infant&pre-schoolworld
newsanalysis: Gearing up for a big year 2014 promises to be an exciting year for Clementoni with a number of high-profile launches planned. UK country manager Michele Marziliano speaks to Toy World.
“2013 was a very good year for Clementoni in the UK, especially the infant, science and puzzles ranges. We will still be focusing on these core categories in terms of new product development and investment in 2014, and we have a number of major new initiatives which I believe will really take the company forward,” said Michele Marziliano.
The first of these new initiatives is the
introduction of kids’ tablet Clempad to the range. Clementoni launched a range of tablets across Europe in 2013, which sold over a quarter of a million
pieces in its first year. The product which will be introduced to the UK market in 2014, and combines the key elements of that range in a single sku: the Clempad is an android tablet with its own USB port, aimed at children from 3-12. Needless to say the Clempad has a strong educational focus, according to Michele: “The company has developed its own exclusive applications which will be available to download free of charge. Parents can limit how long the child is allowed to play with it, and they can set up different profiles for up to four children, so it can be used by children across a wide age range. It also has parental controls, to allow internet access only to sites which parents are comfortable with, so it is very versatile. We see this as a natural evolution of the ELA category, which has traditionally been a strong sector for Clementoni in Europe.”
The company is also investing heavily in the infant sector with the launch of the Baby Clementoni range. “We employ 45 people in our R&D department in Italy,” states Michele. “And they have been developing a range which we believe is both exciting and different from other infant ranges currently in the market.” Heading up the range is an interactive storytelling bear and an interactive football goal, aimed specifically at toddlers, featuring infra-red sensors. “The emphasis across the whole range is on feature-rich product with a lot of interactivity, which is very competitively priced,” added Michele. Both the Clempad and the Baby Clementoni range will be TV-advertised in the second half of 2014, representing the first time the company has invested in TV advertising in the UK. There will also be a number of new additions to the science range, including an extensive range of food-based items: “The food category has been very popular across the whole of Europe,” comments Michele. “But our range will have a scientific approach.” As well as sets featuring cupcakes, chocolate and candy, one of the real highlights for 2014 is the Pizza Party, which allows children to create and decorate their own pizza.” Michele said: “As a result of these exciting new launches and our commitment to TV advertising, we are expecting far broader distribution in 2014, so we are looking forward to being represented in a number of new retail channels in the UK for the first time.”
VTech becomes number one manufacturer in UK infant toy market
2013 has been a strong year for VTech Baby, with the VTech Toot-Toot Driver range growing by 81% (YTD November 2013, NPD). New playsets such as Airport, Train Station and
Construction Site have all featured in the Top 10 Infant toys YTD. This trend looks set to continue into 2014 with new vehicles and playsets, along with refreshed packaging for the individual vehicles with the aim of further increasing the growth of single car purchases throughout 2014. With this level of growth, VTech has now become the number one manufacturer within the UK infant toy market for the first time, holding a market share of 23% and growth of 1.6%, as well as VTech Baby becoming the number five property within the toy market (YTD November 2013, NPD). With strong marketing plans featuring both ATL and BTL activity, as well as
development of free downloadable Toot-Toot Drivers episodes, VTech aims to maintain the Toot-Toot Drivers success and maintain its position in 2014.
Bigjigs announces rebrand Chicco celebrates a strong 2013
After 12 months of consecutive growth, Chicco finished the year over 12% up and outperformed all nursery categories, whilst rising from outside the top 75 infant and pre-school toy brands to within the top 15 in two years. Mitch Levene, Artsana UK’s managing director, said: “We
are delighted with these incredible results. They are driven via investment in our brand and our retail partners who are reaping the mutual rewards from such growth. I am proud of all our team and corporate Italian HQ colleagues who have jointly and passionately delivered this success.” Mitch added: “We have been actively recruiting to expand upon our quantity and even further enhance our quality of personnel in the customer development function that services our retail partners. More news on this will be announced in the New Year. We have also been working hard behind the scenes for the past couple of years on superb innovation that is just about to enter the market ready to build upon solid foundations.”
The start of 2014 sees the launch of new Bigjigs Rail packaging, designed to provide a powerful and engaging in-store presence. Key features of the packaging include modular box sizes and multiple selling faces to ensure effective merchandising for retailers, distinctive graphical features including safety symbols, development factors, key USPs, lifestyle imagery and interactive features such as QR codes and Cut & Play. The changes allow retailers to merchandise the Bigjigs Rail products far more easily, whilst still communicating all the required information that consumers want to see. The range of Bigjigs Rail rolling stock has been completely redesigned to allow a full 360° view via a clear PET clam shell. To maximise the rebrand’s in-store impact, the wooden toy manufacturer has devised two new merchandising units; a 2’ freestanding cardboard display unit showcasing bestselling items and a redesigned 4’ freestanding wooden display unit. The rebrand also welcomes the introduction of a variety of rail-based characters including Station Master Sam who can be found on the packaging and will be used to develop consumer marketing initiatives. Throughout the year, Bigjigs also plans to run shop window competitions and retailer of the month awards to help boost the rail brand.
38 Infant&pre-schoolworld
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