While the UK has seen the nice spring weather of last weekend retreating almost as quickly as it came, and Dubai has been suffering from its worst storms in decades (a friend who had scheduled a string of retail appointments there this week has been sending me videos of flooded Dubai streets from the hotel room in Kuwait where he is currently stranded), some lucky folks from the global toy community have been fortunate enough to be visiting Los Angeles instead. Nice work if you can get it. For while 2024 has barely got off the ground, some have already started planning for spring summer ’25 and have decided that LA is the best place for them to do that.
Obviously that doesn’t include me (we’re far too busy putting the finishing touches to our bumper May issue), so I can only report based on what I am hearing and seeing on social media. The April trip – previously limited to a relatively small group of US toy companies based in LA, plus some leading global distributors and a handful of buyers (is it fair to say mainly US-based?) – is undoubtedly growing. That said, it appears that it still has a long way to go to get to the level of the September LA trip. I mentioned in a Blog a few weeks ago that I had heard that only three major UK retailers were making the trip in April: in fact, I was told this week that one of those dropped out. I did speak to a couple of prominent UK retailers who decided not to go, suggesting that they were just too busy, and weren’t convinced that the cost /benefit ratio was particularly favourable, especially so soon after London and Nuremberg. One admitted that while he is already starting to plan for spring summer ’25, the companies with products to show him and his team would be able to visit them at their office any time to kick start that discussion.
To be fair, I did see pictures on LinkedIn of a selection of larger US retailers in various LA showrooms, so I am curious as to whether there was also a meaningful presence from retailers from outside the US market, or whether LA in April is predominantly an opportunity for distributors to see new ranges, rather than an opportunity to secure retail listings. Is it basically an American-based Distoy – or is it growing into something bigger? As ever, all feedback gratefully received.
Elsewhere, the Entertainer /Tesco rollout continues apace, with more and more stores being converted each week. By now, I suspect many of you will have seen a local example of the new format, and you’ll have your own thoughts as to how it is all looking. One thing is for sure: with an average branch of The Entertainer featuring between 5,000-6,000 SKUs, and the average aisle space in a large Tesco able to fit in around 1,000 SKUs, there are some big decisions for The Entertainer buying team to take in terms of how to fill the space. My understanding is that we may well see more frequent churn of the product selection in-store than you would expect within The Entertainer’s estate – which makes perfect sense when you take into account the frequency of customer visits to a Tesco versus The Entertainer. It also potentially means a more nimble, flexible, reactive approach to jumping on what’s working in the market, and neither The Entertainer nor suppliers being constrained by the aisles only experiencing major range changes twice a year. That seems to me to be a positive, win-win opportunity for everyone.
In addition, the Irish Tesco stores should be converted over the next couple of months, which will certainly be an interesting development to keep an eye on. Although only 10% of Tesco’s store estate, it is a brand-new market for The Entertainer. It’s also Smyth’s back yard, ramping up the competition between the two leading UK & Ireland specialist toy retailers. However, with Argos pulling out of Ireland last year, it arguably leaves a gap that The Entertainer and Tesco will be hoping to fill.
There have been a few notable comings and goings in recent weeks: I was surprised to hear that Andrea Gornall has left 8th Wonder to take early retirement, and we wish her all the best with whatever comes next. It was also announced this week that James Ford has parted company with Toys R Us UK and is looking for a new role on either the buyer or supplier side of the toy market. I know that James is held in high regard by colleagues and toy companies, so I hope he finds a new opportunity very soon. The big question now is, of course, what happens next at Toys R US UK…? I also gather that Paul Bufton will be leaving Universal shortly – we’ll bring you news of what Paul is up to next as soon as we have it.
Finally, it is the London Marathon this weekend: as ever, numerous people from the toy community will be running the 26 miles to raise valuable funds for a variety of charities – we feature a couple of stories in our newsletter today, and I know there are many others who will be braving the course on Sunday. Good luck to everyone running and I hope you all make a lot of money for worthwhile causes. Our youngest daughter – who works in the charity sector for Bowel Cancer UK – will be there bright and early to set up a cheer point to support their runners, so we’ll ask her to give a special cheer to any toy community runners she spots along the way. May the weather be in your favour – look on the bright side, if it was the Dubai Marathon, you’d all need canoes.
