which for ridiculous NDA –related reasons we can’t talk about yet. Suffice to say it blends a hot new licence and an old classic to highly amusing effect, and it’s evident that retailers will be fighting over stock very shortly. Allegedly also loved the trailer for the new Monsters Inc movie, which is due to be released next July...
Conversations at the previews have focused on a diverse array of subjects such as
106 Toyworld
the Argos catalogue (general consensus is that they’ve gone some way towards addressing the product density of the pages, although some pages still seem overly fussy, especially on the smaller format catalogue) and the fact that Sainsbury’s won’t be running its legendary half price sale this half-term (the feeling is that neither Sainsbury’s nor toy suppliers have the budget – or the appetite – to fund the initiative any longer). There is also the belief that the grocers have bought significantly less special promotional merchandise this year, which should turn out to be good news for purveyors of regular merchandise, i.e. most toy companies...
Allegedly was slightly surprised to hear that as it stands, Kurio and other kids’ tablets aren’t going to be classified as toys in the NPD data. Apparently the decision emanated from the USA, where Kurio has been classed as a consumer electronic product. Allegedly appreciates that this is a bit of a grey area, and there are numerous other products – such as Activison’s Skylanders range – which are also rather debatably classified in other areas rather than toys. However, these tablets have been created specifically for children and, as far as we understand, not a single piece of Kurio has currently been sold to a Consumer Electronics retailer in the UK. And we’re talking about a multi-million pound brand here – what a difference that would make to the overall UK industry numbers come the end of the year. One hopes that the redoubtable NPD UK team is able to persuade its US counterparts to reconsider at some stage...
The new owners of Clintons recently unveiled the first of the chain’s new-look stores in the City of London. Out goes the classic orange and brown logo, to be replaced by a bright red and white fascia. The overall look and feel is said to be very more upmarket, with greater emphasis on non-card products – including toys – which are displayed on wooden tables rather like a boutique-style gift shop. Also of interest to suppliers will be the creation of a central distribution centre in Loughton, rather than the retailer insisting on individual store drops as it did previously. All of this is good news for potential suppliers, but the big question is, will the redesign work? It’s undoubtedly a brave move to attempt to reposition the store as a more upmarket
This month Toy World will be....
Visiting Autumn Fair. Joining the licensing community at the Licensing Awards. Celebrating our editor Tom’s wedding.
The September edition will be published on 3rd October.
destination for consumers, but whilst that approach may work in London and other major cities, whether it will be similarly successful in less affluent locations is open to debate...
Twitter does throw up some amusing observations from toy folk. Allegedly particularly liked the following post from Halesworth Toys; “3 things you HAVE to do when in a toy shop – 1. Bounce a rubber ball as hard as you can 2. Have a plastic sword fight 3. Try out a skateboard.” Does anyone have any other suggestions to add to this list?
According to recently released results, China imported $30.7m of toys in June, an increase of nearly 25% compared to last year’s figure for the corresponding month. Based on this trend, it seems that the Chinese government’s plan to grow its domestic market, and in the process become a major global consumer – as well as manufacturer – is firmly on track...
Electronic Arts, the second largest global video game company, is said to be considering a sale, having missed analysts’ estimates for its fourth quarter and fiscal year earnings....
A 19% plunge in the stock price of Hong Kong-based global sourcing giant Li + Fung wiped more than $1 billion from the controlling Fung family’s fortune. Shares dropped dramatically after the company, whose major business partners include Wal-Mart, announced a 22% drop in profits for the first half of the year, citing weak business in Europe as a major factor...
Ethel Austin has apparently gone into administration for the fourth time in four years – which is surely some kind of record? If it does somehow manage to resurface again, there surely can’t be anyone left who would offer them credit...
Allegedly was shocked to hear that Drumond Park’s John Mariani suffered a recent heart attack. John is one of the trade’s truly genuine nice guys, and thankfully we’re told he is on the mend - we wish him well with his recovery.
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