toynews issue 95 july 2009

INSIDE…

LOVING LAS VEGASAll the news from this year’sLicensing International Expo

Issue 95 July 2009

TWO BECOME ONEMattel and Toymaster on theirsymbiotic relationship

MEAN MACHINESHasbro’s blockbusting range ofTransformers movie toys

THE POWER OF LEARNINGA look at what’s new in theelectronic learning sector

The toy industry’s highest circulation trade title

Exclusive media partner

I THINK one of the speakers at the recentBTHA industry day succeeded in blowingeveryone away. It wasn’t the former soldier,ironically, although he spoke some sense, even ifsome of it was a little obvious.

It was a fella named Hugh Garry from theBBC’s interactive production department whowowed the assembled toy industry (and left manythinking they might be in the wrong business)with a demonstration of how children use onlineconnectivity for social networking, online gamingand even to become their own media channelsvia YouTube, MySpace, etc. It wasn’t even thatcutting edge, but it showed just how big achallenge the industry faces when it comes toreally connecting with children.

It’s this social networking that has turned theheads of so many of the toy market’s femalecustomers and it’s going to take something reallyspecial to attract them back to us. New thinking,and an abandonment of dyed in the woolmarketing and business practices is required.

And then later on, as if to underline the pointeven further, an award was given out to anindustry veteran who shuffled off this mortal coilnearly 40 years ago. The toy industry? Stuck inthe past? Never.Ronnie [email protected]

COMMENTSOCIAL ENGINEERING

Social networking hasturned the heads of so

many of the toy market’sfemale customers.

18 News

21 Licensing International report

LICENSING

FEATURES22 Mattel talks Toymaster

25 Hasbro Transforms

26 LeapFrog’s new lines

31 Creative Play

39 Electronic Learning

47 Dress Up

54 Retail Opinion

56 Counter Insurgent

56 Price Check

57 Retail Charts

58 New Products

59 Hero Product

RETAIL

REGULARS4 News

6 Appointments

8 Exclusive NPD analysis

10 TV ad spend data

12 TV ratings

15 Campaign of the month

Contents

Adrian MilesAdvertising [email protected]

Lisa FosterManaging [email protected]

Katie RobertsStaff [email protected]

Dan [email protected]

Jon SalisburyEditorial [email protected]

Stuart [email protected]

Samantha LovedayLicensing [email protected]

Ronnie [email protected]

Intent Media is a member of thePeriodical Publishers Associations

Editorial: 01992 535646Advertising: 01992 535647

■ ToyNews has 100% named circulationand 0% duplication.

AUDITED CIRCULATION:Average Net Circulation: 6,011

July 1st 2008 to June 30th 2009.www.toynewsmag.com

JULY 2009

ARGOS AND the independent sectorseem to have benefited the most fromWoolies’ demise, according to datafrom a GMTV/ToyNews poll.

According to the survey on theGMTV site, which receives 1.7munique visitors a month, 29 per cent ofconsumers that used to buy toys inWoolworths now buy them in Argos,while 28 per cent purchase fromindependent stores.

Argos also came top in answer tothe question “Where do you buytoys?”, with 28 per cent. Tesco was thenext most popular on 19 per cent andonline retailer Amazon on 17 per cent.Only 12 per cent said Toys R Us.

On the question of price, 86 percent did not think toys were tooexpensive, while 76 per cent wouldspend over £15 on a birthday gift.

Argos and indies thriving in a post-Woolies world according to new ToyNews consumer poll on GMTV website

MD SIMON Pilkington has acquiredJohn Adams and Toy Brokers in amanagement buy-out.

Pilkington (pictured) has beensupported in the buy-out fromDrumond Park by a stronginternational investor group.

The newly streamlined operation isbased at the existing Toy Brokerspremises in Huntingdon,Cambridgeshire, following a periodof restructuring which seesmarketing, sales, admin andwarehousing focused under one roof.

The acquisition of John Adams andToy Brokers brings together brandswhich include Tiny Tears, Girls World,Fuzzy Felt, Bema Sports swimmingaids, Intex pools and inflatables, the

Golden Coin Maker, Supergraphicsand Hot Wires.

Highlights for 2009 include a highprofile relaunch of the Tiny Tears dollrange, supported by a heavyweightTV advertising and PR campaign, andthe launch of the New Scotland YardScience brand.

Simon Pilkington, managingdirector of John Adams and ToyBrokers, said: "I’m delighted toconfirm the successful conclusion ofthe management buyout process. Wehave a hugely experienced anddedicated management team onboard who are passionate about thelong term future and success of thenew business, and we’re lookingforward to strengthening our existingbrand portfolio and retailer networkin the coming months."

The firm will bring new brands andcategories to market, as well ascontinuing to support its leadinglicensed categories, includingPostman Pat and Bob the Builder.John Adams: 01235 833066

Pilkington completes Adams MBOTOYWAY HAS slipped intoadministration and seeking a buyerfor the business.

The firm continues to trade, butadministrator Elwell Watchorn andSaxton was appointed on Friday afterit succumbed to a number ofdifferent factors including thecurrent economic climate andpressure from its lenders.

Toyway has been trading since1981 with a range of pocket moneytoys, models and construction kits.

Brands include Academy plastickits, Yat Ming die-cast vehicles,Gunther flying toys and Artesiniawooden boat kits.

●For more details contact JohnEndersby at Elwell, Watchorn andSaxton on 01733 235253.

Toyway slidesinto trouble

GMTV poll shows Woolies winners

4 NEWS

by Ronnie Dungan

Where do you buy toys?Argos 28%

Tesco 19%

Amazon 17%

Toys R Us 12%

Indies 9%

Asda 6%

ELC 3%

The Entertainer 3%

John Lewis 3%

How much would you spendon a birthday gift?£20 or more 40%

£15-£20 36%

£10-£15 19%

£5-£10 5%

If you used to buy toys in Woolies,where do you buy them now?Argos 29%

Independent 28%

Tesco 17%

Toys R Us 12%

The Entertainer 3%

Asda 3%

Online 3%

ELC 2%

Do children get enough playvalue from toys?Yes 71%

No 29%

Are toys too expensive?No 86%

Yes 14%

Survey results

JULY 2009

The BTHA’s latest accounts show thetrade body has been hit hard byupheaval on the world’s stock markets,losing more than £1m in 2008.

The previous year showed a surplusof £513,996, which became a deficit of£559,893 this year as the value ofstocks plummeted on the internationalshare market.

“The financial year 2008, was verypoor for the BTHA,” said chairman,Roger Dyson.

“We made significant losses in ourportfolio. The BTHA requires a strongfinancial base and the stock market isa risk to that strategy.”

Speaking at the trade body’s AGMand Industry Day, Dyson said the

prospects for next year’s Toy Fair atOlympia were looking very positive.

“Toy Fair 2010 is almost sold outand the forecast for Toy Fair isexcellent,” added Dyson.

“2008 couldn’t have been a moredifficult year for the toy industry. Andthe Woolies repercussions have not yetsubsided. The changing landscape ofthe UK market is a challenge and theindustry must change and adapt to anever-changing economic environment.

“Children will always want toys and,providing the industry meets its ownexacting criteria, the long term futureof the industry is assured.

“2010 is a new start. Theadministration of Youngsters andWoolies is behind us. Toy Fair islooking positive and we need to graspthe opportunity with both hands.”

by Ronnie Dungan

BTHA loses £1m in investment crunch

BOOKMARK US TODAYmobile.toynewsmag.co.uk

THE LONG-OVERDUE warm spellhas seen outdoor toy sellers enjoy a“dramatic” upsurge in sales ofoutdoor toys.

NPD data showed in April that anearly, but sunny, Easter had boostedthe sports and outdoor sector by oneper cent in value year-to-date, and asthe good weather continues,suppliers are seeing sales maintaintheir growth.

As early as April, outdoor productswere starting to appear in NPD’s topten retail charts, with Mookie’sSmart Trike making its second andthird entry of the year in the mostrecent sales figures.

Swingball has also shown doubledigit growth and Sharon Smith,marketing co-ordinator of Mookie,said the good weather along withgood stock levels and quick deliveryhave led to a strong summer for thecompany so far.

Andrew Coplestone, Halsall’smarketing director, agreed: “Thissummer has seen a marked differencein outdoor toy sales. We have hadand are beginning to have furtherbetter weather than we have seensince May 2007.”

He continued: “When the sun hasshone, the uplift in sales has beendramatic. Most importantly we havehad the good weather at the weekend.It really makes all the difference.”

Phil Ratcliffe, sales and marketingdirector at MV Sports, has also seenan uplift in sales: “The first quarterwas tough as many retailers had carryover from last year. However, Mayhas been a fantastic month, possiblyspurred on by the good weather.”

Manufacturers don’t see thecurrent economic climate as ahindrance to sales, but predict it willdrive sales of cheaper products.

Alex Kovacevic, brand andmarketing manager at Hy Pro,explained: “I do not think therecession has really had a heavy impacton our sector, with perhaps more ofthe focus shifting to the cheaper end ofthe market. I fully expect the grocersin particular to have a bumper year inthis category, especially with lessexpensive own brand lines.”

Smith added: “The recession andcredit crunch has made an impact,even on our ranges, particularlythough on the higher priced ticketlines. Despite this, Mookie is havinga great year.”

Suppliers are hoping that this willhelp to clear through old stock andleave space for more innovative,fresh products on offer in 2010.Kovacevik commented: “What theweather might do is make buyersmore bullish during their selectionsnow for summer 2010.”

Coplestone agreed: “This is greatnews for retailers as at last theirstocks of seasonal product disappearand they can start to buy fun,innovative, licensed seasonal productwith confidence for spring 2010. Thisisn’t a situation they have been insince 2005.”

Phew! What a scorcher...www.toynewsmag.com 5NEWS

by Katie Roberts

DYSON: “2008 couldn’thave been a moredifficult year.”

Trade body feels the pinch from stock market meltdown as share portfolio dips

Industry optimistic that a continuing heatwave can combat recession and boost crucial outdoor sector

ALL THE LATESTNEWS & VIEWS

DIRECT TO YOURMOBILE PHONE

WHEREVERYOU ARE

TURNER MEDIA Innovations haspromoted Andrew Mallandaine tothe role of UK sales controller. It hasalso created three new positionswithin the department to reflect theteam’s recent commercial successes.

Mallandaine takes the lead role inthe sales team at TMI, the division ofTurner Broadcasting responsible forgenerating advertising revenuestreams across all media platforms forbrands including Cartoon Network,Boomerang, Cartoonito and TCM(Turner Classic Movies). He reportsdirectly to Simon Cox, VP of TMI.

In addition, two new staff havebeen hired in the sponsorship andpromotions team. Zara Hutt joins assponsorship and promotionsexecutive and Phil Molloy asassociate producer.

Completing the round of newrecruits, Rachel Lewis joins asinteractive and digital sales manager.

Cox commented: “We’re in a fairlyunique position to be expanding ourteam in a tough market and it’s atestament to the hard graft put in bya stellar team at Turner MediaInnovations.

“Already in the first quarter of thisyear we’ve seen a marked growth inrevenue across digital andsponsorship and promotions. Andrewhas a proven track record in the salesarena and I am confident that he willhelp us continue to maintain ourrobust position.”

Mallandaine added: “I’m delightedto take the helm at a media salesoperation which has a reputation fordelivering advertising innovationacross all platforms. There’s awealth of talent and experiencewithin Turner Media Innovations andI look forward to co-ordinating theteam’s sales efforts in order toprovide our clients with the bestmulti-platform packages available.”

TV-Loonland has appointedBarbora Sopkova as sales managerfor TV and home entertainmentdistribution.

She joins from Classic Media(formerly Entertainment Rights),where she held the position ofterritory manager for Central andEastern Europe. Reporting to TV-L’shead of international distribution,Justine Bannister, Sopkova will be

responsible for driving TV and homeentertainment sales of Loonland’sextensive portfolio within Centraland Eastern Europe and Russia,Benelux, Greece, Turkey, NorthAfrica, the Middle East and Asia(excluding Japan).

Bannister commented: “We areabsolutely delighted that Barbora isjoining us at TV-Loonland. She hasextraordinary talent and proven skillsand will be a valuable addition to oursales force. We are confident in herability to increase revenueconsiderably for all of our key andcatalogue titles across all of theseterritories.”

Dave Sayers has joined RupBagha and his family at the helm ofCosmic Fireworks as the firmlaunches its new catalogue.

The new-look brochure features allthe firm’s brands including Cosmic,Golden Lion and NG, with thedesign emphasis on clarity ofpresentation and breadth of product.

John Crane has appointed NatashaDudnik as a new sales agent. Shewill take on the London, Middlesex,Kent, Surrey and Sussex area.

Dudnik, formerly the company’sspecialist sales consultant in Harrods,has already been with John Crane forover six years.

She takes over the territory fromJill Robinson, who is relocating toher native Yorkshire.

John Crane commented: “Wewould all like to wish Natasha well inher new role, I’m sure she will takethe reigns from Jill admirably.”

Leapfrog has appointed Threepipeto undertake its UK consumer andtrade PR. It will report into the firm’shead of marketing, David Lublinerand will be supporting the company’slaunch of its new learning productsinto the parenting and widerconsumer media.

The PR programme will alsosupport Leapfrog’s flagship Tag andLeapster2 products, as well asbeginning work on building aChristmas 2009 campaign.

Jim Hawker, co-founder ofThreepipe, said: “This is a fantastictime to be working with Leapfrogfollowing on from their successfullaunches of the Tag and Leapster 2products last year.”

FAR LEFT: Simon Cox(right) welcomesAndrew Mallandaineto TMI; MIDDLE: DaveSayers (right) joinsRup Bagha at CosmicFireworks; NEAR LEFT:Natasha Dudnik isnow a sales agentfor John Crane

6 APPOINTMENTS

INDUSTRY MOVESA promotion and new faces at TMI, new sales agent for John Crane and a Cosmic relaunch…

JULY 2009

ACCORDING TO the BritishRetail Consortium, UK retail salesvalue on a like for like basis fell 0.8per cent from May 2008, when salesrose strongly due to sunny weather.On a total basis sales only rose 0.8per cent as the economy continuesto have an effect on consumerconfidence. While food sales haveslowed after a strong Easter boostback in April, non-food sales stillremain difficult.

The toy markethas continued tosee average pricesrise with the May2009 average priceup three per centfrom May 2008 to£6.41. In valuesales terms,supercategoryperformance hasvaried with building sets, youthelectronics, plush and ‘all othertoys’ all growing in May (againstMay 2008). Building sets continue

to out-perform the market with newLego items driving growth,especially the Star Wars Clone Wars,and the new Power Miners range,which now accounts for six per centof the building sets market and isthe fifth biggest property in thecategory.

Youth Electronics grew three percent in May 2009 with VTechKidizoom camera taking the numberone spot in the total toy market for

the month. Also performing well isthe Hannah Montana Sing AlongMicrophone and High SchoolMusical Journal. Plush growth iscoming from the Winnie the Poohand Furreal Friends ranges. Peppa

Pig has also had a boostedperformance in May with

the new Peppa PigBeanie toy byCharacterOptions.Mattel’s Mr. Men

range of plush toyshas also performed well,

driving the Mr. Men property to theeighth fastest growing property from

Januaryto May.

The topfive propertieswithin the toy market haven’tchanged for May 2009, with Ben 10still number one and Star Warsnumber two. There have been anumber of changes lower down inthe chart with Hannah Montanareaching sixth place, driven by therelease of the first Hannah Montana

film and releaseof the series onDVD. Cars hasalso re-enteredthe top tenproperties listdriven by somenew items –especially theMini Red FirePlay-set and

Tractor Trippin performing strongly.Heading into the school holidays

and the summer months, it is hopedthe market will benefit from thegood weather as well as summerblockbuster films with a number ofrelated toy ranges.

Top 5 PropertiesMay 20091. BEN 102. STAR WARS3. THOMAS AND FRIENDS4. IN THE NIGHT GARDEN5. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

Best PropertyProgressionMay 2009

HM ARMED FORCESCharacter’s new rangecontinues to storm up thecharts from 271st place to 29...

8 NPD RESEARCH

UK Toy Sales(value, year to date)

May2008

May2009 3%

Source: NPD

May 08: £5.82 May 09: £5.97

Sales Average Price

PropertiesRetail Sales Trends

Best ItemProgression June 2009

WolverineElectronic BattleClaw (Hasbro)Following the launch of X-Men movie, the Wolverine Battle Claw has shot up the charts from 875th place tonumber 27.

Summer

survival

Building sets continue to out-performthe market with new Lego items

driving growth, especially the Star WarsClone Wars, and the new Power Minersrange, which now accounts for sixper cent of the building sets market.

