The awards were created to celebrate the best tech businesses from around the UK and signals another landmark in the rise of OnBuy.

OnBuy.com, the world’s fastest-growing marketplace, has been named eCommerce Company of the Year in the 2020 UK Business Tech Awards.

The awards were created to celebrate the best tech businesses from around the UK, with awards being presented to the most innovative and exceptional companies. The accolade is yet another landmark in the rise of OnBuy. Having launched just four years ago, the marketplace has grown a record 24,000% and is poised to roll out a global expansion into 42 territory-specific sites by the end of 2020 and over 140 countries in total by 2023.

Cas Paton, founder and CEO of OnBuy, commented: “I’m thrilled to see OnBuy recognised as eCommerce Company of the Year for 2020. Our incredible growth since launching in 2016 has been powered by our transparent, fair, and ethical way of doing business. We don’t sell in competition to the independent sellers who trade with us, meaning that our success is their success. It’s brilliant to see that our belief in championing the needs of online sellers and operating fairly and transparently has been endorsed by this award win – and of course by the millions of customers who choose to shop with us and support our sellers.”

The award win comes as OnBuy launched the biggest discount day seen in retail this year, with over £50m in prices dropped across every single product on the site for Black Friday. Underpinning its commitment to being a fairer, more transparent and ethical marketplace, OnBuy covered the discounts to allow its retailers to have the best possible sales day at no extra cost and simultaneously offer buyers even better deals.

OnBuy has tripled its workforce to over 50 full-time staff members this year alone and has just announced plans to expand its offices into Manchester in the new year, creating at least another 100 jobs over the next two years to support its global expansion. Despite the pandemic, OnBuy has witnessed exceptional growth throughout 2020, with sales soaring from a run rate of £20m to over £160m in just one year.

Cas added: “This award win proves that the eCommerce industry is ready to recognise a better and fairer way of selling through online marketplaces. I’m delighted that OnBuy is at the forefront of a more ethical way of trading, and I’m determined that our continued growth will always benefit our loyal sellers and customers in equal measures.”

For more information, visit www.onbuy.com.

Toy World brings you a round-up of our recruitment section for anyone currently seeking a new opportunity.

Based in Guildford, Surrey, Vivid’s portfolio of brands ranges from Animagic and Vet Squad, games for all ages, Crayola, Harry Potter, Ryans World and Outdoor Toys. The company is currently looking for a product integrity (QA) technologist from the Toys & Games industry to join its team. Reporting to the Product Integrity Manager in the UK, the successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring that products manufactured, distributed, imported, and/or sold by Goliath-France, as well as its suppliers, meet Goliath’s Product Integrity requirements.

To find out more about the role, click here.

Vivid is also looking for a senior brand manager. Reporting to the head of marketing for Toys & Games, the successful applicant will be responsible for driving key brands and products within the UK portfolio, working with the International Marketing team from conception through to planning the UK launch, devising and executing marketing campaigns, as well as having financial accountability.

To apply, click here.

Founded three years ago, Fanbytes has built a successful influencer agency working with brands like Ubisoft, Mattel, King, and Miniclip to run campaigns that win the heart of Gen Z. Over the last 18 months, the company has developed two new divisions of the business: Bytesized Talent, the UK’s largest TikTok talent agency, and Bytehouse, the UK’s first-ever TikTok house, which has gained national press coverage in the Evening Standard and The Times, as well as on BBC and Sky News. The company is now looking for a first-class experienced brand partnerships manager to come in and eventually lead the toys and gaming division.

Find out how to apply, here.

Toynamics UK & Ireland is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hape Holding AG and acts as a multi brand distributor across a number of leading brands within the toy and nursery industry, and is now seeking a key account manager. The company’s mission is threefold – to shape the future of Toynamics within the children’s market, to make its brands even better known and established and to reinvent itself with proactivity to drive sales, marketing, and the business forward. The key account manager role is vital to the expansion and development of new business and growth within existing national accounts.

Click here to find out more about the role.

Further roles are advertised on the Toy World website and daily newsflash, which job seekers are advised to check regularly.

Looking for staff?

Toy World’s Recruitment section is the place to advertise your latest vacancies. Ads tailored to your individual specifications can be placed online within 24 hours and enjoy daily exposure on our popular email newsflash, plus front-page visibility on our website for the duration of the ad placement. Print ads are also available.

To discuss your requirements, get in touch with Mark Austin, mark@toyworldmag.co.uk.

The Dad’s Choice Awards entries offer inspiration for parents unsure what to buy their kids this Christmas.

