The TRA has announced that Derek Markie is retiring at the end of June from running the association’s secretariat.

Derek signalled his desire to retire at the 2017 annual general meeting and has assisted in the smooth handover of the reins of the organisation to his replacement, Natasha Crookes.

Derek has worked for the TRA for 14 years, representing the interests of members in discussions with stakeholders, running the TRA secretariat, fielding media questions and organising Dream Toys – the Christmas media showcase for the industry. For a number of years he ran the Annual Awards Dinner and co-ordinated the retail judging of the Toy of the Year awards each year.

Derek commented: “When I was fortunate enough to survive a heart attack in autumn 2003 I did not expect to be able to resume a full scale new commission for my consultancy the following Spring. To be able to join such a friendly and supportive industry and team was the encouragement I needed. That support has continued throughout the years since, and despite the decline in retail numbers since 2010 it has been great fun as well as challenging. I am grateful to everyone involved in the association and its key public event, DreamToys. As they pass into Natasha’s highly experienced and energetic hands, I wish you all every success in the future.”

Alan Simpson, chairman of the TRA, added: “Derek has worked tirelessly on behalf of the Association for many years. He has shown passion and commitment to our industry and our retail community. He will be missed in his capacity at the Association, but also personally; we all hope he enjoys a happy retirement.”

Derek will hand the reins over to Natasha Crookes from 1st June. Natasha has worked for the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) for 16 years, most recently as the director of public affairs and communications. She moved part-time in 2017 in order to move life to Cornwall but has found that she has time on her hands to be able to take on the TRA position. As well as continuing to work in her part-time capacity for the BTHA, Natasha will take over the administration of the TRA and will organise Dream Toys and the toy retail judging of the industry awards.

Commenting on her appointment, Natasha said: “I am delighted to be able to take over the work of the TRA from the excellent job Derek Markie has done over the years. I look forward to speaking to retail members and working with the excellent team of TRA members, toy suppliers, Bastion and Blackberry Productions that run Dream Toys so well each year, as well as my BTHA colleague, Matt Jones, on the Toy of the Year Awards”.

The contact details for Dream Toys and the TRA will remain unchanged.

Natasha Crookes
01427 619532
207 Mercury House, Willoughton Drive
Foxby Lane Business Park, Gainsborough DN21 1DY
Email: natashacrookes@toyretailersassociation.co.uk

Zebedee Management represents models with Down Sydrome, ADHD, Aspergers, Achondroplasia and Tourettes, among others.

In October last year, 11 year old Joseph Hale starred in River Island’s Kids Squad fashion campaign, while Jack Brumpton appeared in a photoshoot with world-famous photographer Rankin for Hunger Magazine. Both boys have Down Syndrome.

Joseph and Jack are just two of the many models, actors and performers represented by the talent agency Zebedee Management, which offers a portfolio of kids and adults with a wide range of disabilities and learning difficulties. With many industries seeking to offer equality for all, and to better represent minorities, the agency states that it is “championing diversity and breaking down the barriers around disability and beauty.”

Directors Laura Johnson and Zoe Proctor are now keen to establish contacts within the toy industry as they continue to ensure that the young models they represent are afforded the same opportunities as their able-bodied counterparts.

They commented: “We are a specialist talent agency representing men, women and children with a range of disabilities, and would welcome the chance to speak to contributors about featuring our future stars in upcoming campaigns or shoots. This would be a great opportunity for our models, and for you to lead the way, championing diversity and breaking down the barriers around disability and beauty. Disability it seems is the last taboo in the media and fashion worlds; however, companies are now also realising the missed economic and social impact opportunities and are turning to us to help.”

“As the leading agency representing diversity in the UK we have received lots of positive press attention. We’ve supplied models for River Island, Marks and Spencer’s, Boden, most major supermarkets, and many more commercial projects.”

Anyone planning a photoshoot or advertising campaign, who would like to feature one of Zebedee’s talented child models, is encouraged to visit the agency’s website, or email directly to find out more.

The Chancellor is being urged to apply a 3% sales tax on internet giants to help Britain’s ailing high streets.

Influential Tories are calling on Philip Hammond to fast-track a tax on the likes of Amazon, eBay and Google to “level the playing field” with UK business.

Tory MP Neil O’Brien claims the move could raise as much as £500m a year. Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said this money could be used to slash sky-high business rates blamed for pushing shops to the wall.

The Centre for Retail Research claims as many as 20,000 shops could go bust between now and 2020. DIY giant Homebase was sold to restructuring specialists for £1 last week.

Neil commented: “You could raise hundreds of millions through a turnover tax. This could allow us to do something useful for the high street. The Treasury are considering what to do. They want to do the right thing.”

The backbencher has the support of Tories such as former minister Nick Boles, Michael Gove’s ex-campaign manager during the 2016 leadership battle.

Under the plans, the tax would hit social media firms, online marketplaces and search engines with annual global revenues of £650m or more.

The Chancellor hinted he was minded to tax digital giants revenue in the Spring Statement in March. The European Commission separately brought out its own proposals.