UK MAY 2009 (£ SALES - VALUE) UK MAY 2009 (UNIT SALES - VOLUME)

1 BEN 10 ALIEN FORCE 10CM FIGURES BANDAI

2 KIDIZOOM CAMERA VTECH

3 BEN 10 FIGURES 10CM ASSORTMENT BANDAI

4 STAR WARS CLONE WARS BASIC FIGURES 3.75" HASBRO

5 BEN 10 ULTIMATE OMNITRIX BANDAI

6 POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY FIGURES BANDAI

7 BEN 10 15CM ACTION FIGURE BANDAI

8 BAKUGAN STARTER PACK SPIN MASTER

9 CARS VEHICLE ASSORTMENT MATTEL

10 HOT WHEELS BASIC CAR ASSORTMENT MATTEL

UK YEAR TO DATE (UNIT SALES - VOLUME)





5 POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY FIGURES BANDAI

6 BAKUGAN BOOSTER PACK SPIN MASTER

7 STAR WARS CLONE WARS BASIC FIGURES 3.75” HASBRO

8 BEN 10 15CM ACTION FIGURES BANDAI

9 SPEED RACER DIECAST VEHICLE ASSORTMENT MATTEL

10 IN THE NIGHT GARDEN MINI PLUSH ASSORTMENT HASBRO

NPD Eurotoys is the Number 1information provider forMarket Research to the Toy Industry in Europe

Contact: NPD Eurotoys UK, Rosemount House, Rosemount AvenueWest Byfleet, Surrey, KT14 6LB. _ 01 932 355 580

UK YEAR TO DATE (£ SALES - VALUE)






6 GORMITI FIGURE FOILBAG ASSORTMENT FLAIR

7 PLAY DOH HASBRO

8 GOGOS III EXPLORER PACK ESDEVIUM GAMES

9 SPEED RACER DIECAST VEHICLE ASST MATTEL

10 LITTLEST PETSHOP COLLECTIBLE ASSORTMENT B HASBRO

1 KIDIZOOM CAMERA VTECH


3 SMART TRIKE PLUS GIRLS MOOKIE TOYS

4 BEN 10 ULTIMATE OMNITRIX BANDAI

5 BAKUGAN STARTER PACK SPIN MASTER

6 SMART TRIKE PLUS PRIM CLR MOOKIE TOYS





NOTES: All participating NPD retail data suppliers provide weekly data via EPOS systems. NPD figures are not projected to represent non-participating retailers but provide 100 percent of the sales from participating stores. EPoS sample includes the following retailers: Amazon, Argos, Asda, Boots, ELC, Firebox, Freemans, Grattan, Hamleys, HMV, HalfordsLittlewoods, Mailorderexpress, Modelzone, Mothercare, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Shop Direct, Tesco, Toymaster, The Entertainer and WHSmith. The approximate coverage is of 60%

www.toynewsmag.com 9NPD RESEARCH

Retail Sales Trends

MONTHSUB MARKETS

COMPUTER/ELECTRONICGAMES

TOYS & GAMES/PRE-SCHOOL/LEARNING AIDS

TOTAL (ALL)

YEAR ON YEAR DIFF %

£5,000,653.00 £5,130,918.00 £3,296,292.00 £2,918,446.00 £6,929,557.00 £16,496,388.00

£2,545,422.00 £1,474,787.00 £2,321,496.00 £4,802,763.00 £10,883,892.00 £10,278,195.00

£7,546,075.00 £6,605,705.00 £5,617,788.00 £7,721,209.00 £17,813,449.00 £26,774,583.00

76.21% 73.10% -7.76% -31.54% 1.50% 13.51%

JUN-08 JUL-08 AUG-08 SEP-08 OCT-08 NOV-08SPEND* (£) SPEND* (£) SPEND* (£) SPEND* (£) SPEND* (£) SPEND* (£)

MONTHLY SECTOR SPEND

MARKETINGSPEND ANALYSIS

10 ADVERTISING TRENDS

MONTHLY ADVERTISING SPEND (12M TO MAY ‘09)

COMPUTER GAMES / ELECTRONIC GAMES 61%

TOYS & GAMES / PRE-SCHOOL / LEARNING AIDS 39%

TOTAL (ALL) 100%

SECTOR SHARE

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and all related characters and elements are trademark of and © 2009 Cartoon Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.

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©dnafokramedarterastnemelednasretcarahcdet

. krowteNnootraC9002©

COMPUTER GAMES/ELECTRONIC GAMES

TOYS & GAMES/PS TOYS & LEARNING AIDS

£12,161,854.00 £1,630,930.00 £3,348,588.00 £4,643,842.00 £5,043,033.00 £3,503,935.00 £70,104,436.00

£3,308,914.00 £508,355.00 £1,292,312.00 £1,987,424.00 £2,931,543.00 £1,839,178.00 £44,174,281.00

£15,470,768.00 £2,139,285.00 £4,640,900.00 £6,631,266.00 £7,974,576.00 £5,343,113 £114,278,717.00

10.32% 0.50% -12.95% -9.92% -16.57% -30.57% 1.40%

DEC-08 JAN-09 FEB-09 MAR-09 APR-09 MAY-09 TOTALSPEND* (£) SPEND* (£) SPEND*(£) SPEND* (£) SPEND* (£) SPEND* (£) SPEND* (£)

www.toynewsmag.com 11ADVERTISING TRENDS

TOP 20 ADVERTISERS (JUNE ‘08 TO MAY ‘09)

COMPANIES PERCENTAGE OF CHANGEALL SPEND

NINTENDO 18.7% 24.1%MATTEL 9.1% -27.5%ACTIVISION 6.5% 132.7%UBI SOFT 5.4% 41.5%ELECTRONIC ARTS 4.5% -25.4%HASBRO 3.8% -15.7%CHARACTER OPTIONS 3.4% -26.8%THQ 3.1% 49.7%SONY 3.0% -3.3%MICROSOFT GAME STUDIOS 2.5% 1123.5%SEGA ENTERPRISES 1.8% -17.4%TOMY 1.6% -36.4%PLAYSKOOL 1.6% 10.9%VIVID IMAGINATIONS 1.6% -52.6%ROCKSTAR GAMES 1.5% -15.8%BANDAI 1.4% 16.0%CAPCOM 1.3% 224.8%FLAIR LEISURE PRODUCTS 1.3% -5.6%VTECH 1.2% 145.6%KONAMI 1.1% -17.9%

Billetts Media Monitoring is the fastest and most sophisticatedadvertising monitoring service in the UK that provides both

spend data and latest creative treatments.

To find out how BMM could benefit your business visit:www.ebiquity.com/uk/bmm

or email us at [email protected] (TOP 20) 74.1% 5.0%

TOTAL (ALL) 100% 0.3%

*Discounted

Our monthly marketing analysis page looks at TVand press advertising spend. The information fromBilletts (formerly Thomson Intermedia) accuratelymonitors actual discounted spend across themedia, as opposed to quoted ratecard figures andoffers comparisons with rival sectors as well…

(JUN ’08 - MAY ‘09 VSJUN ‘07 - MAY ‘08)

(Inc. some ‘07 Bratz spend)

JULY 2009

The top-performing children’s TV shows on terrestrial and multi-channel....

The ratings game12 AIRTIME STATISTICS

1 16:27 SHAUN THE SHEEP CBBC 158 12.1 1

2 08:49 BEN 10 GMTV1 148 11.9 10

3 16:35 HORRIBLE HISTORIES BBC1 143 11.3 4

4 09:10 THE BATMAN GMTV1 135 11.8 10

5 17:47 CHUGGINGTON CBEEBIES 130 8.2 21

6 08:15 SHAGGY & SCOOBY DOO GET A CLUE GMTV1 130 12.9 10

7 16:35 MI HIGH BBC1 129 10.3 2

8 15:56 UNCLE MAX BBC1 126 13.4 2

9 16:37 BLUE PETER BBC1 124.0 8.91 8

10 07:59 BEAT THE BOSS BBC2 121.0 9.69 2

TIME TITLE/DESCRIPTION CHANNEL OOOs % AIRINGS

SHOWS ACROSS ALL TIMES MAY 09

1 08:34 SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GMTV1 183 17.4 50

2 09:00 WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO? BBC2 175 12.4 14

3 17:29 GRANDPA IN MY POCKET CBEEBIES 174 9.4 39

4 10:01 BASIL'S SWAP SHOP CBBC 169 10.8 1

5 08:50 POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY GMTV1 166 13.2 64

6 17:46 CHUGGINGTON CBEEBIES 160 8.6 105

7 16:35 THE LEGEND OF DICK AND DOM BBC1 160 10.2 13

8 08:03 BACK TO THE BARNYARD GMTV1 157 18.5 20

9 08:19 BEN 10 GMTV1 157 14.7 40

10 16:20 SKUNK FU BBC1 157 10.5 1


SHOWS ACROSS ALL TIMES YTD MAY 09

1 16:31 GRIZZLY TALES FOR GRUESOME KIDS CITV 102 8 44

2 16:15 HORRID HENRY CITV 93 8 123

3 10:00 SPONGEBOB ATLANTIS SQUAREPANTIS NICKELODEON 92 6 1

4 09:25 TMNT FAST FORWAR CITV 86 7 1

5 09:54 POKEMON BATTLE DIMENSION GMTV2 82 7 1

6 10:31 PIRATES CITV 77 6 11

7 16:30 TOM AND JERRY TALES GMTV2 74 6 11

8 16:58 SONNY WITH A CHANCE DISNEY CH 73 6 26

9 10:00 JUNGLE RUN CITV 67 6 5

10 09:25 DINOSAUR KING GMTV2 67 7 20


COMMERCIAL MULTICHANNEL SHOWS (ALL TIMES) MAY 09

SOURCE: INFOSYS/BARB. NOTE: THESE CHARTS ARE BASED ON AVERAGE PERFORMANCE

1 07:42 DINOSAUR KING GMTV2 112 9.5 45

2 15:59 HORRID HENRY CITV 109 8.9 488

3 08:09 TOM AND JERRY TALES GMTV2 103 7.8 45

4 16:28 HANNAH MONTANA SING-A-LONG DISNEY CH 102 7.1 5

5 16:31 GRIZZLY TALES FOR GRUESOME KIDS CITV 100 7.8 94

6 07:42 POKEMON BATTLE DIMENSION GMTV2 98 9.7 70

7 16:28 FOUR EYES! CITV 95 7 102

8 16:58 THE WORST WITCH CITV 94 5 1

9 16:29 MY GOLDFISH IS EVIL CITV 91 7 71

10 17:31 WOLVES WITCHES AND GIANTS CITV 87 4.7 1


COMMERCIAL MULTICHANNEL SHOWS (ALL TIMES) YTD MAY 09

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The Trade Show for K ids ' F irst Years

17 – 20. SEPTEMBER 2009

103x295-GB-ToysNews 1 05.05.09 17:24

JULY 2009

V.SMILE MOTION is a motion-activatededucational video gaming system designed forthree to seven year-olds. The movementdetecting wireless controller encourages pre-schoolers to get up and be active as they learnand have fun.

Eleven software titles will launch inautumn/winter, including Monsters vs Aliens, Upand Disney Fairies, joining the seven titles thatare already available.

TVA big TV-advertising campaign ran from March-April over the key Easter holiday period togenerate awareness. Two adverts targetedhousewives with children and childrenindividually on channels including ITV1, Fiveand multichannel. The campaign achieved 281HW+Ch TVRs and 348 TVRs. In the secondhalf of the year V.Smile Motion will again be TVpromoted with 400 TVRs targeting housewiveswith children.

PrintFull page advertorials ran in top circulatingwomen’s weeklies OK and Hello. An advertorialformat was chosen to educate, engage andprovide extra messaging for mum, and was alsohosted on OK online, with advertising MPU’sand banners on Hello online.

PRA press launch generated coverage including theDaily Telegraph, The Times, BBC Radio 2 ChrisEvans show and BBC Online.

Suzanne Shaw became the V.Smile Motioncelebrity mum who fully endorsed and supportedthe active learning system - her four year-old sonis a huge fan so Shaw was able to talk fromexperience on the learning and fun elements.Suzanne was interviewed by raisingkids.co.uk,babyexpert.com and Love It! magazine.

VTech also worked with raisingkids.co.uk tofind out about the play patterns of children today

and the hopes and wishes of parents. Shaw andAnjula Mutanda (a leading psychologist) talkedabout the survey and V.Smile Motion to BBCand commercial radio stations across the UK –reaching nearly 750,000 listeners on 15 radiostations including Christian O’Connell’sAbsolute Breakfast show.

To reach parents with kids directly, VTech isalso working in partnership with Tumble Tots (aphysical play programme for children) withactivities including a double page competition inTumble Talk magazine, an email sent out to over52,000 Tumble Tots members and taking theproduct itself to regional Gymbob classes acrossthe country. The PR campaign had a totalcirculation of nearly 30 million and achieved41 pieces of coverage.

WebTo further spread themessage, VTech workedwith GMTV online,which reaches over6.6 million adults,with a full pageadvertorial along withadvertising directingusers to the VTechwebsitewww.vtechuk.com,which includes a V.SmileMotion video demo.

POSBoth a free standing unit, featuring four learninggames for consumers to play, and shelf displayunit, featuring a video demo, will be available tosupport V.Smile Motion in-store.

The recently launched V.Smile Motion Active LearningSystem is VTech’s biggest product launch since V.Smileand is accordingly backed with a major marketingcampaign including TV, print, online and PR…

V.Smile MotionVTech

Suzanne Shawbecame the

V.Smile Motion celebritymum who fully endorsedand supportedthe activelearning system

www.toynewsmag.com 15CAMPAIGN OF THE MONTH

[email protected] Hotline 01869 363800

Our New Range for Autumn 2009

The Simpsons Family : 240 piecesTHE SIMPSONS™ ©2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

High School Musical 3 : 96 pieces© Disney

Hello Kitty : 240 pieces© 1976, 2009 SANRIO CO., LTD.

Hannah Montana : 96 pieces© Disney

Ben 10 : 96 piecesTM & © Cartoon Network. (s 09) Visit CartoonNetworkEurope.com

Spongebob Squarepants : 240 pieces© 2008 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Pokemon : 60 pieces4 to collect!

The World on v-stand : 540 pieces

Historical World on v-stand : 540 pieces

15432 TN Puzzleball full page.indd 1 10/6/09 16:55:53

Advanstar’s big showgamble pays offLicensing International’s switch to Las Vegas and the Mandalay Bayis given the thumbs up by the UK trade...

The UK’s only dedicated monthly licensing coverage

News • Media • Opinion

JULY 2009

IF I WORKED for Advanstar, I’d be finding it seriouslydifficult right now not to shout that most childish ofretorts ‘I told you so’ to the licensing trade.

Licensing International – and its move to Las Vegas –was a success. So much so, I think it even tookAdvanstar a little bit by surprise about how quickly theindustry adapted to both the new city and the MandalayBay. Every single company and person I’ve asked fortheir views on the event – both on and off the record –have come back with positives. Even those who didn’twant to like it, had to admit (albeit grudgingly in somecases) that the show was well organised, well attendedand much easier to manage from a logistical point ofview for exhibitors.

And everything being under one roof was a delight.Of course, there were things which will need ironing

out for 2010. The signing and stand numbering systemwere confusing. Those companies who had meetingrooms on the upper levels were simply too far away, aswas the press office which meant it lacked that buzzy,

busy atmosphere which is present at other events likeBLE and Toy Fair.

I also hope that those firms which chose to basethemselves in THE Hotel will consider taking apresence on the main showfloor next year. Equally, whilethe Executive Deal Making Suites served a purpose –and were perhaps an easy option for those initiallyunsure if Vegas would work – it seemed a shame thatsome of the biggest brands in the industry wereeffectively hidden away.

Las Vegas is many things. Glitzy? Yes. Trashy?Absolutely. Seedy? Depends where you went. But it’salso now the home of Licensing International. You maynot like the place, but you can’t deny that as aconference destination it’s pretty near perfect.

Advanstar has proved that it works for the licensingindustry. It was brave enough to stick to its decision andclever enough to deliver an expo which struck just theright chord in a difficult climate. Trade events have tochange with the times and this is exactly what LicensingInternational has done.

Samantha Loveday [email protected]

COMMENTA NEW BEGINNING

Advanstar succeeded indelivering an expo which

struck just the right chordin a difficult climate...

18

CHAPMAN Entertainment hasrevealed that it outperformedits sales targets in the firstquarter – and is expectingthese positive results tocontinue throughout the year.

The firm’s first property, Fifi andthe Flowertots, has shown growth inapparel, music and publishing duringQ1. The character also maintainsthe position of the number onepre-school girls’ licence in theUK (Source: NPD, May (pre-school plush, puzzles YTD)).

Meanwhile, in Europe, the character isshowing first quarter growth of 45 per centover all categories, with the rest of the worldnow accounting for 20 per cent of total sales.In addition, Roary the Racing Car is showing15 per cent first quarter growth over licenseeforecasts in the UK, with a strongperformance in all categories. The brand isnow the number two pre-school boys’property in the UK (Source: NPD, May (pre-school plush, puzzles YTD)).

In Europe, Chapman is reporting 56 per

cent growth for Roary, andthroughout the world a 36 per centgrowth for the quarter. Highlights ofthis include a 44 per cent uplift for

publishing and 21 per centfor apparel.

“We are pleased toreport that, despite the

difficultretailclimate andclosure ofWoolworths

in the UK,Chapman Entertainment has had a profitablepost-Christmas period, exceeding forecasts inQ1 this year for Fifi and Roary,” said AndrewHaydon, commercial and finance director atthe company.

“We continue to invest heavily in ourproperties, focusing our attention on solid anddeep marketing, retail support and ensuringwe are offering the right ranges at the rightprices. “We are expecting these positiveresults to continue throughout 2009.”Chapman Entertainment: 0870 403 0556

MEGA BRANDS is to produce a line ofconstruction toys based on Thomas & Friendshaving struck a new dealwith Hit Entertainment.

The range is due tolaunch worldwide inspring 2010, markingthe brand’s 65thanniversary. It willinclude newconstruction toy setsbased on thecharacters anddestinations from theIsland of Sodor world.

“We are thrilled towork with a world class toypartner like Mega Brands tocreate all-new Thomas & Friendsconstruction sets,” commented GaryKrakower, senior VP, US licensing and live

events at Hit Entertainment. “Across theglobe, children will enjoy imagining and

building with Mega Bloksand Thomas & Friends,

building newdestinations andrecreating excitingrailroad adventures, as

children have withThomas for nearly 65years.”

Vic Bertrand, chiefinnovation officer atMega Brands, added:

“Mega Bloks are theworld’s number one pre-

school construction brandand it’s a natural fit to align

with the world’s number one pre-school brand for boys.”

