Back to my roots
I was sitting down refl ecting on my past and wishing I was 21 again. It’s not that I want to live forever, but I am curious as to what the big toy craze would be in 2080. I am certain a company called Purple Strawberry will
have come up with a tele-transportation device which sends kids to Disney at the press of a button to spend the day with a robotic Mickey Mouse. In every other respect things will be the same.
Everyone will claim to be the originator and patent holder for a whole bunch of toys and devices, someone will have picked up my mantle and continued moaning about buyers and the industry as a whole, and there will be a bunch of companies continuing to build impregnable fortresses at toy fairs. In this country you maintain your pride and love for democracy, but the reality is far simpler than that; the Brits don’t care who rules the country, or for how long, so long as they maintain the right to complain about it. Let’s face it, the only difference between democracy and dictatorship is the length of time a nation has to endure a schmuck. The bottom line is that it’s always the same type of people using the same bunch of policies and decisions to ensure the continuance of their ability to control things for their own interest. Look at the tax situation. Why is it that Joe Bloggs who owed HMRC £456 is taken to task and the likes of Google who pays £3m in tax on earnings of billions in this country get away with it? The answer is that Joe Bloggs can’t employ ministers at huge salaries when they are booted out, but multi-national corporations can. To put it into perspective, Google pays the equivalent of someone earning £100,000 a year paying 28p in tax. There are times when I question why I did not pursue my family’s wish and study to become a nuclear scientist (not kidding). But then, upon refl ection, I realise I dodged a bullet there. Can you imagine an Iranian born in Syria with a master’s degree in nuclear science? I would never be allowed to board a plane, and that would be the least of my worries. The perception that is created by someone’s background is interesting. I remember telling someone that the only time I visited the Houses of Parliament was as a teenager with my father when he was an MP at home. I get asked what he thought and my answer is no, he did not ask me if I had remembered to light the fuse before leaving. I have now been writing these articles for 14 years and there are times I wonder if I should sit and write a book and let my son, who has become very good at it, continue to piss our competitors off. It all started 14 years ago at, what was then, The Harrogate Toy Fair, where we were
Ali Mafi 50 Fifty Gifts
given a stand on the rotunda which had less footfall than the minefi eld between the two Koreas. So I wrote a letter of complaint and the rest, as they say, is history. I can’t remember the exact content but I was told about who was in charge, and I said that’s like having Dracula in charge of a blood bank; and one thing led to another and here I am 200 or so articles later exercising my right to moan. I was speaking to an ex-buying director of a major retailer and she completely
agreed with me that buyers who dodge contact from suppliers are simply not doing their jobs of fi nding new, innovative and profi table lines. I think some people would need to seriously refl ect how they would feel if their
correspondences were repeatedly ignored when all it would take is to say: “Sorry, I’ve seen your catalogue, but it is not suitable for us.” Manners don’t cost money, and I refuse to believe anyone is that busy not to fi nd time to do this. I will repeat my assertion that everyone from the dustman in my street to the
Queen has exactly the same number of hours in a day, and this “Oh, I’m so busy”, is just a pathetic and nonsensical excuse given by self-centred people who consider themselves far too important to show any courtesy. These are tough times, and the industry needs innovative, new blood, and it is utterly disgusting that potentially creative, energetic and effective people are denied access to the market due to misguided loyalties and lame excuses. Just sit and refl ect and ask yourself how can a country and economy progress when it is constantly left in the hands of the same old dinosaurs (this applies to every industry)? I know a number of people who have crossed the divide and realised the errors of their ways, but it would be nice if those in a position to do so would implement change whilst they can. I was told from day one of writing that I had the balls to say what others thought but wouldn’t dare say. So I thought, for once, I would revert to my old self and say it how I see it. I absolutely adore giving talented youngsters a real opportunity when I can, and only wish more people could see it my way.
Toyworld 65
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 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96