allegedly...
Over in Hong Kong, the dock strike we mentioned in last month’s Allegedly column continues to simmer, with workers seen by ‘our man on the ground’ protesting at dock owner Li Ka Shing outside the Cheong Kong Centre in Central. With many major UK retailers imposing signifi cant fi nes for late delivery of shipments, if the situation persists – or indeed escalates – it could potentially have major repercussions for many toy suppliers, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the situation....
The Toy Trust has been asking the trade to nominate a charity to be the benefi ciary of the largest single donation from its 2014 fundraising efforts, so if anyone has any suggestions, they should email
matt@btha.co.uk with details of the name of the project, its registered charity number and a website or contact details. There are some extremely worthy causes out there, so if you know of one which deserves consideration, the BTHA would love to hear from you....
Allegedly was sad to hear that Goodacres Toymaster has been forced to close down. Both the Horsham and Bognor branches have been shut, with the owners blaming rent increases and increased competition from the internet and other toy stores. Several suppliers contacted us to say how disappointed they were, and how much they’d enjoyed dealing with Roy and Pauline over the years. They certainly seem to have been well thought of by their suppliers and peers, and we wish them well in their early retirement....
Online retailer Kids Play Store has apparently gone into voluntary liquidation (having previously suffered a similar fate a couple of years ago). Doubts had surfaced last year when the retailer was promoting lines on its site at frankly ridiculous, below-cost prices, and sometimes without even appearing to have any stock of the item in question. As the old adage goes, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is....
Allegedly was sad to hear that Terry Richardson recently passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. A charming man and well-respected toy industry stalwart,
94 Toyworld
Terry successfully established Taiwan Powco as an international supplier of repute and his daughter Kelly continues his toy trade legacy through her company Kriya....
It was also something of a shock to hear of the death of Sky Media boss Nick Milligan in a tragic boating accident, which made national headline news last month. Only days before he had been entertaining a number of toy trade clients over dinner, and I’m told he had been a good friend to the toy trade for many years....
Last month’s Fence Club event in Henley broke one longstanding Club tradition; attendees were entertained by a lady speaker, the fi rst in the Club’s history. Olympian rower and captain of the world-famous Leander Rowing Club Debbie Flood was the history maker in question, and very entertaining she was, too - almost as entertaining as seeing the look on a few of the members’ faces when they realised that there was actually a real live woman in their midst....
Wow! Stuff experienced a massive spike in its online traffi c after CEO Richard North appeared on ‘The Apprentice: You’re Fired’ last month. Richard appeared alongside Karen Brady and comedian Andy Parsons, and gave a good account of himself as the resident ‘business expert’ discussing that week’s programme with host Dara O’Briain. Does a glittering new career in the media beckon?
Huge congratulations are in order for Mind Candy and its Moshi Monsters brand, which celebrated its fi fth birthday with an ‘all-singing,
all-dancing’ birthday bash at its trendy new HQ last month. It really has been an incredible fi rst fi ve years for Moshi. They have certainly proved that a number of long-held industry beliefs – you can’t have a successful kids property without a TV show, for starters – no longer apply. With a Moshi movie coming later in the year, and new properties in the pipeline, the years ahead will surely be equally eventful for the Mind Candy team....
The football season has fi nished for another year. For some it has ended in joy, for others despair. The same could be said for those toy trade folk who took part in this year’s Toy World Fantasy Football League. It almost embarrasses me to admit that this year’s winner – for the second season in a row – was , err, me (note I said almost embarrassed...). Admittedly, I did face stiff competition this year; second place was taken by Winning Moves David Ripley, who narrowly edged out Golden Bear’s Gareth Lloyd on a thrilling last day by a mere 3 points. Golden Bear’s Barry Hughes came a creditable fourth, with Disney’s Llyr Lewis fi fth. David Ripley in particular looks a threat next year; this was his fi rst season playing Fantasy Football League, and his statistical nous – clearly honed over years of buying toys – marks him out as one to watch for next year. But for now, it only remains for me to award myself the mantle of ‘Toy World Fantasy Football Champion’ once more. With only 3 (long) months to go before next football season kicks off, anyone who would like to join our league and pit their football wits against the might of all those mentioned above and more, feel free to drop me an email (
john@toyworldmag.co.uk).
(ROUND-UP) What’s been happening in the world of toys over the past month....
Vivid has been appointed as the master toy partner for the brand new Thunderbirds series, which is due to arrive in 2015 (as an ‘Anderson generation’ kid, Allegedly is fascinated to see how the new version shapes up); the 150th anniversary of the birth of Frank Hornby was celebrated with a marvellous ‘Google Doodle’ (Google – good doodles, bad tax ‘avoidance’ policy); the BBC clumsily managed to send out DVDs of Dr Who which included the series fi nale two weeks before it aired, and then had to beg the recipients not to spoil the surprise; Disney received a bit of a mauling in the media for creating a ‘glammed-up’ version of Brave’s Merida for a new toy launch (arguably not their fi nest hour); and it was announced that the Postman Pat movie has been delayed, most likely until next Easter.
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