Hit: 020 7554 2500

Chapman’s Fifi andRoary soar in Q1by Samantha Loveday

Mega new deal for Hit’s Thomas

LICENSINGNEWS

Sales targets smashed as character duo continue worldwide growth…

JULY 2009

www.licensing.biz 19

TIMMY TIME IS RATINGSSUCCESS ON CBEEBIESAardman Rights’ Timmy Time hasbeen watched by 4.8 millionindividuals since its debut onCbeebies in April, according tofigures from BARB. The show airsthree times a day, Monday to Friday,and has achieved above averageshare of carers with children 0-3 and4-6 year-olds in all three time slots.The strong start in the UK marks thebeginning of the international rollout of Timmy Time, with a raft ofmajor broadcast and licensing dealsalready in place. In terms of the toysector, Golden Bear is on board forwooden toys in the UK, while JakksPacific is master toy partner for theUS and Canada. Vivid is the mastertoy licensee in the UK. In addition,Egmont and Titan are on board inthe publishing sector.Aardman: 0117 984 8900

MATTEL’S BATTLE PLANThe new Hot Wheels Battle Force 5animated series will be supported bya raft of licensees, Mattel hasrevealed. As well as a toy line, theseries - which is due to begin airinginternationally in the autumn - will bebacked with a video game byActivision, plus products fromCreative Designs International,Freeze, AME, Handcraft, ACI, Del Ray,Random House and Firebrand Media.Mattel: 01628 500000

MORE SIGN FOR WAYBULOORDF Kids has added further licenseesto the Waybuloo programme. DanJam Toys, Blues Clothing, TrademarkCollections, Worlds Apart, GoldenBear and Brand International have allsigned up.RDF Kids: 020 7013 4400

RAINBOW STICKS WITHPANINI FOR HUNTIKRainbow SpA has sealed a multi-territory sticker album deal withPanini for Huntik. The deal coversthe UK, Germany, France, Spain andPortugal. Panini already distributesHuntik sticker albums in Italy.Rainbow SpA: +39(0) 71 7506 7500

IN BRIEF

Transformers and GI Joe lead the way for Hasbro

WITH LICENSING Internationalover for another year, all eyes are nowon the Advanstar team in London –with preparations for Brand LicensingEurope significantly stepping up agear over the past few weeks.

Registration is now open for theevent – which is being held onSeptember 30th and October 1st atOlympia’s Grand Hall in London.There are already around 120exhibitors on the floor plan,including 20th Century Fox, 4Kids,Aardman, BBC Worldwide,Beanstalk Europe, Cartoon Network,Chapman Entertainment, Chorion,Classic Media, Giochi Preziosi, HitEntertainment and Warner Bros.

One of the major new features, theInteractive Game Zone, will beaiming to replicate the success of theInteractive Showcase from the LasVegas expo. Participants in the zonecan book a demonstration area forthe duration of the show, while also

having access to a main centralmeeting area.

“In past years, video gamespublishers have attended as licenseeson the hunt for IPs to licence fromour film, TV, entertainment andsports exhibitors,” explained eventdirector Jessica Blue. “But,increasingly, publishers anddevelopers are recognising thelicensing potential of their own IPsand are becoming licensors in theirown right.”

Other new product showcases willinclude the Toy Store, Licensed

Lifestyle and Salon, the Retail BuyersCentre has been added, while theScreening Suite, Licensing Academyand Advice Centre are all returning.■ Meanwhile, Advanstar will belaunching Brand Licensing Central &Eastern Europe next year in directresponse to demand from thelicensing industry. The show will takeplace at the VAM Design Centre inBudapest. Hungary on March 8thand 9th. It will launch as a turnkeyevent to keep entry costs low forexhibitors.www.brandlicensingeurope.com

BLE team ramping up for 09 show

THE COMBINED licensingprogrammes supporting the eagerlyawaited Transformers: Revengeof the Fallen and GI Joe: TheRise of Cobra have surpassedHasbro’s previous licensingmilestones, the firm hasrevealed.

These include the number of dealssigned, variety of products spanningmajor licensing categories and

worldwide retaildistribution.

Indeed, thereare over 350

licensees on board forthe hotly tipped duo.

“Two back-to-backreleases of live action films

based on Hasbro’s powerhouseboys action brands has created theperfect global storm from a licensingperspective,” said Bryony Bouyer,senior VP of licensing, the Americas,

at Hasbro. “The combination of thesetime-tested, proven brands supportedby major theatrical premieres presentsa rare opportunity for licensees toconfidently drive new and innovativeproducts into the worldwide market.”

As well as toys, the Transformersand GI Joe licensing programmes willinclude apparel, accessories, footwear,video games, electronics, publishing,food, social expression and sportinggoods among others.Hasbro: 020 8569 1234

by Samantha Loveday

by Samantha Loveday

LICENSINGNEWS

All eyes turn to Olympia as Advanstar moves up a gear in planning for Euro event...

Company readies for the biggest blockbuster summer in its licensing history...

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TV SUPPORT!SEPT, OCT, NOV

“Footfall seemed to be as strongas last year, the same UK retailerswere all in attendance save oneand the general atmosphere wasvery upbeat. Walk up traffic wasespecially brisk and the usualpercentage as bizarre as ever.We've already signed up fornext year.”Julian Day, Ludorum

“My overall impression is apositive one. Las Vegas is the kingof convention centres and it’s adefinite improvement on NewYork. Everyone I spoke to agreedthat the change of location hadvery much revitalised things and Iwill definitely be returning, andmay be taking a stand, next year.”Mark Hurry, Director of Legal &Commercial Affairs, PPC

“A good show, wellorganised and easyto manage with afew teethingproblems thatshould be resolved

next time. The positives outweigha show in NY. We have booked thesame sized stand for next time.”Andrew Carley, Head of Licensing &Merchandising, E1

“The Mandalay Baylocation, wheremost peoplestayed/ate/drank,meant that theopportunity for

random meetings was higher thannormal, which encouraged thenetworking process. I think theshow delivered as much as itcould in the circumstances.”David Scott, Managing Director,Rainbow Productions

“The show was a real success forRocket. We found that one of thekey benefits of the Mandalay Baylocation was the convenience andease of doing business, as all theon-site facilities were so accessible.Overall, a very productive showand one that Rocket will definitelyattend next year.”Rob Wijeratna, Joint ManagingDirector, Rocket Licensing

“All in all I enjoyedthe show. I feltpeople werefocused and thereto do business.”Ian Downes,

MD, Start Licensing

“We managed to pack in scores ofmeetings with a high calibre ofretailers and licensees, the venuewas easy to get to from the hoteland from a personal perspective,it was great for me to spend timewith the new team.”Tom Keefer, SVP Global Licensing,BBC Worldwide

“From a UK stance,attendance wasvery good and Iwas particularlypleased to see thegreat support that

UK retailers gave to the show. Onthe downside, I would say thatVegas is not the cheaper optionthat we were perhaps led tobelieve it would be. That said, I willcertainly be going back next year.”Clare Piggott, VP ConsumerProducts, Nickelodeon UK

“Overallimpression - topclass event. Rollon June 8th 2010.”Rob Hughes,Managing Director,

Wesco

“We love the venue - MandalayBay was perfect and we loved thefact that all was under one roof.”Morten Geschwendtner, Chairman,Kidz Entertainment

“The expo wasreally busy for theFME team, we hadfull diaries for theduration of theshow although

footfall in the hall seemed a littlequiet and we did not have asmany walk ups as we expected.”Lucy McCredie, Interim VP BrandLicensing & Retail, FremantleMediaEnterprises

“A good trade fair, although Imissed the social scene of NewYork. We were very busy withsome great retail meetings.”Claire Atherton, Mattel

“We'll certainly beback and now thateveryone’s familiarwith the venue andLas Vegas itself, Ivery much hope

there will be more excitement andpositivity coming into the show.”Vickie O'Malley, MD, CPLG

www.toynewsmag.com 21EVENT REVIEW LICENSING INTERNATIONAL

After all the talking, Licensing International finally made its debut in Vegas last month. And did it live up to itsbilling as the city of conventions? And, more importantly, was the industry impressed? Samantha Lovedayasked a selection of licensors, agents and licensees for their views. To read more, head to www.licensing.biz…

Viva Las Vegas

JULY 2009

22 ROUND TABLE TOYMASTER

SO, WHAT is it that Mattel getsout of the Toymaster show? Howimportant is the independent sectorto you?David Allmark: “At the end of theday, this channel of distribution isextremely important post-Woolies. Itdoesn’t need us to reiterate that theconsumer votes with their feet, soconsequently, the channel now hasdifferent needs in terms of how theywant the proposition to be tailored to them.

“Coming out of last year, we wereall having to work in a differentenvironment as to what was availablein the way of credit to any retailer.We all had to have a lot more insightinto how the business performs andbe confident about the relationshipgoing forward.

“The Toymaster show gives us afantastic insight into the picture as awhole. By having that relationshipand that insight, it allows us to planwith far more confidence.”

Dominic Geddes: “You can planbetter with the indies because youcan plan for 52 weeks of business.”

And what about Toymaster, Roger?What sort of position are you inpost-Woolies? I hear business ispicking for a lot of indies now?”Roger Dyson: “In the first instance Iwasn’t sure about the impact ofWoolies’ closure. I’ve always been ofthe view that the supermarkets werealmost working together to takeWoolies out of the market. Butwhether that business would gravitateto us or elsewhere is another question.

“The first thing the indies haveover everyone else is location. Thevast majority of our members are in atown that had a Woolies and manywere right next door to one.”

But how do they make the most ofthis opportunity which has fallen intheir lap?

RD: “What they have to ensure theydo is retain those customers. Themessage is ‘you’re in the bestlocation’, and secondly you need tolook at what Woolies were good atand follow that. We focus on pocket

money toys and are looking moreclosely at lower-priced toys. We’llhave a more offer-led fourth quarter.More heavily promoted, which issomething we didn’t do so muchwhen Woolworths were aroundbecause they were better at it.

“Woolies customers saw Woolies asa destination store so they didn’tcome into us in many instances. So

they’re seeing a lot of products thatwere not in Woolies and a lot of smallto medium-sized suppliers aresuddenly confronting consumers withproducts they’ve not seen before.”

And how has this changingsituation affected suppliers?DA: “The larger manufacturers arestill spending advertising money. Butthere has been some reassessmentwith regards to how those funds arespent. The first six months has seenan erosion in TVRs.

“We’ve spent less than we did lastyear on TV, but we have discovered

different ways of marketing ourbrands. The industry has changedand I think that next year we willhave a much more robust businessbecause of that.

“Many of us feel very optimisticabout the second half of the year andwe’ve got evidence with theperformance of the indies that thereare great opportunities to be had.”

Were you able to anticipate muchof what has happened in any way?DA: “We had a lot of visibility as towhat was going on and I’m not sayingthat we got everything right, but wecould foresee a fair amount ofdisruption. But for us, it would havebeen nice to do more business in thefirst half. But we are where wewanted to be.

“The year is panning out in amacro sense pretty much as we felt itwould. The winners list is slightlydifferent, but at the end of the day itdoes lay some good foundations.”

Prior to squeezing themselves into their Viking outfits for the evening’s entertainment, Ronnie Dungan sat downto talk with Mattel’s UK boss David Allmark, sales director Dominic Geddes and Toymaster MD Roger Dyson aboutthe firm’s ongoing commitment to the independent sector and the current state of the market…

Major commitment

The Toymaster show gives us afantastic insight into the picture as a

whole. By having that relationship and that insight, it allows us to plan with farmore confidence.

David Allmark, UK MD, Mattel

JULY 2009

Allmark, Dyson and Geddes:Independent souls

www.toynewsmag.com 23TOYMASTER ROUND TABLE

DG: “We’ve always had a multi-channel strategy. We’ve not justsuddenly become indie supporters.We have more field sales staff thanany other supplier.”

And where does that leave Mattelin terms of its own projections forthe year?DA: “I would say we’re pretty muchin line with our expectations for2010. For the next year with theproduct acquisitions we have linedup, we are predicting big growth inthe Mattel business. We’re lookingvery strong as an organisation.

“Core brands are the focus for thisyear. We’ve had extremely goodgrowth on Fisher Price, Hot Wheelsand Barbie.”

Which, ultimately, is good news forall toy retailers, isn’t it?RD: “When Mattel has a good timeof it, we have a good time withMattel. They are undoubtedly our

number one supplier and our besttrading partner.

“The only spanner in the workswas not to do with Mattel, it was farmore to do with Euler Hermes, whoseinfluence was dramatic. We had a£2.7m credit limit with Mattel

through Euler and when they pull therug, it has an effect.

“We have had a stuttering startand we are all learning to live in avery different world. What we haveall learned from recent events is thatcredit insurance does not work if you will only insure when there isn’tany risk.

“I think if you spoke to everyone atToymaster and Mattel, they wouldagree that the problems are nowfirmly behind us. We both understoodthe other party’s point of view whenwe talked.”

And how has this show been forMattel so far?DG: “We have written more ordershere than we did over the last fewyears of the show.”

RD: “It also needs to be said thatas we sit here in May, the market is14 per cent down and we’re around20 per cent up.

“Our members, on our advice,started the year very cautiously.Although Woolies had closed itdidn’t mean we were piling in withinventory. We as a group weren’tprepared and re-stocked on January1st to pick up the Woolies business.”

DA: “Easter happened in a bigway. And proved the industry doesdo well despite economic challenges.”

So, there’s still a lot to play for?RD: “A lot of it is down to the indiesto grasp. The biggest positive goingforward is the recession is not goingto last forever.

“There’s a lot less retail out therethan there was 12 months ago. I usedto think the toy business was just thetoy business but now we’re in theentertainment busness.

“The competition is fierce but thedifference will be the opportunities itpresents. This is a product-ledbusiness and no-one has the bestproducts all the time.”

We have had a stuttering start and we’reall learning to live in a very different

world. What we have all learned from recentevents is credit insurance does not work if you only insure when there’s no risk.

Roger Dyson, MD, Toymaster

JULY 2009

This year’s Harrogate showsaw retailers in an upbeat,product buying mood...

WITH THE experience from thefirst movie, are expectations higherfor this range?We have learnt a lot from the firstmovie and tried to drive innovationfurther with our movie two product.The last film opened up Transformersto a whole new market, whose firstexperience with the brand was sittingin an Odeon cinema back in 2007.

Our product development teamwas tasked with making our toys evenmore representative of their bigscreen counter parts.

What’s different about the newproduct to the first film range?With Revenge of the Fallen product,we have included Mech Alive in ourDeluxe, Voyager and Leader actionfigures. This means when you movethe action figure you’ll see, throughcut-outs in chest plates for example,cogs and other elements movingwithin. All in all we’re very pleasedwith how this has turned out, it reallyadds a sense of realism to the figures.

As well as the return of our coreaction figure lines, we’ve taken afresh look at role-play and theyounger kids sector.

The Bumblebee Voice Mixerhelmet features three modes andallows you to speak ‘through’ theradio, like Bumblebee. It also featuresbattle phrases and sound effects.

Bumblebee’s Plasma Cannon role-play toy fits over the forearm and hastwo modes. In battle mode itrepresents Bumblebee’s fist, and bypulling a lever you hear metal soundeffects as if two robots are in battle.

It can then be transformed into aplasma cannon, featuring lights andsounds. When you pull the lever, youhear a blast and the cannon lights upand recoils. That’s just a couple oftoys. We have an expansive rangeavailable from launch with moreproducts coming in autumn/winter.

And what others areas are youmoving the product into?Hasbro will also launch a new vehicleline under the Transformers bannercalled RPM’s. This stands for RobotPowered Machines – a range of non-transforming vehicles. This product isnot branded and is a new direction

and an attempt to re-establishourselves in the vehicle aisle.

The range includes single cars,double packs, track set, R/Cs and ayounger range called Battle Chargers.The trade response has been positiveand we’re looking forward tolaunching these in autumn/winter.

What marketing effort is behindthe line and where is it directed?The theatrical marketing plays a vitalpart. This began with undergroundposters and will continue to ramp upthrough the movie release andbeyond. We also have four TV adsrunning until Christmas, which alsokicked off in June, with our coreaction figure spot. Other featuredsectors are younger kids toys, role-playand Devastator, a 120ft Decepticon.

We have huge brand awareness,but what we’re now doing is trying todrive awareness past the keycharacters and further into the cast.

It’s no longer just aboutOptimus, Bumblebee,Megatron andStarcream. We wantkids to know six orseven names, socollector postersand characterimages featuringcharacternames

will be key. The

campaigncovers consumer

and collector print,online, TV, trade

shows, road showsand trade marketing.

A movie franchise normally lendsitself to a lot of cross-promotionalactivity, what’s happening in thisarea for Transformers?There is a number of partnersParamount has been workingwith. Each brings its ownmarketing efforts to add tothe movie and toy push.

General Motors will belaunching a new car calledthe Cruze. They own an officialBumblebee Camero which will go ona UK tour and one reader of TheSun will win a Cruze car.

Burger King will have a nationalcampaign with themed burgers. T-Mobile is offering a walk-on part inthe next movie when you buy anypay-as-you-go phone.

Walkers will offer a money-can’t-buy prize on 40 million packs.

The DVD plans later in the yearwill be in time for Christmas andallow all partners and licensees tore-ignite the brand.We’ll be working withParamount to pulltogether a strongretail opportunity,so watch this space.

Hasbro’s programme for its big summer movie licence, Transformers: Revengeof the Fallen is now underway, as the film hits cinemas across the country.Ronnie Dungan spoke to the firm’s UK marketing manager for boys, GrantGie, about its plans for the robot range…

Do the robot

We will beworking with

Paramount to pulltogether a strongretail opportunity.

JULY 2009

www.toynewsmag.com 25BRAND FOCUS TRANSFORMERS

26 SUPPLIER FOCUS LEAPFROG

CAN YOU bring us up to date withthis year’s big launches? What’sout? What’s coming?LeapFrog has some major newlaunches in learning toys and reading.

In the former, My Pal Scout andMy Pal Violet offer fun, memorableplay experiences for children aged 12months plus. The toys benefit froman internet connection allowingparents to customise content to makethe product personal from themoment the puppy greets the childby name, to the music that lulls thechild to sleep.

Scout appears on a range of role-play technology products includingthe Text & Learn Phone, variouslydescribed as a PDA for children.

Tag Jr is the big launch in reading,bringing the same technology andinteractive experience of Tag, but toa younger audience of two to fouryear-olds. It features a reader shapedfor a palm grasp for the youngerchild. It also connects to the internetwhere you can personalise theproduct and unlock activities.

We are also delivering a new line-up of licensed games and books. StarWars: Clone Wars & Ben 10, DisneyFairies, Up and Wolverine are amongstthe launches, meaning we now offerover 40 licensed titles.

How have you rated theperformance of your big lines? HasTag managed to mirror the successof LeapPad?Tag has made agreat start. It hasbeen one ofNPD’s top tennew properties

all year and is outperforming the firstyear LeapPad had. In a market thathas moved on considerably since2000, that represents a successfullaunch for us.

