news newsanalysis:
Being direct Andrea Gornall, senior buyer of toys and nursery at Shop Direct Group, gives a brief update on the year ahead. Tom Roberts reports.
What are Shop Direct’s plans for its toys offering over 2014? Across
our digital department store offering, we’ve identifi ed quite a few categories with growth potential and toys are a major part of this plan. We’ve already seen signifi cant sales growth within toys over the last 10 years as customers have become more aware of the increasing breadth of our offer, the easy shopping and delivery options we provide, and the level of affordability we’re able to add to that with our fi nancial services offer. Out future plans are really exciting and we’re supporting them with additional resources, including from a marketing perspective.
Which toy categories are performing the best right now? I’d say that all categories are important and key to our growth plans. Currently girls, boys, arts and crafts and games are star performers.
Can we expect to see a continuation of the heavy investment in marketing your toy offering? Last year was really exciting, and the icing on the cake was winning the Online Toy Retailer of the Year award. Our growth plans were supported with an integrated TV, press, social media and email campaign, a partnership with CITV and, of course,
Littlewoods.com’s support of The Great Christmas Toy Giveaway on Channel 5. Our marketing and brand teams are fully supportive of our growth plans for 2014 and we’ve some more exciting and innovative ideas in the that we’ll look to develop with them over the course of the year.
There was a lot of buzz around the online grotto Shop Direct set up at Christmas. Can you tell me a bit about it and what impact it had on the business? We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to showcase our product offering to customers. The online grotto was a new concept for us and it was really exciting to develop it and watch it come to life. We launched the grotto as an online interactive tool – almost a game –
in October 2013. All our top lines were included, and the grotto was also supported with an integrated marketing campaign across TV, press and social media. In a nutshell, our customers and their children were able to add their
favourite toys to a Christmas wish list, which could then be printed out for them to keep. Each child then also had their own Santa letter, which they could add their name and age to before sending off. As you can imagine, bringing the traditional concept of the Santa letter into an online interactive setting was a huge success and the take-up and feedback was amazing. It really helped to drive signifi cant year-on-year sales growth in toys over the Christmas period.
Wizard Limited, Wizard House, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 8DR phone 0208 943 0121 Fax 0208 977 9074
sales@wizardtoys.com
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Green Board Games announces launch of BrainBox Magazine
In partnership with Dennis Publishing, the magazine is both an introduction to the brand as well as a supplement to readers who are current consumers of the products. For children of all ages and abilities, the magazine will include puzzles, games and the award-winning BrainBox memory recall game. Each issue will be full of facts, highlight children’s achievements, and recommend books for other children to read. To kick-start the monthly magazine, issue one
features numbers and history. There are also BrainBox Animals cards included, with a sand timer for extra practice for next month’s issue which features animals. The magazine hit the stands on 19th February and can be found at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, WH Smith and Waitrose, among other retailers.
LeapFrog launches LeapPad2 Custom Edition
LeapFrog has unveiled the LeapPad2 Custom Edition tablet, a customisable extension of the number one selling kids’ tablet, LeapPad2. Now available to retailers in the UK, the tablet is recommended for children aged three to nine years and can be personalised in more than 100 different ways. Featuring a durable fi ve-inch touch
screen, LeapPad2 Custom Edition comes with 10 interchangeable sticker skins, both pre-designed and colour-your-own, as well as 11 digital wallpapers to choose from. It also has built-in front-and-back cameras and video recorders, a music player, a motion sensor and a 4GB memory. The tablet is compatible with LeapFrog’s
library of more than 500 high-quality content experiences designed or approved by LeapFrog’s team of learning experts. The LeapPad2 Custom Edition also comes loaded with nine apps, including Photo Lab, Art Studio, Pet Pad, and LeapFrog Learning Songs. Chris Spalding, managing director and SVP EMEA and Australasia at LeapFrog, said:
“We know that every child is different and will learn at their own pace and in their own style. At all stages of play, we want to offer an element of personalisation to support and encourage each child’s individual learning journey. With LeapPad2 Custom Edition, not only can children customise their very own learning tablet, but they’ll also benefi t from personalised learning solutions thanks to advanced software which adapts to a child’s natural pace and ability.”
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