Treasury Minister Mel Stride has told MPs the UK would rather act with Brussels to ensure every member state has the same rate. But he added the UK would act unilaterally if “we do not move forward at sufficient pace”.

Canal Toys has expanded its senior team with the appointment of Anthony Grimaud as UK CEO.

Working with Paul Clark, head of Canal Toys UK, the senior team will use their combined passion for toys and unrivalled experience to build their key brands in the UK market.

Bringing with him over twenty years’ experience in the toy industry, Anthony has an impressive background having worked at Tiger Electronics, Hasbro, Spinmaster and most recently as Global VP at HTI. Anthony, a French national, has lived in the UK for twenty-four years immersing himself in the European toy industry.

Patrick Krief, group CEO of Canal Toys, commented: “We are thrilled to have Anthony on board at Canal. He has a proven track record, extensive knowledge of the global retail environment and will undoubtedly accelerate our ambitious development plans for the UK market working with Paul Clark, who launched the UK business earlier this year. Anthony’s acumen and passion for the toy industry will be a great asset in delivering results and support to our retail partners.”

Anthony Grimaud commented: “I’m totally thrilled to be joining Canal Group at such an important time in the company’s development. Canal Toys has an impressive range of cool, innovative and unique product and brands which will bring some real excitement to the arts and craft category. I’m looking forward to working with our talented team and forging strong relationships with our UK retailers.”

Over the next few months Canal Toys will be launching a series of innovative new arts & crafts brands including Power Dough, So Glow DIY and Style 4 Ever.

The German toy company works with licences such as Star Wars, Disney Frozen, Mia and Me, and Dragons.

The company will be presenting a range of products at Distoy, including The Craze Bladez spinners, which are not just a spinners, they are also a strategical game. Children are able to build their own spinner by using the different parts, as they decide during a battle how they combine the different parts to create a spinner for defence or for attack. They are available in different packaging and SKUs. There are six different starter sets available, and they all have different colours and different attributes as well. Also available is the Craze Bladez Duel Set with two different spinners, two starter units and an extra large starter cord for increasing the power from the starter unit; the Craze Bladez Mega Arena, a huge arena for a great battle performance; and the Craze Bladez Battle Set which contains spinners, starter units, different starter cords, one arena and some special features.

Also available is the Craze Magic Dough, intelligent and smart putty which is the most successful one in the German market (NPD Eurotoys June 2017-April 2018). It was also nominated for Top 10 toy of the year in Germany.

On display will also be the Galupy collectible horse figurines and play sets, the Craze Splash Beadys which connect together just with adding water and are available in more than 60 SKUs, and the Craze Advent Calendars, which are toy advent calendars with 24 different toys inside, including figurines, accessories, stickers, and more.

Argos is the first UK retailer to launch AR-enabled Lego models through its app, giving customers the chance to view full scale, animated 3D versions of Lego toys.

The new feature, launching on iOS, will enable customers to view a digital version of the Lego Star Wars Kessel Run Millennium Falcon, the Lego Disney Princess Sleeping Beauty Fairytale Castle and the Lego Ninjago Movie Quake Mech, in addition to 30 other toy sets, all at the touch of a button.

By the end of July 2018, up to 100 Lego top toys will be available to view in augmented reality (AR).

When customers select an AR view of a Lego set from the Argos application, an animated version of the fully-made model will appear, built to scale, in the user’s home. For the first time, it will enable people to see the toys in action and view the scale of each model. Customers can also zoom into and around each set to see the minute details of each piece.

Sainsbury’s Group has a significant online capability with 60% of Argos sales starting online and over 70% of those are via mobile devices. The new AR feature has been built into the app to meet the demand of Argos customers who can find it difficult to gauge the size of toys when shopping digitally.

Matt Grabham, digital product manager at Argos, commented: “Argos has always looked at new ways to innovate and improve how our customers shop with us. As more and more of our customers, particularly busy parents, are shopping on-the-go using our mobile app and embracing advances in technology, using AR to showcase our products is a natural evolution.”

Companies join Fiesta Crafts and Tomy in committing to produce Good Toys across all of their ranges.

As Good Toy Guide Endorsed Companies, Playmobil and Geomag have at least 80% of their product offering evaluated and approved by the Good Toy Guide testers.

The Good Toy Guide Endorsed Company status shows consumers and retailers alike that companies are producing products across the board which help to develop children’s skills, are easy to use and are fun to play with.

Playmobil has worked extensively with Fundamentally Children in the past, both for product evaluation and accreditation, and partnering for experiential marketing campaigns. Geomag already has its magnetic building blocks in the Good Toy Guide, and is in the process of submitting more for testing.

As part of the Endorsed Company package, the companies will also have products included in the inaugural Good Toy Zone, launching at Under 1 Roof Kids in London on 1st June.

Dr Amanda Gummer, founder and CEO of Fundamentally Children, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Playmobil and Geomag to the scheme. We have been working with both companies for some time now and each consistently produces Good Toys, so it’s great to be able to recognise them as a company too.”