With more entries than ever before, the annual Dad’s Choice Awards testers have spent weeks putting top toys through their paces and have announced its Twelve Top Winners for 2020. Each of these winning products grabbed the attention of the testers and was deemed worthy of the highest award. A further eleven products have been awarded the Highly Commended Award and ten received the Commended Award for 2020.

The Twelve Top Winners are as follows:

• Lego Adventures with Mario Starter Course
• Scalextric Micro Scalextric James Bond Set – No Time To Die
• Little Tikes First Washer Dryer
• Trends UK Nerf Bunkr Battle Cube
• John Adams Tweet Beats
• Cheatwell Games Baffled
• Olex Consulting Pepper The Penguin Bluetooth Speaker
• Build Your Own Kits Build Your Own Microscope
• Micro Scooters Mini Micro 3 in 1 LED Deluxe Push Along Scooter
• Micro Skate The Micro MJ Skate
• Eduk8 Worldwide Aquascope
• Carddies Christmas set

The Highly Commended Winners are:

• Corgi Chunkies Police Tow Truck
• Interplay UK Drone Home
• Hornby The Flying Scotsman Analogue Train Set
• Little Tikes Tobi Robot Smartwatch
• Moose Toys Boom City Racers
• Razor Crazy Cart Shift
• Revolution Robotics Challenge Robotics Kit
• Osmo Osmo Coding Kit
• Tig-Tag Tig-Tag
• Tonies Tonies and Toniebox
• Hue Animation HUE Animation Studio

The Commended Winners are:

• Edx Education FunPlay Rainbow Pebbles
• Eat Sleep Doodle World Map tablecloth
• Confident Games, Confident?
• Gutter Games Ltd Beat That! – The Bonkers Battle of Wacky Challenges
• Airfix Quickbuild Red Arrows Hawk
• Lego Duplo Modular Playhouse
• Limmys Neoprene Swim Vest
• Reading Eggs Reading Eggs and Mathseeds
• Robo Technologies Robo Wunderkind Explorer Prime Kit
• Wow Wee Power Treads All Surface Vehicles Epic Course Trac

David Ross, founder of Dad’s Choice Awards, commented: “Despite Covid-19, Dads Choice Awards had more entries this year than ever before. In our 9th year, our Dad testers have selected a cracking selection of top gifts. Unlike other round ups, the Dads Choice Winners have all been put through their paces by children. The list of Winners, Highly Commended and Commended is fantastic, any of these would make superb presents at Christmas. These awards aim to make life a little easier for last minute Christmas shoppers.”

Dad’s Choice Awards are a celebration of Dads and their kids playing and spending time together. Award winning entries can be seen in detail online at www.dadschoiceawards.co.uk.

The ‘Cat Friday’ initiative will be online from today until 29^th November in Italy and the UK, and until early December in France.

Black Friday weekend begins today, and 2020 will award 44 Cats fans with special deals on the 44 Cats Amazon official store for Cat Friday.

The original multi-territory initiative will be online from today (27^th November) until 29^th November in Italy and the UK, and until early December in France, where Black Friday has been delayed. Great offers await fans of the show that, with new episodes launching worldwide, is continuing to climb rating charts and win the heart of children and families.

In the UK, 44 Cats rated in the top six of all pre-school series on POP TV in Q2 of this year, with a peak of 5.5m audience in a month. The show increased its total viewership by 50% compared to the first quarter of the year.

The exclusive Cat Friday will be hosted on the official Amazon store of the brand and 44 Cats store only for three days, in a dedicated section, with a wide choice of products at very reasonable prices that  involve children in many different games and will encourage them to have fun at home.

The online store is accessible from the 44 Cats official page. Readers can also access the store on the 44 Cats official Amazon stores for the UK, Italy and France.

Hornby’s 25 day virtual Advent calendar is packed with prizes and exclusive updates.

Hornby has announced this year’s 25 day virtual Christmas Advent calendar, counting down the days of December with prizes and fun to be had.

The range of competitions and prizes included in this year’s countdown calendar have been designed to suit everyone, including model railway enthusiasts.

Featuring exclusive announcements and videos, giveaways and competitions, the virtual Advent calendar includes the final of Hornby’s Model Shot of the Year and the chance to win one of Hornby’s most wanted products, a Centenary Tinplate locomotive, produced as part of the company’s anniversary celebrations.

The calendar can be found via the Hornby Christmas Grotto, which features a  host of festive fun for all the family to enjoy, including downloadable colouring sheets and activities, photo booth props, Christmas themed videos, the chance to buy two special Christmas Hampers and lots more.

The festive themed activity will also be featured across all of Hornby’s social platforms from 1st December, when the virtual Advent calendar launches. Readers can visit the Hornby Christmas Grotto for more family activities.

