news newsanalysis:
Bluw in a Spin Bluw Toys has added a number of exciting new ranges to its portfolio for 2014. Toy World reports...
It has been a landmark year for Bluw, which was acquired by the LiteBulb Group back in February 2013. “Moving forward, all toys launched by the company will come under the Bluw Toys brand” confirmed Charlie Rudge, Bluw’s managing director. 2014 sees the company
introducing a number of major new ranges into the UK market, including the exciting Spin Strikers line. Bluw has secured a deal with Australian company The Promotions Factory to distribute the range, which is essentially a battling top game, featuring a unique launcher and character figures based on key licenses such as Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There is a broad selection of skus, ranging from an entry price point blind bag collection, through to combined launcher and character sets, right up to the Battle Arena play set, where the tops battle it out. “We’re really excited about Spin Strikers,” admits Charlie, “we’ll be TV advertising the range in Autumn / Winter and we’ve already had a really good reaction from the retail trade.” In addition Bluw will also be launching the Bug Watch, an innovative new
product which offers a whole new twist on traditional time-pieces. The bug is stored inside the watch itself, with the watch doubling up as the remote controller for the bug. The item is competitively priced at £14.99. The company will also be targeting the boys’ action / construction market with a brand new range called Cliccors. The range has been developed in America by xxx, another partner of the LiteBulb Group through its acquisition of licensing company Evolution (originally known as Rizon Studios). Cliccors are patented, articulated pieces which snap together to form a variety of toys, games and vehicles. This highly- versatile range will be launched in Autumn / Winter 2014. Finally, the company will be expanding its range of official licensed National
Geographic arts and crafts. “We ran a very successful trial in Tesco in 2013,” comments Charlie, “so we’ll be rolling it out to the trade in 2014. We’ve also signed an exclusive pan-European Stationery licence to broaden out our National Geographic offering.” “There’s no doubt that we have our strongest-ever toy offering,” states
Charlie, “and we’re looking forward to showing these new lines to retailers at the forthcoming Toy Fair and Nuremberg events.”
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H Grossman aims to stamp out Rainbow Loom counterfeits
H Grossman has joined with Amazon and eBay to stamp out counterfeit Rainbow Loom sales. Rainbow Loom was introduced to the UK last month by the Glasgow- based toy company against a background of heightened interest due to the wall-to- wall media coverage in the States. Consumers are being duped by conmen who sell on eBay and Amazon, purporting to sell the legitimate loom and using copied imagery which shows the authentic loom. They then send the consumer a poor-quality fake. Amazon in the States has moved quickly to close down the accounts of the fakers and the UK is following suit. Martin Grossman, managing director, said: “We are working closely with the Trading
Standards Office and have a specially-dedicated team buying sample stock and posing as consumers to flush out the fakers. Once identified their trading accounts will be closed and prosecutions will follow. We are very serious about protecting this product.” The craft toy, which uses rubber bands to create jewellery, has been a strong seller in the US with sales approaching 2m units. Time Magazine recently listed the loom in its ‘Year in Things’ article.
Flying Gadgets aims to break records
Flying Gadgets has been busy creating what the company claims will be the world’s fastest ready-to-run radio controlled car. The Velocity car has already received interest with local and international media. It will have a large brushless motor with one of the latest in technology speed controllers, allowing it to reach speeds of over 127mph. This car is custom-built with high-flex wheels to withstand high speeds and large cooling vents to stop the car from overheating. The 30v batteries are nearly the size of a house brick. The car ran in its Guinness World Record attempt in late December, attempting to
break over five world records. Joshua Farleigh, managing director of Flying Gadgets, said: “The car looks fantastic and sounds incredible whilst whizzing past at 127mph. It really is something special and we are so excited to be launching this car early next year; we have already pre-sold most of the year’s stock of this car.”
Toy Trust 2014 media auction open for bids
The media auction allows the industry to bid on airtime, catalogue and online slots that are donated by the Toy Trust’s media sponsors, with all money raised going directly to the work of the Toy Trust. The auction will remain open from now until Tuesday 21st January 2014 where it will be concluded at the Toy Industry Awards, taking place at the Science Museum, South Kensington.
The main beneficiary of the auction will be Disability Africa; a charity that has identified a complete non-acceptance of disabled children in some communities in Africa. This often leads to children being hidden from society. £90,000 has been pledged to build a centre in Gunjur, Gambia to support disabled child and educate their parents and the wider community allowing the children to lead an open and acceptable life. Other monies raised at the beginning of 2014 will continue to help smaller charities throughout the year. Bidding is open and you can get your bids in early now by emailing Matt Jones at
Matt@btha.co.uk. The highest bids received will be reflected on the auction page To view the lots and current highest bids go to
www.btha.co.uk/toy-trust/ fundraising/annual-fundraising-activities/media-auction.
18 Toyworld
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