This month Toy World will be... allegedly...


Allegedly was sad to hear of the passing of Gerry Anderson just before Christmas. His programmes played such a pivotal role in my childhood, as I suspect they did to so many others who grew up in the same era. My toy collection included every model Thunderbird, a Stingray which fired missiles in the bath and, later on, the full spectrum of Captain Scarlet diecast models (fans will get the pun...). Not to mention a Thunderbirds dress-up outfit, complete with blue vinyl hat emblazoned with the International Rescue logo (who said that character licensing is a recent development?). Years later, Allegedly had the privilege to interview the man himself, at one of the very early Brand Licensing shows at the Landmark Hotel. They say you should never meet your heroes – presumably for fear of disappointment - but Gerry was a marvellous interviewee. He seemed genuinely overwhelmed when I told him that for ‘men of a certain age’, the theme tune to Thunderbirds was like an alternative national anthem. Perhaps that relaxed him, as he proved to be funny and brutally honest - he was no fan of what certain organisations had done to his beloved franchises, and as for some of the things he said about his ex-wife, perhaps it’s best that I keep them well and truly off the record! The term ‘genius’ is all too frequently bandied around these days, but as a giant in the field of children’s television, Allegedly can’t think of a more fitting epitaph.....


It’s the time of the year when potential price increases become a major talking point amongst toy suppliers and retailers, and this year is no different. As ever, factories are reported to be trying to push through price rises, retailers are insisting that they won’t accept any increases and the poor old suppliers are being forced to adopt their traditional role as ‘piggy in the middle.’ Inevitably, price points appear to be the fulcrum around which the debate centres; in the end, £10.21 isn’t a viable retail price. So a bit of give and take all round is clearly the order of the day, along with a little ‘de-specing’ and some creative negotiating here and there. Plus ca change, some might say....


Another one of the other major talking points at previews has been how to handle the online retail channel, and Amazon in particular, going forward. Tony Whyman’s article last month certainly struck a chord with some of our readers; one toy supplier even contacted him to say that they were going to completely re-evaluate their digital strategy as a result of his comments


226 Toyworld


(and, of course, we’re delighted that Toy World continues to make a real contribution to the trade and the way in which it operates). There’s no doubting the importance of getting the online approach right, but it remains a minefield, with plenty of potential pitfalls (if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor). One significant issue seems to be Amazon’s stance of price-following; of course, every retailer has its own individual leading promotions, but Amazon’s business model ultimately means that it follows them all. How comfortable Amazon is being permanently dependent on other people’s pricing strategies is anyone’s guess....


The Mail Online gets a special Allegedly award for singularly failing to understand how the free market economy operates, after taking several retailers – particularly Tesco and Toys R Us - to task for raising the price of Furby in the run-up to Christmas. Naturally, there was no mention of just how far retailers had been forced to cut the price in the first place, due to one or two of their number deciding to discount heavily. The fact that the product was in such short supply surely vindicated the decision to price it more realistically, something which the Mail also failed miserably to acknowledge....


John Lewis’ MD publically stated in December that Amazon’s frankly indefensible stance on its tax responsibilities – or the lack thereof- helped it to increase its online sales by a whopping 40% year-on – year in the festive period. Now, before anyone states the obvious, Allegedly is well aware of the difference between causation and correlation, but nevertheless is of the opinion that consumers are in the best possible place to shame the guilty parties into reconsidering their position. Customer reaction certainly had an effect on Starbucks’ tax stance, and who knows, maybe even Amazon can be persuaded of the error of its ways if enough people switch their allegiance? Although if John Lewis has indeed directly benefited from disgruntled Amazon customers, it may illustrate that it’s the slightly better off who can afford to adopt the moral high ground....


Congratulations to Simon Philips, who has been promoted to General Manager of Consumer Products for The Walt Disney Company EMEA. Simon has certainly enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past few years, but as was mentioned in our Las Vegas Licensing Show Blog back in the summer, it was good to see him come to an Irish bar during the screening of an England Euro


Jumping aboard the Toy Fair Express - fi rst stop Olympia for Toy Fair, then it’s on to Nuremberg, and last stop Spring Fair (sadly no New York to fi nish things off in style). Relishing the joys of Toy Fair Season: living out of a suitcase; a regime of early days and late nights, and of ‘work hard, play hard’; eating when you can; trying not to drink too much (doomed to failure from the outset). Bring it on!


The March edition will be published on 4th March.


Championship match, in order to hold a meeting with a UK licensee. One wonders how many of the other big American corporates would have entertained that particular suggestion....


The overseas operations of British retail chains have been in the news recently. Tesco has announced it will be undertaking a “sweeping review” of its loss-making ‘Fresh and Easy’ chain in America, with an ignoble retreat from the States the most likely outcome. In complete contrast, Hamleys recently unveiled annual profits of £2.3m, a whopping increase of 283%, apparently driven by the expansion of its international franchise operation....


Allegedly was pleased to be invited to attend Richard Hollis’ BBC leaving ‘do’ just before Christmas, a fitting send off for a true gent. The event was well-attended by friends and colleagues from the licensing community, with a few nice surprises (presentations from Topps and Character Options, the latter a superb action figure of Richard in the guise of ‘Super Licensing Executive), and a nice speech from Julie Kekwick. Richard says he’s taking a short break at the start of the New Year, but there’s no doubt a man of his talent will be back ‘in the fray’ very soon. One wonders if the BBC appreciates just how much they’ll miss him....


Congratulations to Hy-Pro’s Ying To and Simon Pickavance on their recent wedding. Here are the happy couple on their big day:


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