Is anything performing better thanyou expected? Not sure if this is totally unexpected,but Leapster2 is performingexceptionally well. NPD reports salesup by 90 per cent in value and theproduct is now the number oneeducational gaming hardware for pre-schoolers. The addition of an onlineexperience has been receivedextremely well by parents.

Is there additionalpressure on the UKand Europe, withLeapFrog beingsqueezed atretail in the US?The US had a record-breaking year in educationalgaming, and Tag in year onecomfortably outsold the final year ofLeapPad. The UK market isperforming well for us and we havethe benefit of leading products inreading and educational gaming. Theintroduction of connected productsgives us a chance to engage withconsumers in a way we’ve never beenable to and is unique in the industry.Other key markets in Europe, such asFrance, are seeing growth with Tag,but are not yet connected like theUK is, so the opportunity for growthover the next few years remains high.

How have marketing budgets heldup in the current climate?Like most companies we are closelytracking sales and marketinginvestment but not holding back, ourimpressive investment in newproducts this year and next will driveus further forward. The connectedstrategy gives us a powerfulmarketing tool to drive sales of newproducts to key retailers.

Is this the time whenLeapFrog needs to spend big to re-establish itself with its new lines?We are spending money wisely thisyear. We have a great product rangeand are ensuring this is wellpresented so consumers can buy intoLeapFrog and be confident in theadvantage our products deliver.

How have UK retailers reacted tothe ranges? Extremely well. Listings anddistribution are up, with increases inthe number of Tag books andLeapster games listed as retailersrealise the appeal of the choiceoffered by larger libraries. Researchshows platforms need a large libraryto do well in this tough environmentand those with only a small portfoliooften don’t do well as consumersdon’t have confidence in a narrowrange. The company has already wonsome significant new business, mostnotably a return to The Entertainer.

How has the pre-school marketstood up to recessionary pressures?The pre-school market is, like mostcategories within the industry, downyear-to-date, but Woolworths’ demiseprobably hit the category harder thanany other. This means there is anopportunity up for grabs amongretailers and there is evidence thatsome retailers are beginning to takethis. Manufacturers within the pre-school category, LeapFrog included,have seen staple lines drop out oftheir ranges and new lines that havecome in will take a little time tobecome fully established.

JULY 2009

The firm has wonsome significant

new business, mostnotably a returnto The Entertainer

Frog’s marchToyNews caught up with LeapFrog marketing director David Lubliner to talk aboutthe firm’s progress with its raft of new lines, including big hopes Tag and Tag Jr…

Top TrumpsA mini version of the

classic card game

Take 5A game of matching

and collecting

Spot thedifferenceCan you seethe 5 changes?

PACKSACTIVITY

INSIDE EACH PACK YOU’LL FIND:

For more information on all the brands available from Winning Movescall 020 7262 9696 or email [email protected]

PairsThe game of memory

Observation QuizCan you find the answers?

INCLUDES BONUS ACTIVITY CARD AND PENCIL

WE ARE NOW TAKING ORDERS FOR THESE GAMES

Answer this question correctly and send your answer, name, company name & address [email protected] by July 31st 2009

Q) Which Top Trumps Activity Pack features Lightning McQueen?

a) Peppa Pig b) Cars c) Dora The Explorer

IF YOU CAN ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION CORRECTLYYOU STAND A CHANCE OF WINNING THESE PACKS.

ACTIVITY PACKSYou'll find 5 great games and activities in each new Top Trumps ActivityPack! Designed for little ones from 3 to 6 years of age, this ideal travelcompanion is packed with fun features to help develop memory,observation, reading and counting with all your favourite characters!

Ages 3+ For 2-4 players

WE WILL BE GIVING AWAY:1 x CDU Dora the Explorer Activity Pack1 x CDU Mr Men Activity Pack1 x CDU Pixar Cars Activity Packs

win

In the Night Garden TM & © Ragdoll WW Ltd 2007

Also available

Draw with water!Reveal magical hiddenpictures too!

For further information, please call Sales Deptartment on 020 8722 7300Tomy UK Ltd., St Nicholas House, St Nicholas Road, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1EH.

www.tomy.co.uk

* Source: NPD Market Data Report (March 09).**2009 total Aquadraw TVR’s.

All the best children’s toys feature a creative element. From basic modelling clays and bricks up to the moresophisticated electronic items, they all carry extra weight with parents, making them an important part of any toy retailrange. ToyNews takes a look at some of the latest products designed to stimulate young imaginations…

All in the imagination

Modellino is a new modellingcompound. Air drying and soft, it is easyto mould and enables children to createmodels that can then be played with.

The World of Cars Modellinocollection provides the modellingcompound, car chassis, press, mouldsand spatulas to make Cars characters,including Lightning McQueen, Sally,King and Tow Mater, and then drivethem around.

Each set comes with paints, stickersand accessories. The range features sixproducts from £2.99 to £19.99, from ThePiston Cup Race Track Set to individualMould & Drive Cars Characters.

The Disney Princess range includeseverything necessary to create jewellery,such as moulds and presses to createstones that can be coloured, glitteredand pierced. The sets also come withconnector devices and threads for twistand fix play. A Photo Gallery Set enablesgirls to create and decorate photoframes. The range also features sixproducts from £2.99 to £19.99.

Also available is Halsall’s CreativePlay range providing paint palettes,glitter glue pens, dough, sponge andfinger painting sets, felt creations,sticker collections, art cases, cosmeticface paints and more.

HALSALL 01253 775533

Autumn/winter is crucial for Play-Doh.The partnership with Nickelodeoncontinues with sponsorship ofafternoons on Nick Jr into August, anda TVR campaign for the rest of the year.

Also launching is a range of newproducts including a new food-themedplay-set, a range designed for youngerPlay-Doh fans. New additions are alsomade to Play-Doh’s licensed range.

With the new Burger Builder play-set, children mould pretend burgers,onions, lettuce, pickles and more, andthen use the special ‘twist-a-chip’ toolto crank out pretend potato chips.

The Fun-Doh-Mentals range ofanimal-themed tool-sets is designed

for young users. The four sets includeJungle Squeezers, helping children tosqueeze and develop two-handedskills; Tropical Cutters, helping childrento cut and strengthen hand muscles;Arctic Stampers, helping to developpre-writing skills; and Ocean Rollers,teaching hand-eye coordination.

New in Play-Doh’s licensed range isthe Star Wars R2-D2 play-set withattachments and tools for makingdifferent characters and shapes, whichall store away inside R2-D2.

And finally, Play-Doh is launching arange of kids’ Favourite Brands mini-play-sets. The first two are Mr & MrsPotato Head and Hungry Hippos.

HASBRO 0208 569 1234

www.toynewsmag.com 31SECTOR GUIDE CREATIVE PLAY

JULY 2009

Mega has new additions to its licensedrange, along with some innovativeplay-sets and new products in its girlsand boys MagNext ranges.

The flagship line for Christmas is the3-in-1 Play n Go Table. The all-in-one setincludes 20 blocks, building plates,decorated wall-plates, a car and afigure. Easy to fold features mean it isgood for storage and portability.

The Scoop & Dump Truck is a new,sturdy, freewheeling truck providingeasy loading and unloading and simplebuilding practice. Tots can role-playwith the construction worker figurine,while parents can enjoy the scoopingaction at tidying up time.

Play n Go Rescue Truck and Play nGo Recycle Truck are easy to usevehicles for teaching tots to press,push and pull, improving hand-eye co-ordination skills. Each set comes with afigurine to encourage imaginative play.

Dave Martin, Mega Brand’s UKgeneral manager, said: “We are really

pleased with the innovation offered inthese new items. These combined withour new In The Night Garden range ofpre-school construction sets, plus theanticipation of our recentannouncement of the Thomas signingwith Hit willensurethat

retailers continue to have an excitingand appealing range of constructionproduct on offer.”

The MagNext range contains newelements with improved storagesolutions, after-playexperience, and newcolours andgraphics. Newsystemassortments

strengthen the collectability. Thisincludes System Tricks with a tricksbooklet. The System Tube, SystemDeluxe and System Ultimateassortments all come with an ideasbooklet featuring a range of buildideas, while the System UltimateVehicle features Jack a MagNext man,and hundreds of build possibilities.

Designed to support the strong salesof MagNext in the girls market is thenew MagNext Creations range. Offeringnew themes, play patterns andappropriate colours and graphics, therange includes the Core, Tube, Deluxeand Ultimate sets, introducing newparts for customised builds with girlybuild ideas including jewellery box,pictures frames and more.

MagNext’s iPark is a magneticamusement park and high-techconstruction set, boasting improvediCoaster design with new stunts, 20build options, a new light effectelevator and MP3 compatibility.

MEGA BRANDS 01844 350033

Great Gizmos’ range of creative playcraft and science kits offer fact findingfor inquisitive kids.

Power Lights and Power Circuitsutilise patented Tech-Card Technology.Children construct the home accessorykits out of pre-cut pieces of card,folding and attaching them to eachother with plastic rivets. Small motorsand circuits are then added to createroom accessories which teach theprinciples of simple electrical circuits.

Fairies have always proved apopular theme and new for 2009 aretwo kits that will bring fairies, craftand home décor together – My VeryOwn Fairy Memo Board and My VeryOwn Fairy Mobile.

The first fantasy-themed kitencourages girls to discover animaginative world by creating a fairymemo board embellished with ribbonand flowers. It comes with differentshaped memo cards to createreminders. Alternatively, the My VeryOwn Fairy Mobile kit comes witheverything needed to create a hangingmobile of petals, butterflies and fairyfriends and makes the perfectdecoration for the bedroom.

The Mini Magnetic Masterpieces kitcontains three 5cm x 7cm canvasseswith pre-printed designs that are readyto paint in any combination of colours.They can stick to a fridge door or othermetal surface for display.

Tomy is expanding its Aquadraw rangewith the addition of new licensedproperties, including In The NightGarden and Cars.

Aquadraw is a no mess creativedrawing toy that uses water in a pen,stamper or roller to draw on thecolourful mat provided.

Tomy is supporting the Aquadrawrange with a heavyweight national TVcampaign delivering over 800 TVRstargeting kids programming onterrestrial and satellite channels andan online campaign targetingparenting sites which will deliver overfour million page impressions.

In The Night Garden Aquadraw(£29.99) is a new large mat featuring thecharacters from the popular Cbeebiesseries. Kids can draw and make starshapes with the Makka Pakka shaped

pen and detachable stamper or drive theOg Pog roller around creating a path toreveal Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisyhidden on the mat.

The new Cars AquaDraw (£34.99)features popular Cars characters forinspiration. Kids can have fun drawingwith the Cars Aquadraw pen or createroad markings with the Aquadrawroller and watch Lightning McQueenrace along it.

Award-winning Rainbow Aquadraw(£24.99) continues to be popular fortoddlers while the Aquadraw Classic(£19.99) mat has been relaunched andnow features hidden pictures, whichchildren can reveal as they draw.Collection one and two licensedAquaDraw mini mats (£6.99) has also been introduced to encouragerepeat purchase.

TOMY 0208 722 7300

GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221

Style Six is a new collection thatcombines creativity with fashion. Thereare five sets and hero of the range isthe Silk Screener, with everythingrequired to silk screen clothing withgraphics provided or custom patterns.

Four further sets include otherdecorative techniques. This includesthe Airbrush designer which allowsyou to spray patterns and designcatwalk creations, individualisingclothing and accessories. Each kit alsohas refill packs.

Aqua Sand can be used to makeunderwater sculptures. No matter howlong it’s immersed in water, the sandalways comes out dry. There are three

sets to collect, with a new RainbowLight Gift set for autumn.

New for autumn, 3Deez Bindeezallow you to create 3D designs. Otheradditions include the Disney PrincessJewellery Pack, Disney Gift Boxes areavailable in Disney Princess, Cars andWinnie the Pooh.

Finally, Mixi Chix are fashion dollsthat join with a spray of water that canbe individually styled. The range alsoincludes refill and starter packsavailable in three differentthemes, and a FashionHouse that dries thecatwalk creationsunder a fan.

CHARACTER OPTIONS 0161 633 9800

Marbel’s new Fish Percussion Setshave been popular, while LadybirdPercussion continues to perform well.

The Plan Toys pre-school collectionalso contains several musicalinstruments, ranging from the SolidDrum and Oval Xylophone to the newMelody Xylophone.

Eitech is a range of metalconstruction kits which start withmore basic kits priced at £6-£7 withan age recommendation of six-plus.

The more intricate designs have olderage recommendations according tothe skill needed.

Within the range there is aselection of solar power sets withhelicopters, planes and windmills,and an R/C cross country jeep.

Each kit comes with its own tool kitand full instructions and all thecomponents are inter-connectableand can be assembled to any sizewith any of the ranges.

32 SECTOR GUIDE CREATIVE PLAY

JULY 2009

MARBEL 01208 873123

Wammy is the new creative brand in theFlair portfolio that allows girls to makewhatever they want using vibrant, multi-coloured, shaped pieces. Each softpliable piece can be flexed andconnected in many ways to createanything from small models of animalsto accessories like bags and hats andeven huge, themed scenes.

By joining the pieces together, girlscan design their own creations or usethe ideas provided with each pack. The100 or 200-piece Wammy Sets willprovide endless creative opportunitieswhile additional 18-piece themed setsare available.

Alternatively, Toobie Woobies is thenew way for girls to design and makewhatever they want from an everydaydrinking straw. Using the patentedmultifunctional Toobie Woobie gadget,girls can shape, bend and cut strawsinto any shape, link them together, andeven put secret messages inside.

The Disney creative play rangeincludes High School Musical, HannahMontana and Disney Princess. FromFairytale Tiaras for little princessesthrough to Friendship Bands for fans ofHSM and jewels for aspiring Hannah

Montana pop princesses,there’s a creative play-setto suit.

Finally, Plasticinegoes from strength tostrength in 2009 withmore new sets to behad. This year AnimalFun and WackyWheel Assortmentshave joined themany play-sets onoffer, while licensedcreative sets suchas My own Morphcontinue to bebest sellers.

Among the new Moon Sand themesthis autumn is Moon Sand Fairies,where kids can mould fairies withfluttering wings. There’s also CementCity with a truck and brick maker.

Moon Sand will be back on TV fromAugust with a 600+ TVR campaign.

Paperoni allows kids to build 2D and3D creations without heat, glue ormess by fixing Paperoni to adhesivetemplates.

Each set contains Paperoni pieces,templates, accessories and tweezerswhile the Studio set includes a cuttingand storing studio with 600+ pieces.Aimed at girls aged four-plus, Paperoniwill be supported by TV and printadvertising, PR and in-storeprogramme.

Bendaroos are flexible buildingsticks, which offer a combination ofmoulding and construction. They holdtheir shape and adhere to all surfacesbut lift away without mess. Featuringtwo pack sizes and six assortments,the Mega pack includes 400Bendaroos, a cut n join tool andtemplates. Supported with TV,sampling and PR.

Glo Doodle is a drawing toy with atransparent surface utilising light todraw and trace by using the stylus orfingers on the re-useable drawingsurface. Artwork is automaticallyilluminated and images won’t fadebefore it’s erased. It will be TV-advertised and supported by print PRand advertising.

SPIN MASTER 08708 508408

FLAIR 0208 643 0320

Kidizoom Pro offers children aged fiveand over a Multimedia Digital Camera.The camera is two mega pixels with 2xzoom and flash with storage for 500images. Features video, MP3 playerand games, with 256 MB of storage.Kidizoom Pro allows connection to TVor PC.

Kidilook enables kids to viewpictures on-the-go. Photos can be

transferred from Kidizoom or connectedto a PC. It stores up to 100 pictures.

The Media Desktop has 60 activitiessuitable for ages six and up, coveringKey Stage 1 and 2. The Media Desktopcan support an external MP3. Parentscan see how their child is getting onvia Planet VTech, which also allowschildren to download 15 additionalgames.

VTECH 01235 555545

Ravensburger’s Mandala-Designer craftrange offers a unique activitycombined with popular characters, at avariety of price points.

Children can draw around the plasticstencil wheel and rotate it to createintricate and symmetrical designs.Products include a frame for thestencil, paper, pen and pencils.

Character designs are DisneyPrincess with Snow White, Cinderellaand Ariel, plus Disney Fairies, focusing

on Tinkerbell. Also available is a rangeof generic designs including classic,zoo, ocean, horses and romantic. Thegeneric designs are available instandard and mini formats.

Mandala-Designer DrawingMachines come packaged in a laptopstyle portable plastic case and featurean automatically rotating drawingsurface, extra stencils, rubber stampsor glitter to help youngsters createmandala designs.

RAVENSBURGER 01869 363837


JULY 2009


JULY 2009

Each set in Meccano’s Build and Playrange makes between two and sixmodels from a selection of plasticcomponents including in one set, aninfrared control.

Encouraging manual dexterity andproblem solving, the Build and Playrange features flexible and rigid parts,creating more realistic models withsimple construction. Chunky nuts andbolts get children building cartoon-stylevehicles and characters by clipping,twisting and screwing the colourfulparts together. Once constructed eachmodel is robust, contains movable partsand a set of eyes.

This year has seen the introduction ofthree new sets to the range. The Build& Play Tractor is easy to build and canalso be made into a robot or a buggy. Itcomes with 63 parts and stickers tochange its eyes. The Helicopter includesfour different models to build – plane,buggy and car, as well as the ‘copter

itself – and creates a sturdy toy at theend of the construction. It retails around£16.99

Also new is the Bug Car, whichincludes a model set of 146 pieces thatcan be transformed into five differenttoys – car, robot, helicopter, convertibleand skidoo for around £22.99.

Other sets include the Infrared RacingCar, a first for the Build and Play range.The set contains parts to build threeracing cars operated by an infraredcontroller in the style of a steeringwheel, as well as realistic sound effectsand music for £34.99.

The six Mini Build sets are anintroduction to the range at £7.99 each.Miniature kits build two modelsincluding a helicopter, plane, digger andquad bike.

Other items include Side Car, ATV,Bus, Funky Cars, Fire Truck andExcavator sets, each builds a number ofmodels and retail at £12.99 – £29.99.

The main concept behind Hama is tostimulate creative play throughproducing colourful and imaginativedesigns with the bead system. Creativeitems are made by placing colouredbeads onto pegboards and ironing ona silicone-coated paper to seal thebeads once the design is complete.

