allegedly...
Sainsbury’s pre-Christmas half-price toy sale has traditionally been hugely popular with bargain hunters, and consumer websites were buzzing with anticipation in the run up to the launch of this year’s event. So eager were these bargain hunters that the Sainsbury’s website crashed less than ten minutes after the sale started – at midnight! Or, as one conspiracy theorist suggested, did Sainsbury’s actually pull the plug? We’ll never know, but there were an awful lot of angry red ‘smileys’ on the particular consumer website I saw the next morning (can you call it a ‘smiley’ if it’s red and angry?). Some clever shoppers even tried to beat the system by loading up their online baskets before midnight, in an attempt to secure their purchases before stocks ran out (you have to admire their ingenuity). But overall, there were mixed reactions to this year’s offerings, tempered perhaps by unrealistic expectations of the level of discounts on offer. For example, many expressed ‘disappointment’ that the discount on Lego products was only 33% (which actually sounds pretty good to me). A quick trip round the local Sainsbury’s on the first day of the sale gave an indication on what sort of stock was on offer; a light sprinkling of popular brands (Ben 10, Sylvanian Families, Nerf), quite a lot of Mattel and Fisher Price lines at 50% off and an awful lot of own-brand merchandise (far be it from Allegedly to suggest that Sainsbury’s had a lot of own-brand stock that hadn’t sold and which needed shifting...). But things move incredibly fast these days. By the next morning Amazon had price-matched much of the stock in the Sainsbury’s sale, and Tesco started its own ‘3 for 2’ toy promotion. One customer immediately posted online: “I shall be returning some of my Sainsbury’s purchases as I can get better deals at Tesco.” So within less than 24 hours, something which had seemed like a great bargain was deemed over-priced and worthy of a trip back to the store to return it. ‘Fickle’ is the word which springs instantly to mind (well that’s the kind word anyway)....
Argos has announced it will be shutting up to 75 of its stores over the next five years as part of its plan to “re-invent” itself as a “digitally- led business”. The announcement also claimed that the catalogue will apparently play more of a “supporting role” in Argos’ business model going forward. It’s a bold move, and one which suppliers will no doubt be watching with interest. Interestingly, most toy companies have been telling me that Argos’ business has held up reasonably well in recent months....
Dream Toys once again succeeded in bringing toys to the attention of the national consumer media, with the resulting coverage hopefully galvanising parents to start their festive shopping over the coming days. The general consensus was that there were fewer camera crews present this year; I’m sure Hurricane Sandy didn’t help,
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and maybe even the BBC move to Salford had an impact. But good old Daybreak sent a crew along to the event the night before, and broadcast the segment four times during Wednesday morning’s programme (Dave Murphy did ask me to point this out, as he didn’t want a repeat of the stick he took a few years back when ITV didn’t turn up!). Coverage from the nationals remained strong, and there was plenty of online presence as well. Overall, the vast majority of the exhibitors seemed happy with proceedings, and it’s great to see toy companies come together and put aside commercial rivalries to promote the toy trade as a whole. Good work by everyone concerned, especially the TRA....
A few changes to report in the toy buying community: Elaine Hooper is moving over from toys to become the John Lewis beauty buyer, to be replaced by Ian Ellis, who starts in mid December. Elsewhere on the retail front we hear that Ian Gibbs will be leaving Harrods in the not too distant future, whilst Mark Goodall has returned to the trade as outdoor buyer for Toys R Us. There are also quite a few rumours flying around about potential changes at Hamleys in the New Year, although specific details are not being released at this stage....
Allegedly was surprised to hear that Richard Hollis will shortly be leaving BBC Worldwide. Richard has spent 28 years at the BBC, which coincidentally is exactly the same amount of time Allegedly spent with his former employer before deciding the time was right to move onwards and upwards. Richard is hugely respected within the licensing community, so we’re sure plenty of opportunities will present themselves to him over the coming weeks. We wish him well with whatever comes next....
Allegedly also hears through the grapevine that big changes are afoot at the top of the Lego UK management tree – no specifics yet (at least not officially), but expect confirmation soon....
Anyone who has booked – or was thinking of booking – on the Air Berlin direct flight from Gatwick to Nuremberg for the Toy Fair should know that, in their infinite wisdom, the buffoons at Air Berlin have decided to cancel it as from 1st February, which just happens to fall right in the middle of this year’s show. They are half-heartedly offering inconvenient alternatives (such as an indirect flight from Stansted via Dusseldorf ), but Allegedly suspects that people might like to consider making other arrangements. Air France has a direct flight out of City Airport which might be worth considering for starters....
Allegedly was sad to hear that Chapman Entertainment had entered administration. Sad, but not entirely surprised; in many respects, the writing has been on the wall since the initial staff ‘purge’ a year back, and with Val Fry announcing a move to Coolabi shortly beforehand, it did seem
This month Toy World will be....
Putting the finishing touches to its bumper January Toy Fair issue. Finalising its 2013 Toy Fair diaries. Putting its feet up and relaxing - briefly - before the mayhem and madness to come in January and February.
The January edition will be published on 11th January.
to be a precursor for what was to come. Hopefully a deal can be struck which will secure the future of Chapman’s key properties – a few licensees will certainly watching developments with a keen interest....
The Fence Club AGM, in keeping with the club’s ethos, is singularly unlike any other AGM Allegedly has ever attended. It was great to catch up with so many toy people in relaxed, convivial surroundings (although much of what was discussed needs to remain firmly off the record). There is a tradition that new members to the club join in with the round of joke-telling, but this year one new member – Turner’s Simon Cox – decided that as telling jokes isn’t his forte, he would sing a song instead. So it was that Simon belted out a hearty rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly me to the Moon’ to a room full of slightly stunned men (which, it has to be said, made a welcome change from the endless stream of Jimmy Saville jokes which had dominated proceedings up to that point). Maybe a new tradition has been forged? Future new members may now have to sing for their supper – literally....
Allegedly was sad to hear that Flying Toys suffered a break-in recently, with a significant amount of stock being taken. David and Janine are two of the nicest people in the trade, and it’s a huge shame that something like that should happen to them at such a crucial time of the year....
There have already been some low-level grumbles from FOB suppliers about certain customers (can you guess which channel they’re from?) arranging their main Far East trips in November and December. In some cases, this has lead to some people having to fly out specially, just to see one account. As one supplier commented, “Oh for the days when the trade all came out in the same month.” And isn’t it just a touch ironic, given the fervour with which some retailers approach the whole subject of ‘environmentally friendly’ trading practices?
At the time of going to press, Toys R Us has taken the lead on Furby, with an eye-catching £39.19 offer (£48.99 minus the additional 20% discount) – nearly a pound below where we predicted the market price would settle in last month’s Allegedly column. But price is one thing, availability of stock is another matter entirely; whole website pages are already being devoted to showing which retailers have certain colours in stock and at what price. Some people are even selling Argos reservations for Furby (especially the Purple one) on ebay! This, folks, is the world we now live in....
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