The London Toy Fair premiere follows a successful launch in the UK, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, Norway and Malta in autumn/winter 2019.
The new range launched in the UK in July 2019, after Golden Bear’s appointment as master toy partner for the Emmy award-winning pre-school show, and has proved to be one of the company’s fastest selling ranges in recent years.
“Even before our new brand TVC aired in September, there was a staggering demand for the new range from the moment the new soft toys, figurine packs and feature plush stock landed in stores,” said Barry Hughes, managing director. “Our retailers are delighted with the performance. Our strategy going forward is to continue to bring out new SKUs, both in spring/summer and autumn/winter, to keep innovating and inspiring Bing fans and their grown-ups across the globe.”
With broadcast licensed in 120 countries and over 1.37m global YouTube subscribers, Bing has a strong international footprint. The UK launch of the new CBeebies series on 31st October 2019 has helped secure its position as a top UK pre-school brand. The latest series also introduces new characters and locations, which Golden Bear is looking to include in future development.
The UK launch was mirrored in Italy with distributor Giochi Preziosi experiencing a high rate of sale, with three lines featuring in top 100 items (NPD October 2019 Total Toy Market Top 100) and Talking Bing No. 14 in November 2019 (NPD November 2019 Total Toy Market Top 100) supported by TV and digital marketing. Poland was next to market in October, with distributors Orbico launching in retail chain Smyk which reported a high demand for Bing and Sula soft toys. Intertoys has also reported a strong start for the launch in the Benelux through Golden Bear’s partnership with Spectron; demand outstripped supply across both territories.
New territories launching in 2020 are confirmed as Iberia, Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, Hungary, Czech and there are also plans to launch in Greece, Australia, South Africa and the Middle East.
Golden Bear is exhibiting at stand E69 London Toy Fair from 21st-23rd January.