Designs can be made by using ideasprovided in the sets or can be a wholenew creation using imagination.

The range offers numerous beadkits from individual bags of beads,pegboards, to small, medium and largegift sets for both boys and girls.

New this year are the Disney Carsgift boxes. With the characters in towkids can re-create Disney personalities.

Other Disney themed sets areDisney Princesses, Winnie The Pooh

Mickey Mouse and friends and Ladyand The Tramp.

Multiple creations can be made withthe three different sized beads (mini,midi and maxi) and pegboards. It isaccessible to children aged three toten. Midi Beads (5mm) are the mostpopular in the range and Mini Beads(2.5mm) are for age ten and over. Maxibeads (10mm) are suitable for agethree onwards.

New in 2009 is the Hama Press &Play system, which does not require aniron to make designs permanent.Beads are placed on the pegboardusing a press pen. The pegboards havethicker pegs so beads can remainintact. The range consists of four setsincluding Pets, Farm Animals, Safariand Ponies.

DKL 01604 678780

MECCANO 01844 278888

Glow Creations Draw and Glow Projectoris a projector with 12 picture caps, eachwith a drawing to copy.

Users project the drawing, trace andcolour, then add glow in the darkhighlights. It includes a bonus projectortorch to give glow stickers a boost.

Glow Superstars includes 500+ starsand shapes. Glow Solar System lets you

construct a planet mobile andaccessorise with stars.

Zipbin opens up into a playmat andzips back into a storage box. Availablein three sizes and a variety of themes.

The R/C Rocket comes with launchpad, remote launcher and book of spaceinformation. It uses a chemicalcombination as fuel.

BRAINSTORM 01200 445113

Alligator Books specialises in children’sbooks and creative play ranges withlicensed products making up 60 percent of its portfolio.

It features evergreen brands likeThomas the Tank Engine, Ben 10,Peppa Pig, Spongebob Squarepants,Hannah Montana, Dora the Explorer,Disney Princesses, Ice Age 3, MarvelHeroes and many more.

The range includes sticker pads,colouring sets, carry packs, velvet

colouring sets, sticker cases, poster artsets, secret messages sets, 3Dstickers, sticker boxes and magnets.

The expansion of the firm led to itsacquisition by International Greetingsin April 2006. In 2007, it purchasedPinwheel out of administration and isnow reprinting the back catalogue of400 titles under its Cupcake imprint.

More recently, Alligator has beendiversifying its portfolio with licensedproducts aimed at an adult audience.

ALLIGATOR BOOKS 020 8371 6622

Harumika is the new arts and craftsconcept from Bandai, allowing girls todesign a bespoke collection toshowcase to their friends. The uniqueand adaptable concept enables buddingdesigners to ditch the scissors, threadand sewing machine, as all they willneed is strips of fabric and imagination.

The medium-sized starter setincludes two mannequins and a varietyof fabrics and accessories. Stickersheets of buttons, pockets, flowers andribbons are all included to enable girlsto immediately customise andaccessorise their designs.

Its reusable design allows you toevolve your design as many times asyou like. A unique web interaction alsoallows you to upload your collection forvirtual fashion shows atwww.harumika.eu. Prices for starter setsbegin at £19.99.

BANDAI 01489 790944


JULY 2009

Yummy Dough was launched inGermany just over a year ago and tooka 25 per cent share of the modellingclay market in its first year.

As well as an ideas leaflet,measuring device and modelling tool,each kit includes four 113g sachets ofdough mix in red, blue, green andyellow. Simply add water and mix forsmooth modelling dough that can bebaked and eaten.

The edible dough feels just likeregular modelling clay and is easilyshaped and moulded. With a cookie

mixture taste, Yummy Dough combineschildren's favourite things to do in aunique way and includes creating,cooking, giving and eating.

Will Sharman, head of sales for thecompany said: ”We are absolutelydelighted at securing Yummy Doughand look forward to replicating thesuccess here that this amazing producthas generated in Europe."

Yummy Dough will be available toretailers in the UK and Ireland fromlate July 2009 exclusively throughMaps Toys.

MAPS TOYS 01438 776006

This year has seen an extension to theTechnokits collection with newTechnokits for Girls, which can be usedto decorate a bedroom but also havethe added bonus of introducing themto light refraction and simplemotorised mechanics. There are two tochoose from – the Solar PoweredRainbow Maker and the Solar Powered

Butterfly Technokit.

Alternatively the new licensedDangerous Books for Boys ScienceDiscovery Kits have just been namedGift of the Year in the under £10category and have been widelyacclaimed in the press since theirintroduction at Toy Fair, where they werenamed one of the best new Hobby Kitsat the show by the BTHA.

Disguised as traditional boys’ books,the boxes feature a hiddencompartment containing a hobby kit.There are several to collect including anAnti-Gravity Kit, Pocket Science Lab andMake Rocketballs and each kit comes inits own display unit.

INTERPLAY 01628 488944

Eco-friendly toy company Asobi hassigned Italian manufacturer EcoToys.

EcoToys is the manufacturer of theactivity product line, Happy Mais.Happy Mais is made from Mater-Bi, anatural GM-free corn starch 100 percent biodegradeable material.

The play pattern is model building,without glue or magnets. Just moistena piece of Happy Mais and it will stickto another piece. It can also be stuckto paper, glass and wood and can bepulled apart and used again. It canalso be cut to form different shapes.

Asobi MD Thierry Bourretcomments: “We are particularlypleased that with Happy Mais we arenot just introducing a product withoutstanding play value, but also onewith exceptional green credentials.Happy Mais not only provides childrenwith hours of creative play but it givesretailers fantastic year round repeatsales potential.”

The range initially consists of tenSKUs, with retail prices starting at£3.50 and half the range retailingunder £10.

ASOBI 01628 200077

The Very Hungry Caterpillar celebratesits 40th birthday this year, andUniversity Games joins the celebrationby unveiling three brand new activityproducts under its Colorforms brand.

Invented in 1951, Colorforms are vinylpieces that stick to different playingsurfaces and can be repositioned againand again. The activity sets allowchildren to create their own scenes andtell their own stories.

With The Very Hungry Caterpillar 3-DDeluxe Play Set, children can watch theirstories pop up, and the sturdy box holds everything in place until it’s timeto play again.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar FunPocket contains two travel-friendly playboards and dozens of Colorforms Stick-Ons for kids to play on the go. The VeryHungry Caterpillar Colorfelts Play Boardfeatures the same Colorforms play witha soft touch.

Each scene depicts an engagingsetting for children’s imaginations totake hold, it comes with its own storagecase and assortment of felt play pieces.

UNIVERSITY GAMES01359 243900

New from Vivid for autumn/winter2009 is the new Fab-tastic Food range.

The Funky Sandwich Maker (£14.99)can make sandwiches from a heart,star or gingerbread shaped template.Add a filled sandwich, close the lid androll the handles down and it makes ashaped sandwich.

Also available is Cool CookieCreations (£16.99) which can shape,decorate and personalise cookies. Thetemplates can be used to help shapecookies into hearts, stars and flowers.The biscuit can then be placed onto thespinning turntable and decorated withicing, jam, or sprinkles.

Frozen treats can also be createdusing the new Pop n Freeze (£24.99).Juice is poured into the threedispensers and into the frozen dot

maker trays. It also includes two bonusPop Pens to create more intricatepatterns and designs.

The entire range is aimed at agessix-plus. Vivid is supporting the rangewith over 350 TVRs and an extensivePR campaign throughout the back endof 2009.

The Crayola range also boasts newadditions in the creative play sector.

Crayola Beginnings Color Me A Songenables toddlers to create music withtheir scribbles: the faster you scribble,the faster the song. With four beats tochoose from and four instrumentalsounds to add to the beat, it offersunique creative doodling, which aidscreative learning. It retails around£19.99 and will be available from Julywith TV & PR support from September.

Crayola Creations Design A Bagfeatures a pink bag and purple pursethat come complete with poppers, feltflowers and ribbon for girls to getcreative with and personalise theirbag. Templates are also included in thekit. Design A Bag will retail from around£14.99 and will be available from Julywith TV advertising and PR supportfrom July.

The Crayola Creations 3 in 1 StickerStudio is a drawing desk, sticker andbadge maker all in one. The drawingdesk can be used to create cooldesigns, turn into stickers using thesticker machine and create fashionbadges with the badge maker. The 3 in1 Sticker Studio retails around £16.99and will be available from July with TV& PR support.

VIVID 01483 449944

Creativity has launched a new range oflicensed craft kits including a line of foursets of craft drawers aimed at childrenaged three and above.

The four different licensed drawersinclude Art Attack, Mister Maker,Numberjacks and Mr Men.

Each contain over 1500 pieces andfour projects which relate to thelicensed characters. Children can createpuppets, bookmarks and many otherthings using the items contained in eachbox. They retail at around £14.99.

CREATIVITY INTERNATIONAL 01384 485 550

Revell’s range of model kits, flyingmachines and slot cars continue togrow in popularity amongst boys bigand small.

The Revell Racing Car Set containstwo models, as well as all the basicpaints, glue and brushes needed tobuild and paint the Corvette C6-R andAudi R10 TDI. For the less experienced

modellers, the increased ranges of theStar Wars Easy Kit and Easy Kit Pocketare designed as gifts for beginners.

The Moon Landing models celebratethe 40th anniversary of the ApolloMoon landing later this year, the rangefeatures Apollo Saturn V Rockets,Apollo Astronaut on the Moon and theApollo ‘Eagle’ Lunar Module.

REVELL 01442 890 285


JULY 2009

Sambro International has a wide rangeof licensed products available tocomplement its existing licensed rangeswith price points designed to encourageimpulse purchases.

Licences include Thomas & Friends,Bob the Builder, Little Princess, GoGosCrazy Bones, Postman Pat, Transformers2 and Animated, Mr Potato Head, PollyPocket, Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Ponyand many more.

The collections include Scribble &Sketch kits, which contain an art desk,ten metre activity roll, eight crayons andsix big tip markers. Children can also beentertained on the go with a selection ofitems for travelling – the Art Case to Go,Travel Fun Desk and Lap Desk.

Parents can also encourage childrento get creative at home with the ArtCarousel, Foil Art, Paint & Play rangeand a Letter Writing Set are just some ofthe items across the licensed ranges.

SAMBRO 0161 707 5555

Tack Zap Games from Haba allowchildren to create pictures and designsusing wooden shapes.

Each set comes with a cork board,wooden hammer and metal tacks and arange of colourful wooden tiles whichcan be tapped into place to create apicture. On Duty Tack Zap has variousface designs, different shapes for bodiesand vehicle components; whileSpringtime Butterflies Tack Zap hascharacter faces and an assortment ofshapes for children to create their ownbutterfly pictures and scenes.

The Tack Zap range also includes GeoShape Tack Zap with numerous colouredtiles in an assortment of shapes andFigure Tack Zap with an array of peopleand animal shapes.

Also from Haba is a range of woodenthreading beads in shapes to appeal toboth boys and girls.

From flowers and starfish to cars andconstruction figures, tiny fingers willneed to be extra dexterous to use thewooden threader to feed the cordthrough shapes of their choice, creatinga string of colourful beads.

HABA0161 304 9555

FOR THE 12 months toMarch 2008, the ElectronicLearning market sold over fivemillion units, reaching a value of£74 million. However, this is 19per cent less than what themarket was previously worth withsales to March 2008 accounting foraround £91 million (Source: NPDConsumer Panel Service).

The two dominating manufacturersof the category are Vtech andLeapFrog, who between themrepresent over 78 per cent value shareof Electronic Learning. However,despite LeapFrog’s Tag Readingsystem reaching number five topproperty in Electronic Learning andVtech’s Kidicreative expanding intothe category through the Kidimusiccentre, there has been less majorinnovation in this area than inprevious years.

In addition, the market is beingcontinually challenged by othercategories, such as youth electronicsand video games, especially with anew generation of video games thatincorporate learning as part of thegameplay. In the coming year,innovative new items and propertieswill have to work hard to gain

attention. However, there are anumber of exciting propertiesreleased this year, includingLeapFrog’s Zippity and Vtech VsmileArt Studio which may just boost thecategory once again.

Besides innovation, licences arealso very important to the market

with 14 per cent of sales throughlicensed properties. This is well belowthe average of the total market (31per cent licensed), leaving plenty ofopportunity for licences to growwithin Electronic Learning. Indeedsome of the top selling new items inthe last year have been licenseddriven – Wall-E Learning Laptop fromVtech was the 11th best seller in thelast 12 months. Some of the bestperforming licences in the ELAmarket include Dora the Explorer,Thomas & Friends, Disney Princess,Wall-E and Barbie. A number of newlicences have come into the categoryin the last year including Cars, HighSchool Musical, Peppa Pig and In TheNight Garden.

When looking at the current topsellers in the total ELA market, wesee that the top ten remainsdominated by V-Tech and LeapFrog.There are some strong growth itemsin the top ten products includingVtech’s My Laptop and AdvanceXtra, as well as LeapFrog’s Leapster,all showing double digit growth.

(source: NPD)

Electronic LearningManufacturer Value % (12M to May ‘09)

The electronic learning sector is dominated by Leapfrog and VTech, but has seen its stock dip somewhat overthe last 12 months, as pressure from competing markets takes young learners away from dedicated learningsystems to individual titles on games systems and elsewhere. NPD offers some analysis of the sector…

www.toynewsmag.com 39SECTOR GUIDE ELECTRONIC LEARNING

JULY 2009

Brain power

The ElectronicLearning market

sold over five millionunits for the 12 monthsto March 2008.

VTECH

LEAPFROGMATTEL CORP

56%60

50

40

30

20

10

0

22%

9%

MATTEL 01628 500000

Leapfrog is expanding the Tag brand byintroducing a younger sibling called TagJunior, suitable for children from two tofour years-old. Tag Junior book pal isdesigned to encourage toddlers toexplore books, while introducing skillsthrough book-based activities. Thebook pal has been designed for smallerhands, using a palm grasp and utilisesboard books for ease and durability.

Leapfrog is also expanding its rangeof Tag book titles to 18 licensed movie,TV and classic children’s literaturecharacters. This year’s launches includeBen 10, Star Wars, Disney Fairies, Dorathe Explorer, Scooby Doo and more.

The online experience is alsogrowing, offering more activities andrewards. The Learning Path tool is alsoaccessible with the Tag Reading System

and over 80 per cent of connected Tagcustomers are using it.

LeapFrog’s flagship handheldeducational gaming system for four toeight year-olds goes from strength tostrength, with an 89 per cent increasein value year-on-year (NPD April YTD).

Additional Leapster2 content cannow be unlocked online in the form ofcertificates and game-based rewardsand parents have been accessing theLearning Path to see what their childrenhave been learning as they play.

The Leapster2 software library willgrow to 15 titles by the end of the yearwith forthcoming releases for boys andgirls in the shape of Star Wars JediReading, Wolverine, Disney Fairies,Disney/Pixar Up and Disney’s Princess& the Frog. There’s also a range of

accessories available fromautumn/winter including storage cases,bags and rechargers.

Scout, the green puppy first broughtto life in LeapFrog’s ClickStart My FirstComputer, continues. The green My PalScout and purple My Pal Violet, forchildren six months and older, are plushpuppy friends which, via a USBconnection, parents can fullypersonalise with their child’s name andfavourite things.

Parents can also create a customisedplaylist from an online database ofsongs and lullabies to download to theplush. These puppy pals can thenincorporate the child’s name andfavourite things into activities, songsand dialogue. In addition to the fivesongs that come pre-loaded on the

plush pals, 30 downloadable tunes areavailable so parents can keep the musicfresh. My Pal Scout and Violet introducelearning skills such as first words, dailyroutines and counting.

LeapFrog’s Text & Learn is a just-for-kids learning PDA. Games focusing onearly letter sense and basic computerskills are only part of Text & Learn,which allows pre-schoolers to exchangetext messages with Scout. Kids can alsocheck Scout’s planner to seewhat his week will entailand explore in a pretendbrowser mode. Otherlearning activities includeQWERTY keyboardnavigation, shapeidentification andletter matching.

40 SECTOR GUIDE ELECTRONIC LEARNING

JULY 2009

Delivering innovation for the electronic learningaisle, Fisher-Price is set to launch an action-packed electronic learning system thisautumn. Hot on the heels of the SmartCycle, the Smart Fit system delivers new waysto experience engaging, active learning in acompelling TV-based plug n play format and willcontinue to keep kids moving as they learn.

Smart Fit encourages children to stayphysically active as they walk, run and jumptheir way through ten different learningactivities and games using an interactive plug nplay activity mat. Kids are in control of the on-screen action, and the faster they move, thefaster the on-screen characters will move,encouraging learning and physicalactivity. Smart Fit features activities includingletters, numbers, shapes, colours and more.

Fisher-Price Smart Fit will benefit from amajor marketing campaign including TV and PR.

LEAPFROG 01702 200244

VTech has expanded the V.Smile brandwith the introduction of V.Smile Motion,an educational games console withwireless motion controller. Targeted atthree to seven year-olds, the consoleteaches spelling, language and maths.The motion activated gaming systemencourages children to get up andactive as they interact with TV and filmcharacters including Dora the Explorer,Thomas & Friends and more.

The new Kidizoom Pro builds uponthe original Kidizoom features to offer

children aged five and over an age-appropriate multimedia digital camera.The new camera features a two mega-pixel camera with 2x digital zoom and abuilt-in flash and stores up to 500images. It features video taking, MP3player and five built-in games, with 256MB of storage plus an SD card slot formemory expansion.

The Kidizoom Pro allows connectionto the TV to view photos and playgames or can be linked to a PC to editand view photos. With dual viewfinder

and durable design, the new camerahas a more grown-up look, withchangeable face-plates and an instantmode selector.

Kids can now view pictures on-the-gowith Kidilook. Transfer photos fromKidizoom or connect it to a PC via USBto upload pictures using the suppliedphoto managing software. Kids can alsocreate their own photo story. Motionsensors activate random picture modeand triggers other effects. Stores up to100 pictures, available in blue and pink.

New to the VTech Electronic LearningComputer category for 2009 is theVTech Media Desktop, which has 60activities covering English, maths,French, science and social studies. It’ssuitable for ages six and over andcovers Key Stage 1 with some activitiestouching on Key Stage 2. Parents cansee how their child is progressing, asit’s simple to upload their progress ontoa PC. Internet access to Planet VTech(via USB) also allows children todownload 15 additional games.


