news
Tesco’s general merchandise director leaves role
Terry Price, commercial director of Tesco’s non-food business in the UK and Central Europe, is leaving the company after 18 months in the role. Some observers have suggested that Mr Price has paid the ultimate price for Tesco’s below par non-food performance in the UK in 2012. Speculation in the industry points to Price’s demise being caused, in part, by the negative effects of the ‘every day low price’ (EDLP) plan, and the ditching of half price deals on toys. Mr Price was apparently close to retirement, but his departure is also believed to reflect Tesco’s shift towards online in the non-food sector. Tesco’s CEO, Philip Clarke, said that the company had to continue to innovate to combat the competition presented by the huge shift to online, which has hit Tesco’s non-food business particularly hard. He said: “If you dare not take risks for fear of failure, then decline is inevitable.” Replacing Price, Neela Mukherjee, UK general merchandise director, will now take control of online and offline general merchandise across the division.
Thunderclap campaign to get Fair Rates for Retailers
Last month i2i Events Group launched a Thunderclap initiative to help raise awareness about the Fair Rates for Retailers campaign. Spring Fair is backing the Fair Rates for Retail Campaign launched by the British Retail Consortium and Retail Week. This online petition so far has 1,448 signatures at last count. Industry research conducted by Spring Fair organiser i2i Events Group
showed that 72% of retailers believe rising Business Rates is the most serious issue affecting the health and future survival of many high streets and town centres. Retailers look set to face an additional £175 million on the industry’s rates bill next year, as the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation was 2.6% in September. To add your support to the campaign, please visit
https://www.change.org/ en-GB/petitions/the-government-fair-rates-for-retail
Hamleys opens first store in Wales
www.toyworldmag.co.uk
@toyworldmag
Tom Roberts
from the editor @tomtoyworld
Welcome to the December issue of Toy World, and a happy festive season to you all. This will be the last of the Toy World issues for 2012, and the next one will be our massive Toy Fair preview issue in January 2013. I can honestly say that November has been the most exciting (read
‘nerve wracking’) month for me as editor of Toy World, due in part to the ‘Meet the Media’ event in advance of Toy Fair 2013. I was very pleased to be asked to sit on a panel with my fellow toy trade editors, and thrilled to get a chance to speak to Toy Fair exhibitors about Toy World. The event was very well organised by Bastion PR, and Dean Barrett was an excellent master of ceremonies. Most pleasing for me was being able to describe Toy World using my favourite metaphor: the Toy World team is like the world’s best 4x100m relay team. We all play an important part by running our individual legs to put together the magazine, with John Baulch as our Usain Bolt. Where Bolt has his electrifying pace, John has his 30 years of hands-on experience with the toy trade. It’s a very accurate metaphor when you think about it. Once the panel had finished I was asked to record a short interview on camera which turned up (pieces of) in a video on YouTube called ‘Toy Fair Meet the Media Highlights’. I’m enjoying being noted as a highlight, and my Mum was thrilled! I’ve been out and about a lot this month, as you’d expect from a new
Hamleys has opened its first Welsh store in St David’s Dewi Sant, Cardiff. Many of the iconic features from the other stores will be on show, including the Hamleys Bus, the Rally Track, and petal tables where children can sit and play with toys. Hamleys brand new girl’s boutique, Luvley, will also be a key feature in the Cardiff store, and will be displayed inside the Luvley House. Gudjon Reynisson, CEO of Hamleys, said: “Hamleys is very excited to be opening at Cardiff’s St David’s. Our unique retail proposition of fun, theatre and entertainment we are sure will prove a hit and we are looking forward to working closely with St David’s to bring the Hamleys experience to the people of Wales.”
editor. Hy-Pro is celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year, so I headed over to their offices to talk to Atul Shah, Simon Pickavance and Ying To about the company, where it’s come from and where it’s going. You can read the interview on page 50. I was also lucky enough to visit Hornby’s amazing visitor centre, but I’ll stop there as we’re featuring the interview next month and I don’t want to spoil it. You’ll also have seen we have features on Hong Kong and Nuremberg in this issue; ‘tis the season for trade shows, and Toy Fair is just around the corner too. Turn to page 46 for the Hong Kong preview, and page 51 for the Nuremburg preview. We can’t wait to see how the shows go, and we hope our previews give you a taste of what to expect if you attend. The previous issue of Toy World, November, was a big landmark for us as it saw the introduction of several new tweaks to our format. We’ve added some things, removed some others, and generally tried to make the magazine even more easy and enjoyable to read. You’ll also have noticed the introduction of News Analysis articles in our News section. Through Toy World we aim to deliver content that is not only engaging, but original and exclusive to us. News Analysis features, Q&As in our product features, as well as other regular sections of the magazine, are there to provide our readers with information. Our aim is to keep things fresh, and I think that we are succeeding. Don’t forget to send in your news, views and opinions to me (tom@
toyworldmag.co.uk), and if you’re an independent retailer, don’t forget to get in touch with Kayleigh (
kayleigh@toyworldmag.co.uk) so your opinions can be presented in our Talking Shop feature. Also, please remember to keep sending us your news so we can work with you get it out there. Again, have a very merry festive break, and I’ll see you all in 2013.
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