13 trading days to go (sing it in the style of ’21 seconds to go’ if you like, so it stays in your head all day) – and once again it looks like it will go down to the wire for toy retailers. I suspect that many businesses will break up on 19th December, which is when most people will get paid for December. That leaves consumers five days to finish last-minute shopping. I doubt many people will want to sit around doing nothing for that length of time, so I can envisage busy High Streets and Retail Parks in the final few days.
I suspect that last burst will be crucial. Anecdotally, I gather that November was ok, but nothing special until the last few days of the month, when it seemed to pick up. Amidst reports of a lack lustre Black Friday weekend for retail in general, the toy category seemed to fare reasonably well over that period. Good news… except I gather that after Black Friday, there was a significant drop-off at some of the larger accounts. It appears that while the promotional offers on toys had been strong, once they came to an end, so did the short-term uplift in sales.
I hear on the grapevine that this has left a few retailers concerned about the level of stock carryover into the New Year. So, do they just accept that and hold onto it, or will there be more heavy discounts over the next fortnight? And who will be driving the reductions? In recent years, retailers have pointed the finger of blame at a variety of competitors – this year I gather the finger is pointing at Argos more than any other major account.
Meanwhile specialists and other physical stores are poised for their ‘golden fortnight.’ The One Show ran a 5-minute segment focusing on The Entertainer earlier this week. It was a great coup for The Entertainer, and as the piece featured consumers extolling the benefits of shopping for toys at physical stores in the run-up to Christmas, there should be benefits for other retailers too. TV is still a powerful driver – just ask the Irish retail market how valuable the Late Late Toy Show is to them. I just wish we had something like that here – what a difference that could make.
The One Show piece on The Entertainer focused heavily on the retailer’s recent ownership transfer to an EOT – an ownership model that the government has effectively killed off in its recent budget, which is a real shame. It’s not a solution for every business by any means, but it did have benefits which have now been all but wiped out. Another focus of the piece was The Entertainer’s recent shift in the product ranges it stocks – which I gather is starting to have an effect on the approach of some other retailers who had previously had a clear run on certain brands and product segments. With The Entertainer now stocking the likes of Harry Potter, Wicked and Pokémon (and of course Lego reappearing on its shelves a few months ago), everyone gets a slightly smaller slice of the cake moving forward.
The big news of the week is the ongoing saga of who will end up acquiring Warner Bros. First it was announced that Netflix had agreed a deal, only for Paramount to come back the next day with an improved offer. Meanwhile President Trump waded into the debate, implying that he had concerns over the deal and stating that he would be personally involved in the decision as to whether or not to approve it. I am sure the fact that his son-in-law is involved in the financing of the Paramount bid has absolutely nothing to do with that call.
Read the rest here.