JULY 2009


Kids can act out all their Postman Patspecial deliveries with the interactivePostman Pat Special Delivery ServicePhone from Character Options.

By pressing the button on the side ofthe phone, three different scenes can beseen featuring characters from the showand by tilting the phone, the scene willinstantly change.

Upon pressing the keypad buttons,character phrases can be heard whilst thenumber 0 plays the signature SpecialDelivery Service ring tone.

Building on the heritage and integrity ofthe licence, Postman Pat's Special DeliveryService continues to teach children thesame values and lessons, whilst injectinghigh energy action.

VTECH 01235 555545


JULY 2009

TOMY 020 8722 7300

The new Discovery Magical Melody Maker (£29.99)from Tomy's Discovery range is an interactive andwatch-me electronic musical toy that brings easilyidentifiable and colourful instruments to life.

There are five different instruments, each with itsown leading melody, a violin, piano, drum, trumpetand saxophone. The first instrument placed on thestage determines what melody is played and theothers join into it. Take an instrument away againand its sound stops playing. Kids can mix and matchinstruments to discover the different tunes theyplay, watch them spin around on the stage and findout what happens to the sound when you removeinstruments. When playtime is over, the instrumentscan be matched with the correct storage pockets onthe side of the stage.

The Discovery Magical Melody Maker is the onlymusical toy of its kind that combines instrumentsand movement to help children learn about sounds,orchestras and melodies through play. It issupported by a TV-advertising campaign with a totalof 270 TVR's leading up to Christmas.

Tomy is also launching a new website to supportthe Discovery range. The site will communicate thephysical, sensory and emotional developmentalbenefits of the Discovery toys and offer advice forparents on activities they can do with their childrento help develop key skills. Go towww.discoverythroughplay.com to see more.

GOLDEN BEAR 01952 608308

Children can get interactive with Peppa andfriends on the Step n Learn play-mat.Combining learning with electronic interaction,children have to answer questions by steppingon the correct images. With four differentmodes including numbers, find, colours andnames, the play-mat also features Peppa’sphrases such as ‘Let’s go Daddy.’

Thomas Step ‘n’ Learn Play-mat is alsoavailable with the four different modes.Children answer questions by stepping on thecorrect images. Featuring over 55 phrases,each play-mat has a wipe clean PVC surface,and folds away for storage.

The Draw and Drive range continues for2009, which also includes Talking Thomas andPeppa Pig. Draw and Drive allows a child todraw a line on the mat provided and watch thecharacter follow it with sounds and music.

Each character has its own unique soundsand phrases, press the button on the top tostart the characters moving and watch as theyfollow the line wherever you draw. TalkingThomas Draw and Drive has the added featureof magically stopping and talking to his friends.

All star software

library for

2009

6-9 September 2009NEC Birmingham UK

Volume hall opensone day early

www.autumnfair.com

Alphabet Jigsaws

Aurora World

Bladez Toyz

Brainstorm

Esdevium Games

Flashwear

Frilly Lilly

Great Gizmos

Keel Toys

Kids Cooking Co

Magical Play Times

Melissa & Doug

Paladone

Paul Lamond Games

Payday Games

The House of Puzzles

The Little Experience

The Wagon Company

Thumbs Up

Tiny Tods

Tobar

Travis Designs

UK Import Corporation

Exhibitors include:

See the full list of exhibitors at autumnfair.com

A34Priority Code

Be part of theseason’s largestevent forToys and GamesPerfectly timed for festive buyingand spring previews, Autumn FairInternational 2009 is an essentialdate in your calendar.

Register today for FREE entry at www.autumnfair.com

JULY 2009

www.toynewsmag.com 47SECTOR GUIDE DRESS UP

All dressed upThe influence of ever more sophisticated licensing programmes and improving quality means the dress up marketgrows ever stronger, while Halloween offers the perfect opportunity for kids and adults alike to indulge in a bit ofannual role play. ToyNews takes a look at the latest dress up and Halloween products on the market…

New for Christmas 2009, Cesar signed the Bakugan dress up licence.Initially the dress up range will include an outfit based on the leadcharacter Dan, including a jumpsuit with attached belt, fingerless

gloves, card holder and Bakugan spheres pouch. Further costumeswill be added for 2010.

The Marvel collection has again been expanded with acollection of Wolverine costumes to support the

summer movie. The range includes a printed valuecostume, which is an ideal all-year-round purchase, a

deluxe muscle costume and a one-piece toddleroutfit.

Following on from the success of Ben 10 in2008, a new range of Ben 10: Alien Force

costumes will be available this month. There willbe a value, complete dress-up costume on offer, plussome new alien characters, a quality costume based on

Swampfire and a deluxe 2-in-1 costume which allows itswearer to dress up as Ben and then transform into Jet

Ray, another of his alien alter-egos.Barbie will also be big news in 2009 as she celebrates

her 50th birthday. The new entertainment property is basedon the Three Musketeers story and Cesar has a princess-style dress available at a competitive price point.

LazyTown continues to perform strongly; the deluxeStephanie costume with accessories and Sportacus

muscle costume encourage young fans to createtheir own active role-play adventures.

CESAR 01733 397400

New for 2009, Martin Yaffe is offeringLazyTown Action Play-sets available inSportacus and Stephanie designs.

Boys will love the Sportacus ActionPlay-set, which has everything theyneed to dress up like LazyTown’sresident superhero. The set includesSportacus’ top, hat with goggles,crystal with motion activated flashinglights, adjustable armbands andstopwatch with whistle and compass.

The Stephanie Action Play-set isperfect for girls who want to dress uplike Stephanie. The set includes dress,pink wig, glitter bangles, headbandand amplifying microphone.

For aspiring princesses, Martin Yaffeoffers the Little Princess Dress Up Set.Complete with adjustable crown, dress,red boot-style shoe covers and iscompleted with a beanie of LittlePrincess’ teddy, Gilbert.

Not just for Halloween, this enchantresswill cast a magical spell all year round.The Witch is part of the Tellatale handpuppet range and is designed usingsoft, bright fabrics.

Tellatale puppets help childrendevelop their creativity, imagination andcommunication skills as well as

providing them with an alternative toon-screen-entertainment.

The Witch is typical of Fiesta Crafts’Tellatale hand puppet range. There arelots of unique sellable details includingher broomstick, a skull necklace, redand white stripy tights and full lengthstuffed legs and shoes.

FIESTA CRAFTS 020 8804 0563MARTIN YAFFE – 01706 717800

48 SECTOR GUIDE DRESS UP

The new HM Armed Forces collectionfrom Character Options features dress-up outfits and accessories that willtransport kids into the world of searchand survival.

There is an authentic uniformavailable from each of the armedforces The range includes a Fast JetPilot’s green flight suit uniform, anInfantryman in desert combat threepiece uniform and a Marine with hisauthentic Green Beret.

Many accessories are also availablein the HM Armed Forces collection,such as the Utility Belt, Compass,Torch, Backpack, Walkie Talkies,Personal Role Radios and more.

Based on real equipment used in thefield, the clothing and accessories areas true to life as they can possibly be.In some cases, tooling has been takendirectly from the originals and in allcases, members of the Forces haveexamined them for authenticity.


JULY 2009

SMIFFY’S 0800 590 599

Christys’ revamped ToyStory range featuresBuzz, Woody and Jessiecostumes, all in time forthe new DVD film re-releases in 3D.Christys’ has thoughtof everything, rightdown to the new spacecase, which comesbursting with ToyStory role-play items.

Also available isthe new reversibleWoody to BuzzLightyear costumefor children whocan’t decide whichof the Toy Storycharacters theywant to be.

With a further

Tinker Bell DVD release this year,Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure,and a new collection fromChristys’ to complement the film,the fairy’s popularity is set togrow. The firm has created arange of costumes based onTinker Bell and friendsSilvermist, Rosetta, Irridessa andFawn, all with LED lighting forextra sparkle.

For special occasions,Christys’ has designed two Fairysuitcases which include mix andmatch outfits, wings, wandsand jewellery – everything a girlcould need for a day of wish-making.

Christys’ costume collections can bebought hanging or boxed.

CHRISTYS’ 08451 849 844

Smiffy’s saw strong growth in 2008within its Halloween range, with sales upover 30 per cent compared to 2007. Thefirm has, therefore, been keen to investin its new Halloween range for 2009 byintroducing a wide array of newcostumes, wigs and accessories foradults and children. In turn, forward

Halloween orders for 2009 are alreadyfour times higher than they were thistime last year says the firm.

The company has introduced a newrange of kid’s costumes for 2009including the Zombie Alley collection forchildren aged aged seven to 12, agruesome group of costumes ideal for

Halloween. The Mini Monsters rangecaters for younger children from one tofour years-old and the new range oftoddler outfits includes pumpkins, batsand skeletons. The officially licensedMichael Jackson costume range is alsopopular at Halloween with the Thrillercostume fitting in well.

Consumers constantly want somethingdifferent, making it essential to offer awide range of choice and price atHalloween. Smiffy’s has spotted thatconsumers want high quality products aswell as choice and therefore hasintroduced new ranges, which includeTales of Old England and Gothic Manor.

This is just a small taste of the children’s licenses that we have to offer. Please call us, or ask your agent for further details!

For more details, contact our Sales Offi ce on

01733 397400Cesar UK Ltd, 16 Tesla Court, Innovation Way, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, Cambs PE2 6FLFax: 01733 370241 Email: [email protected]

www.cesar-group.com

High quality costumes based on the most popular licensed movie and TV characters around!

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50 SECTOR GUIDE DRESS UP

JULY 2009

London-based company, Rainbow Productionsspecialises in the creation of bespokepromotional costume characters, which areused at a range of events throughout the year.Examples include seasonal events duringHalloween, Christmas and Easter - as well aspromotional campaigns, in-store activities andtrade shows.

Every costume character is tailor-madeaccording to the design brief. Over the past 25years, Rainbow Productions has created anumber of monster and ghoulish characterswith a Halloween theme. A recent example isthe Yeti (pictured right), which was created onbehalf of Walibi Belgium for use at the leisurepark’s Halloween Monster Festival.

Additionally, Rainbow Productionsrepresents a number of international televisionnetworks and studios in Europe, includingWarner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox and theBBC. Its portfolio contains 90 licensed cartooncharacters, exclusively available throughRainbow Productions for meet and greetpersonal appearances. This portfolio oflicensed characters includes Scooby-Doo, Bobthe Builder and Noddy.

Guest appearances by Scooby-Doo are evenmore popular during the Halloween period;he’s already confirmed to attend an event inWorthing on October 31st as well as visitingFlambards Theme Park in Cornwall a couple ofdays before Halloween.

RAINBOW PRODUCTIONS 020 8254 5300

Kids can discover science at Halloweenand create some slimy treats with theScary Soap Science kit from Interplay’sWild Science collection.

What better to scare the neighboursthan severed soap fingers, slimy brains

or ghastly soap eyeballs? This easy todo kit includes everything a child willrequire to explore the science of soapand in turn make horrible and scarysoap stuff to scare friends and familywith at Halloween.

Suitable from the age of three undersupervision, or age five without, Hamakits enable children to expresscreativity whilst improving theirmanual dexterity and concentration.

Hama also has some sets especiallyfor Halloween. With Glow in the Darkbeads, designs can be brought to life.The UFO Glowing Mobile kit comeswith 1200 glow in the dark beads aswell as three shaped pegboards. Scaryand spooky designs can be createdusing the kits and will become evenmore exciting by night.

Spaceships, rockets, planets andaliens are a few of the designs that canbe created. The designs can then beattached to each other to make ahanging mobile which can be anaccessory in any child’s bedroom. Eachindividual design can also be stuck onthe ceiling.

Another Halloween set is the NightLife gift set. This contains 2000 glow inthe dark beads and enables children tocreate designs, such as butterflies andflowers that will glow in the dark,without being too scary.

DKL 01604 678780INTERPLAY 01628 488944

www.toynewsmag.com 51SECTOR GUIDE DRESS UP

JULY 2009

Having enjoyed strong Halloweensales in 2008, Snazaroo will beoffering a new, improved versionof the best-selling Special FX Kit.

Containing sculpting wax,realistic gel blood, face paints,tools, a stipple sponge and acomprehensive step by step guide,Snazaroo’s Special FX Kit (£9.99),will be launched in summer 2009and creates great effects fornovices and experts alike.

The Special FX Kit complementsa range of hanging theme packsdesigned specially for theHalloween market includingDeadly Dracula, Wicked Witch,Fiery Pumpkin and Tiger, andGhastly Ghost and Skull, retailingat £3.49 each.

Alex Gremin, marketingcontroller at Snazaroo, isconfident that despite the creditcrunch, sales will still be buoyantthis October. He says: “Last year,in the two months running up toHalloween, sales trebled, andwhile people are being morecareful this year, I don’t think wecan underestimate what a majordate in the calendar Halloweenhas become.”

SNAZAROO 01643 707659

Worlds Apart acheived 26 per centgrowth in pop-up sales last year and itsThomas Pop n Go product is certain tohelp the company build on theseachievements during 2009.

Thomas Pop n Go encourageschildren to embrace their imaginationand actually become the tank engine.Ideal for fancy dress parties as well asindoor and outdoor play, children canchug around as the steam train andsteer into new adventures withThomas’ 3D steering wheel, completewith working horn.

With a fabric-covered frame, Thomaspops out in a few seconds and whenplay time is over, he folds away simplyand flat, making the toy easy to storeuntil next play time. An elasticised topallows the Thomas Pop n Go to fitsnugly around the child. Thomas Pop nGo is designed to withstand the wearand tear of boisterous play, giving longlasting play value for children andvalue for money for the consumer.Worlds Apart supports its completepop up range with ongoing PR andmarketing activity.

Children can create their ownHalloween items with the Paint YourOwn Mask and Make Your OwnMonster Doll kits from Great Gizmos.

With dressing up and creating aHalloween scene high on kids’agendas, the Paint Your Own Mask kithas a selection of scary faces to create.There are three blank masks, glitterglue, glow paint and a paint stripincluded for children to design a

Halloween mask that will sparkle byday and glow at night.

Alternatively, create a spookycompanion with the Make Your OwnMonster Doll kit. All that’s needed tomake this monster is to iron theenclosed coloured felt pieces onto thepre-made body in any design, fill itwith the stuffing supplied, give it aname and make it official with its ownbirth certificate.

GREAT GIZMOS 01293 543221WORLDS APART 0800 389 8591

Organised by: Sponsored by: Official Publication:

2009

30 September – 1 October 2009

With over 2,000 properties on display, you’ll be sure to find the one that brings your merchandise to life!

Attend and benefit from:

Product showcases including the Toy Store where you will see popular characters transformed into profitable merchandise

12+ free educational seminars in the Licensing Academy

Screening suite* showing exclusive previews of the latest Hollywood blockbusters and associated licensing opportunities

Property finder tool allowing you to easily identify rights owners and licenses available

Retail Buyers’ Centre giving retail visitors free access to experienced and impartial consultants

By invitation only*

Discover the characters that will make your products fly off the shelves!

Register FREE now at www.brandlicensingeurope.com

BOUNCING BACK from recentcuts in its back-office staff, Hamleyshas reported like-for-like sales haverisen for the eight weeks from thebeginning of April 2009.

The Regent Street store wasrecently forced to shed a third of itsback-room staff including head buyerIan Gibbs.

The results mean the company istrading above its internal targets forboth sales and profit.

Full accounts for the period to theend of March 2009 will be filed inthe coming weeks, after it filed itsaccounts for the year ending March2008.

The full year accounts show anincrease in EBITDA of seven percent versus the previous year-endingMarch 2007.

Gudjon Reynisson, CEO ofHamleys, commented: “We arepleased with how we have respondedto the challenging economiccircumstances. In the last year wehave protected our cash positionthrough improvements to our stockholding and cost structure.

“We have paid our debts on timeand in full, retain the full support ofour bank and now have a relativelylow senior debt to EBITDA ratio,providing a strong platform for thefuture.

“Our current trading is strong andwe remain confident we have put theright things in place to grow thebusiness over the coming years.”

Meanwhile, the store is continuingits international expansion, with aRussian company unveiling plans toopen a branch in Moscow thisautumn.

The FD LAB Group has signed afranchise agreement to develop theHamleys chain in Russia according tothe president of the company,Alexander Lopatin.

Lopatin said the group plans toopen several Hamleys stores inMoscow. The first store will be a1,750 square-metre shop, opening inSeptember or October on Moscow'scentral Tverskaya Street, home toTiffany & Co and Nokia's luxury unitVertu stores.

The firm has also announced planfor stores in Glasgow and Cardiff.Hamleys: 0207 479 7317

Our mystery retailer adds his twocents to the discussion on pricingand margins.

CounterInsurgentPage 56

This month’s retail charts featureAmazon, WH Smith, Mail OrderExpress and Asda.

ChartsPage 57

Hamleys fightsback after cuts

We are pleasedwith how we

have responded to thechallenging economiccircumstances- Gudjon Reynisssson

Recent like-for-like sales up as firm recovers from restructuring

Page 58New products

Last chance to enterthe inauguralToyNews Fivesfootball tournamenton July 10th

EventsPage 74

Retail OnlyDedicated monthly retail coverage

News • Data • Opinion

On their way this month are offeringsfrom Berg, Creativity International,Orchard Toys, Hasbro andRavensburger.

by Ronnie Dungan

Talking shopPage 54We asked retailers if they felt theyget enough support from suppliersto help move stock through.

This month, we talked to retailers about shared risk and the supportthey get from suppliers with slow moving products and whether theyget enough backing to help move stock through, enabling them to beconfident to take a risk on new concepts…

“RELATIONSHIPSARE KEY”

IT REALLY does vary fromcompany to company – some arereally good at helping you out andothers see it as your ownresponsibility as you made thedecision to order the stock.

I think it really depends on therelationship you have with thesales reps. If you have a goodrelationship with them, they willusually try to help you out if theypossibly can.

Even if the company policy isnot to take stock back, the repwill usually find some way aroundit and help you out in some way.They may have another retaileron their books that is selling theproduct better and may be able toswap product between you to helpyou out.

