news
subscribe for daily updates at
www.toyworldmag.co.uk Dream Toys details revealed
Dream Toys 2013 will take place on 6 November at St Mary’s Church. Significant changes have been made to Dream Toys 2013 in regards to focusing on a strong theme around the ‘wonderment of Christmas’. While the focus will remain on the top Dream Toys, an effort will be made by
Dream Toys to highlight all toys shortlisted. A selection panel has been tasked with attempting to select a shortlist of 50 toys from which they will then select its top ten Dream Toys. New categories will be created to encompass all the top 50 toys. Derek Markie, Toy Retailers Association, said: “The TRA and the BTHA both feel
that Dream Toys has a unique place within the media calendar, and have decided to reinvigorate the brand to keep it fresh and productive. At the end of last year a pitch to find a new PR approach to support the event was held, and Bastion was appointed following a unanimous decision by the Dream Toys committee.”
Zuru pursues Robo Fish IP infringements
Legal Counsel for Zuru has begun pursuing Happiness Trading and Hogenkamp Klompen en Souvenirs B.V for intellectual property infringement upon the release of their item ‘Ifish’ in the Netherlands. The pending law suit contends that the defendants have committed multiple infringements on Zuru’s IP inclusive of Slavish copying/ tort, copyright infringement, design right infringement and trade dress infringement. In lieu of the actions taken to date by Zuru, Hogenkamp, along with others, have already removed all listings of the item on online media and are implementing a full product recall. Nick Mowbray, president of Zuru, added: “Zuru puts a huge effort into being
innovative, innovation is what keeps the industry alive. Anyone who supports inferior knock offs is only stifling innovation and opening themselves up to legal action.”
ModelZone enters administration from the editor
Tom Roberts @tomtoyworld
Hello and welcome to the August issue of Toy World magazine. First thing’s first, as a huge tennis fan I will always remember July 2013 for Andy Murray’s spectacular win at Wimbledon. The tournament was fantastic from start to finish, with a its fair share of ups and downs. It made me very happy, and my wife, not the most enthusiastic tennis fan, even got swept up in the final.
This month I spoke to Dr Linda
Papadopoulos, the Make Time 2 Play campaign’s ambassador, about the initiative and her opinions on the recently announced UK curriculum. To give you a bit of background, the Make Time 2 Play campaign was launched in 2007 to highlight the importance of play in children’s lives. Dr Papadopoulos became involved in the campaign because, to her, “it made sense as a mother to emphasise the importance of play because it has such tremendous benefits to physical development, socialising and emotional development”. In the recently released report, Physical Activity and Body Image in
Children, Dr Papadopoulos said that her research had shown that simple games helped prevent and treat anxiety in children as young as five, and that play can be just as important as sport in getting children to participate in physical activity. Considering we are running a feature on Tech Toys this month, I was
curious to know her views on the integration of technology into toys. Dr Papadopoulos told me that the important thing is to find a balance. She said: “It’s important to be wary of tech integration into toys, especially if it’s something that can make a child sedentary. However, nothing should be excluded if it’s part of a varied diet of play.” On the subject of the new UK school curriculum, which features such
ModelZone has appointed Deloitte as administrator. The toy chain, backed by Lloyds Development Capital, was thought to have expanded too quickly. When it was first bought out in 2009, the retailer had 25 shops and has grown to have 47 since. The administration puts the stores at risk of closure and threatens jobs.
requirements as five-year-old children coding and testing their own computer programs, perhaps at the expense of more physical activities. Dr Papadopoulos said she considered that the new curriculum presented “a real danger of pitting play against computer literacy. It’s true that the UK is behind other countries in things like computer coding, but in my opinion it’s about finding the right balance; something this new curriculum is yet to find.”
Final thoughts Don’t forget that we at Toy World love to hear from our readers. If you have any news, views or opinions you would like to share with the UK toy trade, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. My phone number is 01442 840 305, and my email address is
tom@toyworldmag.co.uk. As many of you will be aware, next month’s issue will mark our second
anniversary issue. I can scarcely believe the time has flown by so quickly. To celebrate, we’ve lined up some excellent features and interviews with...well, you’re just going to have to wait until next month’s issue. I really hope you enjoy reading this edition of Toy World, and I’ll see you all next month.
@toyworldmag
8 Toyworld
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 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76