pre-schooltoys
ahead will see a total renewal of our walkers and trikes area, among others, which suffered a bit in 2013. “But most importantly, we will be exploring a totally new market sector for the company, the 18 months plus sector, with our Fit & Fun range. This new brand is made up of a line of toys which is dedicated to developing motor development, both indoor and outdoor, with the aim of educating children from the very youngest ages about sports, accuracy, coordination and balance. A full promotional plan will be available for our retailers, especially during the Christmas trading period, together with consumer and POS materials to support the range in-store.” Andrew Welch of VTech commented: “With over
30 years of heritage in this sector, Pre-school is a key part of our business. So far this year the market is up and we have enjoyed a good start to 2014. VTech is up 6% year-on-year in this area, so we’re in good shape to see market growth this year, with established evergreen brands and new licences coming through. Consumers buy into products and brands that they trust and also represent good value. “At VTech, we are always developing and
refreshing our product lines. InnoTab hardware and software continues to perform very well, with both within the top 10 items in the total market and sales up year-on-year. For this year we are launching a brand new Toot-Toot range and our core Pre-school launches for this Autumn/Winter will include the Spelling Board, Interactive Learning Desk and My Laptops, which have previewed well with our customers.” Touching briefl y on VTech’s licensed items,
Andrew admitted that “the Pre-school licensed arena is very competitive. Licensed lines are very important for us in tablet software and our licensed electronics range. At the moment, our Doc McStuffi ns and, more recently, Sofi a The First products are performing very strongly for us.” Another company also feeling bullish about
the year ahead in the Pre-school Toys sector is Character Options. Rachel Copeland Jones confi rmed that Character Option’s pre-school portfolio is performing well thanks to the company’s broad selection of successful brands. She said: “Peppa Pig, for examply, has had a really strong range extension this Spring with the launch of Peppa Pig Weebles. In Autumn we expect further growth in this market sector with even more Peppa range extensions, the launch of Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, and the continuation of classic brands like Fireman Sam and Postman Pat. “Peppa Pig continues to be our strongest pre- school brand and one of the most successful in the industry, but we are also expecting good things for Fireman Sam, which has a brand new TV Series in April. The early Summer feature fi lm release for Postman Pat promises growth for this brand also with the launch of our Showbiz Pat which is inspired by the storyline.” Rachel also highlighted the marketing support
Character will be putting behind its launches. “TV advertising will be at the centre of what the company does, but social media and parent-to- parent recommendation has become increasingly important to this part of the company’s strategy. Retailer promotion and support is also a key to each
36 Toyworld
brand’s success and Character has lots of activity planned for the year in this area.”
In the shops At retail, Pre-school Toys remains a core proposition, with many retailers I spoke to at 2013’s Toy Fair saying they were looking to increase the amount of space given to it. One such retailer is The Entertainer, which has recently focused on expanding its presence in the pre- school toys market, particularly as it seeks to capitalise on the ongoing rationalisation at Mothercare’s Early Learning Centre. The Entertainer claims to have a market share of just under 5% in the overall toys market, but within pre- school toys it is just 2.6%. Buying director Stuart Grant commented: “Pre-school is one of our smallest categories but it is one of the biggest opportunities. The Early Learning Centre has left low- hanging fruit for us to pick up.” This time of uncertainty for
Tomy
ELC does mean that toy retailers have a good opportunity to stock toys for pre-schoolers, but what should retailers do with the products when they decide to commit? Matthew Woolf commented: “Retailers need to ensure that they stock ranges which consumers recognise and trust. Good merchandising is key to help make the purchasing decisions easier for their customers. Also, staff who are well informed, good use of signage and information to help the less confi dent customer, will all help to drive sales.” Guiella Toselli also believes that display is king.
Character Options
“Our advice to retailers would be to display as many of the products in-store, and demonstrating all the functions a product is capable of to help grow desirability and interest from consumers,” she said. “Some of our new toys, such as the new walkers and trikes, and also the Fit & Fun range, are packaged in big boxes that increase the value-for-money perception and inferred play value. We recommend stacking them all together to create a wall of products, which we believe will work extremely well at key trading period such as Christmas, for
example.” Meanwhile, Rachel Copeland Jones commented:
“Cross-category display always makes an impressive focal point in store. Ensuring you are well stocked during the main advertising period is also important, together with supplementing TV lines with other items within the range. This will allow for a greater choice for parents wanting to invest in their child’s favourite pre-school characters.” There is a huge array of products entering this
category in 2014, and over the following pages we highlight a selection of the key introductions.
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