I do feel I can ask for help fromthose that I have a goodrelationship with. But it is up toyou, as well as the reps, to buildthose relationships, it’s not justtheir responsibility, it’s ours too. Inturn that makes our life easier if aproblem does arise.

There are some who I don’thave as strong relationships withfor whatever reason, whetherthat’s because we don’t ordermuch from them, or we aren’t oneof their key clients, so we don’tsee much of them or have thesame level of contact. I wouldn’tfeel that I could approach thosecompanies if I was having aproblem selling their stock, whichjust shows that those relationshipsare really key.Vicky Brown, Just Williams,Herne Hill, London

“I FEEL AWKWARD”

WE SELL collectibles, so many ofour products don’t move as quicklyas in other shops. If lines do movequickly, we often keep them back afew years to up the collectible factor.

If lines aren’t selling and we docontact suppliers, the most usualresponse is to give us free stock, sowe can reduce the price. There hasnever been an instance where theywould take back stock.

I feel awkward contactingsuppliers though and we have onlyever approached a couple. Insteadwe try to look for alternatives to sellthe product, we may try it on thewebsite, for example.

If a period of time has elapsed, it’shard to approach companies, as theydon’t tell you the options at the

outset if this situations arises. I’dcertainly be more likely to order ifthey said they’d take product backor help if it wasn’t selling, I wouldn’tfeel we were taking such a risk.

Recently we’ve been contacted bycompanies offering older, reducedstock. I’m happy to consider this, asmuch of our stock works well interms of collectibility if it’s older.

Many products sell differentlydepending on the area or the type ofretailer. For example, I havesometimes been into other toyshops,with loads of a particular product onthe shelves that we have completelysold out of and can’t get hold of anymore. If firms took this back, wecould have sold it – better foreveryone involved.

I definitely feel if suppliers offeredmore incentive, or a time framewithin which we could returnproducts, I’d be happier to take arisk, but I am uncomfortable if Ihave to ask for help, especially as anindependent talking to largersuppliers. It can feel a bit daunting.Lucy Pole, Millions of Toys,Swadlincote

“SUPPLIERS ARE USUALLY HAPPY TO HELP”

IN THE main, we find that the bigplayers are helpful when we’re tryingto push lines through. Others areless helpful, but most are anxious tohelp independent stores withpromotions and are supportive whenwe are trying to experiment withnew ideas in the shop.

Recently, we’re trying to leave theprices the same to avoid turning thebusiness into one big sale andinstead, we’re working with newideas including vouchers and buyone toy, get another free offers.

In the current climate, I thinkmost suppliers have sharpened theirpencil and are aware that theconsumer is now looking for playvalue and it’s not just about smartpackaging, but what’s inside that

counts, which has always been ourmotto anyway.

I don’t think there has been adramatic sales downturn, despite therecession. Consumers are nowlooking for entertainment at homeinstead of spending on going out, soit hasn’t hit the toy market too hard.

You need to focus on what thetoys do and make the most of them.It’s no good to stick a toy on a shelfand expect it to sell, you have to becreative – that’s the best way tomove through the stock and thesuppliers will help you do that.

We recently started to runpainting competitions with localprimary schools. The response hasbeen so good that we’ve rolled it outto more schools and provided prizes

for the top three in each school.Activities like this bring attention tocertain merchandise and help toincrease the footfall through thestore and it also helps get kidsplaying and being creative ratherthan sitting in front of the TV.

Suppliers are usually happy tohelp with prizes for these initiativesas they see the value in them. Wealso try to get involved withcommunity events and provideprizes for raffles, competitions andthe like and toy companies will helpwith this too. I think they’re mindfulof what we are trying to do and theyappreciate it. I think they see it asadvertising, so don’t mind helping.Eric Snook, Snooks Toy Shop,Bath

There has neverbeen an

instance where asupplier wouldtake back stock.

Keep on moving

54 TALKING SHOP

www.toynewsmag.com 55TALKING SHOP

“WE WILL ALWAYS ASK FOR HELP”

“IT’S MY RESPONSIBILITY”

WE DON’T tend to get much helpwhen lines aren’t selling very well,but I don’t need help from suppliers,it’s not their responsibility, it’s myfault for ordering it and it’s myresponsibility to sell it.

To be honest, the main problemfor us isn’t selling the toys, it’sgetting the stock, as so much ofwhat we order isn’t availableimmediately. We are the only toyshop in Anglesey and it’s quite away for the reps to come just forone customer. Some do visit, butnot many. It’s also expensive for thecompanies to send product to us, soif there is a minimum order of£450-500, and some of it’s not instock, we end up only getting some,or not getting any at all.

When I ring up, they tell me thatthey can’t send the order becausesome of the items aren’t available,but that’s not my fault. By the timeit comes, sometimes it’s too late andI’ll have had something else orderedby then. Of course, if the stock isseasonal, I need it there and then,not weeks later, otherwise we’llnever be able to sell it.

Sometimes I will take a risk onnew items. Some of the firms whodon’t send reps up to me will sendme samples and information and if Ilike it, I’ll try it, but only four orfive of the companies have salesagents who are regularly in touchwith me.John Hughes, Lookaround ToyShop, Anglesey

IN GENERAL, we have a goodrelationship with our suppliers andtheir reps and agents; we are guidedby their suggestions and fully takeon board which new lines they feelwill be suitable for the shop.However, saying that, we are atraditional shop and while we carry

a wide variety of products, wealways go by our instincts,experience of the market andknowledge of our customers’ needs.

This means we are happy to trynew lines and take risks on them toa certain degree.

In general, we don’t find that wehave a great deal of slower moving

stock, but we will always ask forhelp to clear the space for newranges if necessary. After all, it’s intheir interest as much as ours tomake way for new lines. We don’talways get back up, but generally weare able to do a promotion with theaid of some free stock.

With the demise of Woolworthsand the current economic climate itis more important that suppliersand independents work together todeliver the consumer the rightproduct at the right price withoutcompromising on margin.Alison Dries, The Toy Cupboard,Winchester

I’D LIKE to talk about shared risk this month. Retail margins are bothlow and being squeezed and I think this is a very important issue.When a supplier sells a retailer an item and that item fails to meetsales expectations, the retailer is left with stock glued to the shelf.More and more we see that some suppliers are not as helpful as theyshould be in helping retailers sell through this slow moving stock.

There isn’t an infinite amount of shelf space and if it is being takenup by products that are not selling through this reduces the impulseopportunities for other SKU's. Shelf space is a valuable commodity,perhaps the most valuable, so it’s in the interest of retailers andsuppliers to clear products fast and keep the shelf space moving.

Retail margins are slim on many of the new unproven concepts.Suppliers at the time of sell in have made a full margin on the itemssupplied, therefore it is only reasonable that manufacturers supportsell through.

With this new recognised shared risk, retailers are far more likely totake a punt. So I’d like to try and encourage suppliers to be faster outof the starting gate to move through product, therefore releasing cashto reinvest in new products and categories.

We understand that manufacturers aren’t printing money at themoment (apart, of course, from Hasbro, which makes Monopoly), butwe’re all in the same boat, we’re all going to have to be morecautious with new categories from suppliers who persistently fail tostep up and step up quickly.

If you look at NPD over the last four months we’ve not managed toclaw back in any big way the market share that has been lost from theWoolies closure.

Some sectors of the industry have seen an uplift in business butoverall this is marginal. It could be that if Woolworths were still inbusiness, we would be having a very tough time of it. Working more closely in this area of risk is one way we can together expand our market.Gary Grant,Chairman, Toy Retailers Association

RISKY BUSINESS

I’d like to try and encourage suppliersto be faster out of the starting gate to

move through product, therefore releasingcash for retailers to reinvest in newproducts and categories.

DO YOU HAVE A RETAIL ISSUE WHICH YOU WOULD LIKE TOCOMMENT ON? ANY WORDS OF WISDOM (HOWEVER SHORT)

FOR YOUR FELLOW TOY RETAILERS? A PROBLEM THAT WEMIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP WITH PERHAPS? LET US KNOW.

Email: [email protected] call us on 01992 535646 and let us hear your thoughts.

We don’t find that we have a greatdeal of slower moving stock, but we

will always ask for help to clear thespace for new ranges if necessary.

JULY 2009

Fisher-Price Amazing AnimalsSing & Go Choo Choo

(Mattel)

Police Boat (Playmobil)

Littlest Pet Shop VIP Horse (Hasbro)

Power Rangers Solar Morpher (Bandai)

All Surface Swingball (Mookie)

STORE

TOY

£46.99 £18.99 £13.89 £11.95 £18.99

£34.99 £24.99 £6.49 £15.00 £24.99

£24.20 £15.00 N/A £13.67 N/A

£24.20 N/A N/A £13.69 £19.49

£32.99 £19.99 £4.99 £13.69 £24.99

PRICE CHECK: JULY 2009

HIGHSTREET

COUNTERINSURGENT

56 RETAIL ONLY

THE PASTmonth hasseen a debateabout havingtheopportunity toget margins up.

As this is dodgy ground, I don’tbring it up, but salesmen dowhen trying to sell highmargin, no volume ranges.Everyone seems to think thisinvolves putting prices up, butaren’t we retailers too late?

Haven’t manufacturersalready had to increase prices?The Pound against both Dollarand Euro made sure of that,and I can’t help but feel thatthe prices have already risenas far as they can this year.

Ideally, getting bettermargins by selling a DeluxeTransformer at £12.99 insteadof £9.99 would be great. But,too late – it’s a done deal.

Getting an extra 50p onPokemon cards would begreat…too late. Playmobil… too

late. Daft thing is the onecompany who could have putprices up at the start of theyear didn’t and is nowincreasing prices, in somecases, at alarming levels.

We have undersold foryears. When I go to Europe, mykids will no longer walk nearme in a toy shop, and whatmust the locals think of someforeign bloke, muttering tohimself in a funny languagewhile shaking his head. I wasso amazed by the price of oneitem I can confirm that “bloodyhell” means the same inseveral tongues.

As long as manufacturerscontinue to publish retailguide prices, the margin willnever increase, even if retailwants it to.

Please don’t give me anybullshit about how the retailprice is only a guide and it isillegal for anyone torecommend retail prices. Inthat case, leave them all blank.

The fact remains that somemanufacturers have a price intheir minds that they can sell itfor (some say what they canget away with) and set thetrade price accordingly.

The problem is we have soldtoo cheap for too long. But wecan’t just blame ourselves.Public perception isn’t just theprice as against other toys, butalso against other consumergoods. I wrote last monthabout the incredible value of

iPod apps and games, thenyou have great little toys thatare given away free with a £2kids meal at McDonalds.

These meals include burger,chips, drink and a toy thatquite frankly put some of thetoys we sell to shame. I haveoften wondered aboutmarketing people who get soenthusiastic about tying up abrand with McDonalds whentheir own product isoverpriced crap.

So can we get margins upfor retailer and suppliers? WellI don’t think we can stand anymore price increases this year,but we can start by not havingthe daft promotions, instead ofgiving things away we canincrease margins by actuallyselling an item.

At the end of the day, asbrave a statement as it is toget prices/margins up, thereality is no one can tellanyone to do so. It is illegaland hasn’t a chance ofhappening as long as theindustry suppliessupermarkets and non-specialist outlets.

However, there are ways tosupport retailers who supportsuppliers across ranges –those who back suppliers allyear and help get a product offthe ground. Any sales directorworth his salt or his salary willknow how to do it. I believepositive discrimination was thephrase used.

As long as manufacturerscontinue to publish retail

guide prices, the marginwill never increase.

Dispatches from the retail front line...

JULY 2009

www.toynewsmag.com 57RETAIL ONLY

RETAILCHARTS

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WHSmith.co.uk

Natural History Museum Jungle Antquarium Wow Stuff

Mini Dinosaur Natural History Museum

Scrabble Deluxe Mattel

Brainy Baby DVDs (nine pack) The Brainy Baby Co

Risk: The World Conquest Game Hasbro

Bop It Extreme 2 Black and White Hasbro

Settlers of Catan board game Esdevium Games

Brainy Baby DVDs (four pack) The Brainy Baby Co

Totally England Cricket Set Mookie

Bop It Extreme 2 Hasbro

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2

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5

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The Entertainer

Ben 10 Alien Force – Kevin Levin’s Action Cruiser Bandai

Wolverine Electronic Battle Claw Hasbro

Nerf M-Strike Recon CS-6 Hasbro

Rescue Pals Swim to Me Puppy MGA Entertainment

Guitar Rockstar Hasbro

Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Hasbro

Baby Born Walking Horse Zapf Creation

Rapide Slide Set – Blue TP Toys

Nerf Cosmic Catch Hasbro

6ft Ocean Snapset Pool Intex

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Amazon CHART DATE08/06/09

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Mail Order Express

Disney Princess Carriage Magical Mirror Laptop VTech

Original Rubik’s Cube Drumond Park

Super Swingball Mookie

Guitar Rockstar Tomy

Kidizoom Multimedia Digital Camera (pink) VTech

PicooZ Remote Control Helicopter Silverlit

Ben 10 Puzzle 100-piece Pressman Toy

Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix Bandai

Bananagram Bananagrams

Crayola Beginnings 24 Jumbo Crayons Crayola/Vivid

Power Miners Crystal Sweeper Lego

Good Neighbours at Bikini Bottom Lego

Power Miners Stone Chopper Lego

Power Miners Granite Grinder Lego

New Anniversary Cozy Coupe Little Tikes

Elefun Hasbro

Monopoly Hasbro

Baby Annabell Double Buggy Zapf Creation

Castle Tower Raid Lego

Sylvanian Families Caravan Flair

CHART DATE08/06/09

CHART DATE08/06/09

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Hamleys CHART DATE08/06/09

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Asda

Voice Changer Hamleys

Infinite Bubbles Hamleys

UFO Mini Infrared RDM Creations

Metallic Mail Jazz Kit Silverfern

Sticker Scratcher Hamleys

50 Greatest Magic Tricks First Class

AA batteries four-pack Energizer

Mystery UFO Wow Stuff

Lights Anywhere Junior First Class

Drawing Board Hamleys

Shoot Football John Leisure

Hot Wheels Basic Car Mattel

Bubble Solution Placo Corp

Basic Bounce Ball Ja-Ru

Turbo Cars Asda

Three Ring Inflatable Outdoor Pool GP

Hoola Hoop Ja-Ru

Mini Vehicles Asda

Animal Sand Tools Boley

Mini Lying Animals Asda

CHART DATEMay 2009

CHART DATE08/06/09

JULY 2009

PRODUCTNEWS

ORCHARD TOYS’ games and puzzlesare designed to help children withearly learning skills in the FoundationStage and Key Stages 1 and 2.

Lucky Ducky is designed to developspeaking, listening, early maths andcolour and pattern matching skills

Liz Hughes, Orchard Toys’educational adviser comments: “As Jim

Rose, ex head of OFSTED, says in hisrecent report: ‘In the new curriculumchildren should learn to develop andapply their speaking and listening skillsto suit a variety of audiences and fordifferent purposes.’”

Hughes continues: “Orchard Toys,like the Government, recognises theimportance of developing children’s

speaking and listening skills at an earlyage, which is why we design andproduce games such as Lucky Ducky.”

Aimed at the four years-plus age-group, the card game features a widerange of duck characters includingbrain surgeons, pirates, aviators andcity gents.Orchard Toys: 01953 859525

CREATIVITY HAS launched a newrange of licensed craft kits with foursets of craft drawers aimed at childrenaged three and above, including ArtAttack Craft Drawers; Mister MakerDoodle Drawers; Numberjacks CraftDrawers and Mr Men Craft Drawers.

Each kit contains over 1500 piecesand four projects which relate to the

licensed characters. The kits areeducational and will encourage hand-eye coordination, while stimulatingcreativity and imagination.

Children can create puppets,bookmarks and many other thingsusing the items contained in each box.The retailing at around £14.99.Creativity Intl: 01384 485 550

58 RETAIL ONLY

BERG HAS developed a new rangeof trampolines, designed to fit in withdifferent garden designs.

Available in Funky Green,Beautiful Black and Sparkling Silver,the Jumping Styles range comescomplete with protective surroundpads. The striking visual impact ofeach trampoline is reinforced with ablack coated frame that is galvanizedon both the inside and outside forextra durability.

Alternatively, the Berg InGroundtrampoline offers a patented solutionto those who want to install a

trampoline as discreetly as possible.The InGround is Europe’s onlytrampoline to be constructedespecially for bedding in the ground.

With prices starting from £249,each trampoline is built with a sturdyframe, an extra wide protective edgeand strong springs. Berg includes afree safety DVD with everytrampoline, presenting step-by-stepinstructions for safe enjoyment.Berg: 01612 478377

Berg bounces into summer

FOLLOWING DEMANDS fromcustomers and consumers,Ravensburger is reintroducingfour classic game formats. Snail’sPace Race, a first game for pre-schoolers, helps youngsters learnabout colours and understandhow to take turns.

Enchanted Forest, suitable forages six and over, is a trip

through a magical fairytale world,where treasures are hiddenbeneath the 3D fir trees. Playersneed to remember where thetreasures are to win the game.

Labyrinth’s unique mechanismmoves to represent the shiftingwalls of a mystical maze. Playershave to find a way through andcollect treasures to win.

Scotland Yard is the classicstrategy game for ages ten andover where players have to trackdown Mr X, who is on the run inLondon. Whether players chooseto travel by bus, taxi orunderground, they’ll need to beclever to anticipate where he’llsurface next.Ravensburger: 01869 363800

Orchard Toys boosts early learners

Creativity Internationalramps up licensed offering

KIDS CAN pretend they are in hotpursuit of the baddies as aMotorbike Cop, or live life in thefast lane as a speedy Race CarDriver with the new electroniclights and sounds toys from Hasbro.

Each Helmet Heroes set featuresa helmet and a microphone so kidscan hear themselves.

Whether they’re chasing badguys or zooming around an F1circuit, each set is complete withover 30 mission phrases and aninteractive handheld device.

New Police Cruiser andMotocross sets will launch later inthe year, so little law enforcers willbe able go on patrol and littlebikers can get off-road.

