The week before Toy Fair is always a slightly strange one. There are inevitably last-minute things that need sorting out and preparation to pull together ahead of scheduled meetings. Yet you still spend most of the week thinking “I just wish we were there now.” Thankfully, there’s not long to wait now…
We’ve already seen an increase in the number of press releases we’ve been receiving – and the deluge will turn into a flood any day now. The stage is set, exhibitors are getting excited, and hopefully retailers will be turning out in force. No snow is forecast, and there aren’t any train strikes planned, so that’s two big potential pitfalls avoided.
New products are the lifeblood of the toy market, they drive sales and generate excitement for consumers. We’ve already seen several early year launches getting off to a flying start (both Bandai’s Littlest Pet Shop and Flair’s Godzilla x Kong range have been cited by indies as selling well in the last few weeks), and with the next mainstream UK toy event – the Toymaster show – not taking place until the latter stages of May, the first half of the year will surely be far more successful if retailers can unearth a few gems at Olympia next week. That alone, in my humble opinion, makes a trip to the show absolutely essential for retailers large and small.
There have been a few significant changes on the buying side in recent weeks: it’s been common knowledge for some time that Charlie McNally will be leaving his role at Argos to take over toy buying for Europe at Aldi, based out in Dusseldorf, while Sarah Harding has left her role at Toys R Us UK to join The Entertainer. And what a time to be making that move…
No prizes for guessing the liveliest topic of debate in the toy community so far this year – The Entertainer taking over the running of Tesco’s toy department has unsurprisingly led to some interesting conversations.
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