from the T


his is the time of year when most trade magazine Leader columns start with a well-worn observation along the lines of ‘where


has the year gone’ or ‘I can’t believe it’s the end of the year already,’ as the writer inexorably slides towards two weeks of festive fun and general relaxation. But this is the toy trade, and we like to do things a little differently around here. As I write this article, there are still 27 days trading until Christmas, and in many respects, they are 27 of the most valuable trading days of the whole year. A significant volume of sales always comes in the few weeks running up to the big day, especially after November pay has reached bank accounts and December credit card statements have arrived, so there is surely still plenty to play for. Reports of October and November trading


have been distinctly mixed. I attended two previews on consecutive days this past week; at the first, I was told that October trading had been lacklustre and November not much better. At the second, I was told that October and November had both been very good months. The only unifying factor was that both companies were hoping for strong sales in December, although both were clearly coming at it from different angles; one wanted their good run to continue, the other was looking for a late surge to compensate for an average start. However your business has fared recently, I hope that these last few precious weeks bring you what you really want for Christmas. On the plus side, whilst pricing has inevitably


been ‘keen’ and competition ‘lively’, the widely- predicted bloodbath doesn’t appear to have materialised. Yes, there have been numerous ‘3 for 2’ and ‘20% off all toys’ promotions, but it has to be said that the level of discounting has been far from savage. Even the Amazon Black Friday event turned out to be something of a damp squib (after all the hype and expectation, this year’s scant selection of toys on offer certainly didn’t appear to trigger any sort of


publisher John Baulch - @Baulchtweet


buying frenzy). Added to the relatively low-key supermarket promotional events, toy specialists fearing a price-cutting war have arguably got off more lightly than they may have imagined – at the time of writing at least. Interestingly, where prices have been heavily discounted, the ‘culprits’ were not necessarily the ones everyone expected. A price survey in the Sun covering 11 of the lines on the Dream Toys list showed that Smyths was the cheapest retailer on six of the items, Toys R Us on four lines and 24studio.co.uk on the remaining one.....not a Grocer or Amazon was mentioned. My well-placed sources tell me that news coming out of the inner sanctum at a very large grocery retailer suggests that toy sales continue to struggle year on year. Perhaps non-foods – and therefore toys – are no longer the prime focus they once were for the retailer in question. Indeed, last month saw the departure of


Tesco’s non-food commercial director Terry Price, widely believed to be as a result of the failure of the EDLP (every day low price) strategy he championed so enthusiastically. Unfortunately for him, the move away from half-price sales appears to have been a less than successful gambit. Rumours in the trade even suggest that the toy buying team voiced its concerns over the new direction before it was implemented, but if they did, their warnings went unheeded. One thing is certain; half-price sales will surely be back ‘in the mix’ for Tesco next year. We have another packed issue for you this month. I’m delighted to welcome NPD to our stable of regular contributors; the first of their monthly columns can be found on page 32. This month’s article focuses on how the UK market is faring in comparison to certain other European territories. Suffice to say the data illustrates that there is always someone, somewhere who is far worse off than us – so perhaps we should embrace the ‘glass half full’ perspective? We also preview two major forthcoming


overseas buying opportunities – Hong Kong and the Nuremberg Toy Fair. Our extensive, 20-page


Nuremberg preview section starts on page 51, whilst a preview of the Hong Kong trip can be found on page 46. Toy World will be out in force at both shows, so if you would like us to visit your stand/showroom at either event, please drop us an email, as our schedules are already filling up.


As our thoughts turn towards next year,


price increases are inevitably becoming a major talking point throughout the trade. As ever, suppliers find themselves playing ‘piggy in the middle’; as a general rule, factories are trying to push price increases through, and the reduction in Far Eastern factory capacity has only exacerbated this situation. On the other hand, most buyers are adopting their traditional ‘no price increases’ stance. In the past, I have occasionally been critical of this inflexible strategy, but in the current economic climate, it is impossible not to appreciate where they’re coming from. There is little doubt that consumers are extremely price-conscious and looking for maximum value for every purchase, so it’s hardly surprising that retailers don’t want to make a tricky situation any tougher. Price points have a key role to play; a factory may well want a 3% increase in its cost price, but £10.28 clearly isn’t a recognised price point. I’m sure it will all lead to some lively and forthright conversations coming up over the coming weeks and months, and no doubt plenty of compromise all round.


This is our final issue of 2012, so on behalf of the whole of the Toy World team, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Our bumper January issue will be published in just a few short weeks time; as ever, it will include an extensive preview of the Toy Fair, along with a separate pull-out supplement focusing on the Toy and Children’s Gifts Hall at Spring Fair. With coverage of the forthcoming Nuremberg and New York Toy Fairs as well, wherever you’re heading in search of great new toys to stock in 2013, the January issue of Toy World will have it covered. Prepare your door mats for a gigantic thud around 11th January.


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