Helmet Heroes are suitable forages three and over.Hasbro: 020 8569 1234

Ravensburger launches four more classics

Hasbro hailsHelmet Heroes

JULY 2009

HALSALL IS hoping to boost sales of theGazillion Bubble Rocket line with a number ofmultimedia marketing activities as well as a TVadvertising campaign.

The range includes a selection of bubblessolution and innovative bubble blowing toys andplay-sets. It offers consumers non-toxic, non-staining solution, and claims to provide tons ofbigger, more colourful bubbles that last longerand float higher than any other productcurrently in the market place.

Although an already well-established name inthe UK market, Halsall plans to take the

Gazillion Bubbles brand to new heights with afully integrated above and below the linemarketing plan and TV advertising campaignthis summer.

TVThe massive summer 2009 TV campaign hasover 250 TVRs featuring ten and 20-secondspots that focus on the hero product – theGazillion Bubble Rocket.

The advert shows the outdoor play for bothboys and girls of the air-powered rocket as itsoars into the air leaving a trail of ‘gazillions’ ofbubbles behind it. The competitive play aspect ofwho can stamp the hardest to launch theirGazillion Rocket the highest is also depicted.Predominantly targeted at a core audience ofboys aged four to nine years, the adverts will airacross a platform of Nickelodeon channels

MARKETINGHaving effectively re-launched the GazillionBubbles brand to the trade earlier this year,Halsall will be supporting the TV campaign withan extensive marketing plan. The campaign willinclude print advertising, above and below-the-line promotional activities, events and consumerPR support.

CONTACT DETAILS:Phone: 01253 775533Website: www.dhalsall.com

Having taken over the exclusive UK distribution of theGazillion range of bubble toys, Halsall is putting its weightbehind one of its key summer items, the Gazillion BubbleRocket, which takes bubble play up another notch…

Halsall GazillionBubble Rocket

www.toynewsmag.com 59HERO PRODUCT

Although already well-established in the UK

market, Halsall plans to takethe Gazillion Bubblesbrand to new heights.

Advertisers

1/4 page: Annual charge £1,395 (minimum twelve months booking)Get your company featured: [email protected] T: 01992 535 647RATES:

Maps Toys has given ToyNews’

Marketplace a further insight into

its plans for 2009.

Will Sharman, head of sales,

commented: “Build it with Bob the

Builder has really started to shine

in the licensed art/craft sector and

is really giving Bob (who marked

his tenth birthday this year)

something to celebrate.

“This success has helped us

with the launch of Yummy Dough –

the Edible play dough.”

Yummy Dough took the German

arts and crafts market by storm

last year, where it took 25 per cent

of the modelling clay market in its

first year.

Sharman is confident that even

greater things can be achieved in

the UK: “We even have a Yummy

Dough book coming out in time

for Christmas with an introduction

and endorsement from a major

celebrity which will drive sales

and boost the craze even further.”

Another unusual product from

Maps which raised a few

eyebrows when unveiled at the

Toymaster show was Magic Fish.

Sharman explained further:

“Magic Fish takes the concept of

Sea Monkeys to the next stage –

instead of hatching and growing

brine shrimp, with Magic Fish kits

you get all you need to hatch and

grow real tropical fish that in the

right conditions can live for

several years and grow up to one

to two inches.”

Toobeez giant construction

sets, Squashblox and My Little

Sand Box play-sets complete the

range for 2009. However, Sharman

has much planned for 2010.

“In the pipeline for late 2009

and 2010 are range launches in

the wooden toy and science

sectors that will continue our

theme for sourcing original toys

that are always fun, often

educational and sometimes a little

bit weird,” he said.

For more information:

Tel.: 01483 776 006

email: [email protected]

■ Character Costumes & P.O.S.Rainbow Productions 0208 254 5300

■ Point of Purchase ManufacturersDaytona Visual Marketing 01827 54551

■ Safety TestingSGS 0208 991 3410

STR 0118 939 8700

■ Suppliers/ManufacturersBachmann Europe 0870 751 9990

Cambridge Brainbox 01279 821 333

Creativity International 01323 485 550

Danbar International Ltd. 01707 260 111

Esdevium Games 01420 593 593

Flying Toys 01702 295 110

Fun Collectables 01494 562 727

Games Workshop 08700 134 411

Ideal Software 01767 689 720

JC Games 01323 647 886

Logiblocs 01727 763 700

Maps Toys 01483 776 006

Plastics for Games 01728 745 300

Point Zero Games 01625 540 493

Ravensburger 01869 363 800

Revell 01442 250 130

SandPlay 0115 937 5147

The Puppet Company 01462 446 040

Thumbs Up 0845 466 8880

Voila (Agenta Marketing) 01536 401 128

WOW Toys 0207 381 2302

■ Toy SuppliersCarta Mundi 01268 511 522

Plastics for Games 01728 745 300

Richard Edward 0208 311 8888

Sambro International 0161 707 5555

The place for business

RATES:RATES:

THUMBS UPSUPPLIER/MANUFACTURER0845 466 8880

Adrian Miles: +44 (0)1992 535 [email protected]

Thumbs Up (UK) Ltd is expanding

its lines with even more products

and continues to develop and

distribute the latest cool and

innovative toys, gadgets and gifts.

A major new development is

that Thumbs Up has become the

exclusive UK distributor for a wide

range of products from novelty

company 50Fifty Concepts.

One of the classic 50Fifty

products that Thumbs Up will now

be distributing which most people

will recognise is the game

Butthead. Players wear Velcro

caps and try to catch balls on each

others’ heads. In addition,

50Fifty’s hugely popular ‘Granny’

novelty range is expanded with

the Flying Granny and Granny

Football, as well as a whole host

of other novelties and quirky gifts

that’ll bring a smile to anyone’s

face and ranges from essential

items with a twist to the

hilariously useless. The addition

of the 50Fifty range cements

Thumbs Up’s dominant position in

the men’s gift and novelty sector.

Thumbs Up also continues to

expand its own in-house designed

toy lines including additions to its

radio controlled offerings. The first

of these is the Micro-Bladez3D

Adventure, a budget priced two-

channel RC helicopter that’s

perfect for young learner RC

pilots. Thumbs Up also takes to

the water with the Aqua-Bladez3d,

a massively powerful RC

speedboat that can do 25mph.

Also watch this space for more

on the ‘Hellebrities’, a

forthcoming new range of

characters developed in

conjunction with Ideas Man, Shed

Simove.

If you’d like to know more about

Thumbs Up, there’s plenty of

news and information on its

website which can be found at

www.thumbsupuk.com. For more

specific enquires, contact

[email protected] or call

0845 466 8880.

MAPS TOYSSUPPLIER/MANUFACTURER01483 776006

RAINBOW PRODUCTIONS

COSTUME CHARACTER SPECIALISTS

� Ranging from Angelina Ballerina to Paddington Bear to Scooby-Doo, our portfolio of 90 licensed cartoon characters are exclusivelyavailable to book through Rainbow Productions for personalappearances.

� To add an extra dimension to your toy-related campaigns, Rainbowalso creates high quality bespoke costumes and puppets.

Contact Kelly MorrisonT: 020 8254 5300E: [email protected]

■ Character Costumes & P.O.S.

Marketplacewww.toynewsmag.com | Advertising: +44 (0)1992 535 647

■ Point of Purchase Manufacturers ■ Safety Testing

ADVERTISINGTHAT WORKS!

To advertise here please contactAdrian Miles:

+44 (0)1992 535647

[email protected]

Marketplace

■ Suppliers/Manufacturers■ Suppliers/Manufacturers

■ Safety Testing ■ Suppliers/Manufacturers


■ Suppliers/Manufacturers




Marketplace




Play with friends and family

Play with friends and family

at home or on your travels

at home or on your travelsPlay with friends and family

at home or on your travels

www.qbgame.co.uk

www.qbgame.co.uk

www.qbgame.co.uk



��

��

�� !��!� ��!� �� !��

��

��

� !"#�$%& �'()%*�+#,■ Suppliers/Manufacturers ■ Suppliers/Manufacturers

■ Suppliers/Manufacturers ■ Suppliers/Manufacturers

Marketplace


■ Suppliers/Manufacturers ■ Suppliers/Manufacturers



ADVERTISINGTHAT WORKS!

To advertise here please contactAdrian Miles:

+44 (0)1992 535647

[email protected]


Marketplace

■ Toy Suppliers

■ Toy Suppliers

■ Toy Suppliers

■ Toy Suppliers


Advertisers Index

1/4 page: Annual charge £1,395 (minimum twelve months booking)Get your company featured: [email protected] T: 01992 535 647RATES:RATES:RATES:

Marketplace

■ Character Costumes & P.O.S.

Rainbow Productions 0208 254 5300 [email protected] www.rainbowproductions.co.uk

■ Point of Purchase ManufacturersDaytona Visual Marketing 01827 54551 [email protected] www.daytonavisual.com

■ Safety TestingSGS 0208 991 3410 [email protected] www.uk.sgs.com

STR 0118 939 8700 [email protected] www.struk.co.uk

■ Suppliers/ManufacturersBachmann Europe 0870 751 9990 [email protected] www.bachmann.co.uk

Brookite 01837 53315 [email protected] www.brookite.com

Cambridge Brainbox 01279 821333 [email protected] www.cambridgebrainbox.co.uk

Danbar International Ltd. 01707 260 111 [email protected] www.danbartoys.com

Esdevium Games 01420 593 593 [email protected] www.esdeviumgames.com

Flying Toys 01702 295110 [email protected]

Fun Collectables 01494 562 727 [email protected] www.fun-collectables.co.uk

Games Workshop 08700 134 411 [email protected] www.games-workshop.com

Ideal Software +44 (0)1767 689 720 [email protected] www.idealsoftware.net

JC Games 01323 647886 www.qbgame.co.uk

Logiblocs 01727 763700 [email protected] www.logiblocs.com

Maps Toys 01483 776 006 [email protected] www.mapsww.com

Plastics for Games 01728 745300 [email protected] www.p4g.co.uk

Point Zero Games 01625 540 493 [email protected] [email protected]

Ravensburger 01869 363800 [email protected] www.ravensburger.com

Revell 01442 250130 [email protected] www.revell.com

SandPlay 0115 937 5147 [email protected] www.sandcastlemoat.co.uk

The Puppet Company 01462 446 040 [email protected] www.thepuppetcompany.com

Thumbs Up 0845 466 8880 [email protected] www.thumbsupuk.com

Voila (Agenta Marketing) 01536 401128 [email protected] www.agenta.demon.co.uk/voila.html

WOW Toys 0207 471 0980 [email protected] www.wowtoys.com

■ Toy SuppliersCarta Mundi 01268 511522 [email protected] www.cartamundi.com

Plastics for Games 01728 745300 [email protected] www.p4g.co.uk

Richard Edward 0208 311 8888 [email protected] www.richard-edward.com

Sambro International +44 (0)161 707 5555 [email protected] www.sambro.co.uk

70 TOY TALK

JULY 2009

TOYTALKAll the pics from the Toy Trust bike ride, plus Toymaster’s party antics at the Majestic...

WE’RE STILL RUNNING THIS

If you fancy seeing yourself, your colleague or better still, your boss here and

winning a Kidizoom camera while you’re at it, send your snaps to

[email protected] and we will give it the makeover it requires.

Jumbo MD Gray Richmond is ourlatest unwilling participant in theKidizoom makeover chair, having beenfitted up by the firm’s VictoriaOsborne, who clearly hasn’t taken anynotice of the current tough conditionsin the employment market. Luckily, forher our sources tell us Gray regularly

likes to dress up as a pirate anyway. If anyone is feeling brave or is simplybeyond caring and fancies having aleaving do, they can still send in picsof their boss or other colleagues tous. Simply follow the beyond-easyinstructions below and we will make ithappen. You know it makes sense.

What a sight this lot must have made coming down the road. This, in case you hadn’t already figured it out, isDisney’s team for the Big Kids Bike Ride, in aid of the Toy Trust. The team completed the route from Shaftesburyvia Bath to Stroud and were part of an overall effort that has raised at least £70,000 for the Trust.

www.toynewsmag.com 71TOY TALK

JULY 2009

RC2 RC2’s Big Kids Bike Ride route certainly re-enacted a Roman epic, as the team of sixriders battled through torrential rain and into 52mph headwinds on the way fromStroud to Shaftesbury.

ZAPF CREATIONThe Zapf Creation’s team completedthe section from Ely to Sleaford.

FLAIRSevonoaks to Alton was the routetaken by the Flair team lead by theever-sprightly Peter Brown.

GMTV The boys from GMTV completed theroute from Sleaford via Lincoln toBarton upon Humber and Bartonupon Humber via York to Harrogateand lived to tell the tale.

BTHAThe BTHA team of Mark Brabazon,Simon Pilling and Matt Jones.

Flair chief Peter Brown wonderswhether he might have beengiven some duff information asto the location of the rave.

Zapf’s AndrewLaughton showsone way to wearLycra.

Flair boys nearToy Hill. And, ofcourse, it was allan uphill struggle.

JULY 2009

NAUGHTY NORDICSToymaster’s traditional evening of themed entertainmentsaw horns and shields aplenty as the industry donned itsbest viking garb. And, in keeping with the rowdyScandinavian’s rough and ready image, there was plentyof booze a-flowing and the occasional boisterous sing-song. Even if it was only Dancing Queen by ABBA.

72 TOY TALK

A spate of long-boat theftshad left many revellersstranded. But happy.

Character’s JerryHealy gets the horn

“Call that a plastic knife?THAT’S a plastic knife.”

And the awardfor CampestViking goes to...

Offhisbollix,otherwise knownas Ian Edmunds,nears the end ofan emotionalevening.

A happy Paul Reader. Afterransacking a nunnery.

Nothing a viking likes morethan a bit of ABBA.

JULY 2009

LEGS AND CO.The following evening saw aMoulin Rouge theme adopted.A potent mix of leggy dancinggirls and legless retailers. Agood time had by all.

MY No.1s

Humaira Kaiser,Marketing Manager,Brand Licensing Europe

73TOY TALK

Number one album: Depends on my mood butright here right now it’s Lady Gaga’s The Fame.U2’s Joshua Tree was the first album a boybought for me, so that’s got a special place onthe shelf too.------------------------------------------------------------------------------Film: God, that’s hard. Everything from Toy Story to TheGodfather, City of God, Scarface, Carlito’s Wayand The Untouchables.-----------------------------------------------------------------Book: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainianby Marina Lewycka--------------------------------------------------------------------TV programme: Right now - Britain’s Got Talent. As achild – Dastardly and Mutley------------------------------------------------------------------------------Number one single when you were born: ABBA’sDancing Queen (figures)------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hero: My number one cartoon hero isWolverine from the X-Men. My oldersisters had all the comic books so I gotinto it that way. Real life hero is mygrandmother - the only woman in the entire collegewhere she studied engineering, so she was prettyamazing.------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thing to do at the weekend: Taking a walk along thecommon, stopping for a coffee, then spending thenight chilling on the sofa with a DVD and giant tubof Haagen Dazs------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gadget: My iPod Nano – couldn’t live without it------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tipple: Cosmopolitan------------------------------------------------------------------------------Piece of advice: My mother usedto always tell me: “Be niceto people no matter howrude they are, Karmawill always get themin the end”------------------------------

The pain of rejection weighsheavy on Paul Reader.

Toymaster’s Yogi Parmar celebrateshis birthday in the best possible way

Toymaster’s house band

the Bogus Bros. get some

hands in the air

JULY 2009

74 FEATURE PLANNER

Construction Toys ● Plush ● Green Products

Editorial Deadline: Call for details Advertising Deadline: July 7th

AUGUST 2009

Got any events you would like to see added to the calendar? Email [email protected]

BRAND LICENSING EUROPE 09September 30th - October 1stGrand Hall, Olympia, Londonwww.brandlicensingexpo.com

US INTERNATIONAL FALL TOYPREVIEWOctober 6th - 9thDallas Market Centre TXwww.toy-tia.org

SHOWCOMOTION July 1st - 3rdSheffield Media and Exhibition Centrewww.showcomotionconference.com

AUTUMN FAIR 09September 6th - 9thNEC, Birminghamwww.autumnfair.com

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Editorial: 01992 535646 Advertising: 01992 535647

© Intent Media 2009 No part of this publicationmay be reproduced in any form or by any meanswithout prior permission of the copyright owners.ISSN: 1740-3308

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Circulation &Subscriptions

Games &Puzzles

A sector thathas struggledin recentyears, but still

a hugely important giftand occasion market.

Pre-Christmas TVAdvertised Products

TV support iscrucial to aproduct’s retail

support and our focuslooks at who’s spendingthe money and where.

Children’sBikes

A new featurewhich looksat the always

popular and alwaysinnovative children’s bikesand ride-ons market.

Brand LicensingShow Preview

In October wehead to Olympiaagain for

Europe’s biggest licensingevent and your build-upstarts with this preview.

Editorial deadline: July 10th Advertising deadline: August 14th

SEPTEMBER 2009

THE LICENSING AWARDSSeptember 10thRoyal Lancaster hotel, Londonwww.thelicensingawards.co.uk

DON’T

MISS OUT!

HKTDC HONG KONG TOYSAND GAMES FAIRJanuary 4th-7th 2010Hong Kong Convention & ExhibitionCentrewww.hktoyfair.hktdc.com

CHINA TOY EXPOOctober 14th-16thShanghai new international expocentrewww.shanghaitoyexpo.com.cn

No, nothing to do with bulldozersand cement mixers, ourconstruction feature is about thebricks and blocks and assortedinnovative materials that make up

this most popular of productsectors, loved by kids and,crucially, parents too. Look outalso for our focus on ecologically-designed products and plush.

TOYNEWS FIVES July 10thPowerleague, Barnetwww.topcorner.co.uk/toynewsfives

TOYNEWS FIVES RAISING MONEY FOR THE TOY TRUST

TO ENTER NOW PLEASE CALL 020 7700 1888 OR VISIT WWW.TOPCORNER.CO.UK/TOYNEWSFIVES

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£100 FROM EVERY ENTRY GOES TO THE TOY TRUST SUPPORTING DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES

★ AT LEAST SIX GAMES PER TEAM ★ GOURMET BARBEQUE ★ TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL TROPHY PRESENTATIONS

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toynews issue 95 july 2009

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