Like and follow the Hornby social channels to be kept updated on all the latest news and more.

Spin Master will develop Wizarding World products based on the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films.

Spin Master has entered into a global licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) as the master toy partner for the Wizarding World franchise.

Spin Master will develop Wizarding World products based on the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films including dolls; figures and accessories; play sets; select vehicles; games; feature plush and role-play/dress up categories, expected to launch  in autumn 2021.

“Spin Master is all about creating magical experiences for kids through innovative toys, entertainment and digital platforms,” said John Blaney, Spin Master’s senior vice president, Licensing. “We are thrilled to expand on our existing relationship with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and can’t wait to unveil our innovative toys, inspired by the stories and characters from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies, for kids and fans of all ages around the world.”

“The Wizarding World is a fan favourite and we are excited to be growing our relationship with Spin Master who will bring innovation to the merchandise within the franchise for the constantly growing, worldwide fan community,” said Robert Oberschelp, SVP, global brand product, WBCP.

Spin Master continues to build a strong and diversified portfolio of evergreen licensee brands, following on from its agreement with WBCP earlier this year for the Batman franchise.

Harry Potter fans can build one of four different Hogwarts house crests – Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw – with this 4,249-piece set.

The new Lego Art Harry Potter Hogwarts Crests sets give Harry Potter enthusiasts and older Lego fans alike the chance to proudly display their allegiance to the Hogwarts house of their choice with new 2D tile mosaic wall art sets.

Fans can build one of four different Hogwarts house crests – Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw – with this 4,249-piece set. Four sets can be combined to make the ultimate Hogwarts crest.

Lego Art offers adults a creative experience to help them relax and recharge as they transform a blank canvas, or small interlinking base plates in this case, using Lego tiles. The new Lego Art Harry Potter Crests set can be reimagined in a number of different ways to display a different crest if loyalties change.

An immersive soundtrack can also give fans a behind the scenes peek into the Wizarding World as experts talk more about Hogwarts and the different houses, helping them to switch off and explore their love of Harry Potter as they build. The soundtrack includes stories of those close to the Wizarding World including: Miraphora Mina, graphic designer for the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts films; Eduardo Lima, graphic designer for the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts films; Alan Gilmore, creative director for the Harry Potter films; Pierre Bohanna, head prop maker for the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts films, and Lego designer, Kitt Kossmann.

A Harry Potter logo tile adds the final touch to the impressive 15.5” (40cm) square tile mosaic before it is proudly hung on the wall.

The new Lego Art Harry Potter Hogwarts Crests set is designed for builders aged 18 and over, and will be available from 1st January 2021 from Lego.com, Lego stores and other retailers globally.

Play-Doh partnered with Rylan Clark-Neal and a panel of pre-school ‘colour mixing experts’ to identify “Nemesis Grey” as its Colour of The Year.

Play-Doh has released a tongue-in-cheek documentary to celebrate its inaugural Colour of the Year – “Nemesis Grey”.

The hilarious three-minute film is hosted by Rylan Clark-Neal and features a pre-school panel of colour ‘experts’ talking about their journey to identify the Play-Doh Colour of the Year 2021. However, Rylan’s quickly discovers that “Nemesis Grey” is created by randomly mixing colours together – a sight that grown-ups are all too familiar with and dread their children doing.

The new Colour of the Year marks the brand celebrating its 65th anniversary and comes as new research reveals a quarter of parents (26%) admit they never let their kids mix up their Play-Doh colours because of the grey colour it creates.

The research found that 53% of parents believe they now spend more time playing with their children than they did before the first lockdown in March. However, it also discovered that 46% of grownups are still reluctant to encourage ‘messy play’, with 1 in 5 adults saying that messy play makes them feel anxious and two in five wishing they ‘could let go more’ when playing with their children.

Louisa Parast, marketing director at Play-Doh UK & Ireland, commented: “In a year when families have done more home crafting than ever before, we know that there is still a hesitance from grown-ups to embrace the messiness of mixing up Play-Doh colours – it’s their nemesis. But as we move into a new year, we’re encouraging parents to embrace Nemesis Grey, not as an enemy, but as a colour that is bursting with their children’s creativity. After all, that’s what Play-Doh as a brand is all about.”

Adults ready to embrace their nemesis and get messy with Play-Doh pots hiding in their cupboards can tune into Play-Doh Presents: Festive mix-along with Rylan Clark-Neal on Sunday 13th December at 10am on the Play-Doh Facebook page. A live workshop for families to follow and make their own creations to celebrate the holiday season.