A year after she took up the position of UK MD at Magicbox Toys, Nicola Bergot invited John Baulch and Rachael Simpson-Jones to the company’s UK office.
Magicbox’s new, impressively well soundproofed offices lie directly under the Gatwick flightpath – a fitting location for a company that’s going places under the leadership of Nicola Bergot, who accepted the position of UK managing director at Magicbox in September 2021 after two decades at Flair GP.
Among Nicola’s first tasks were finding and setting up a UK office, devising new processes and systems, and creating the Magicbox UK team, which John and Rachael were lucky enough to meet: head of Marketing Suzie Howes, senior national account manager Denise Carr, and Natasha Moore, the company’s new Customer Services & UK Office coordinator.
“For a company that has been going for 26 years, and that has momentum with a hugely successful collectibles/impulse business, we’ve never really been known as a toy company,” Nicola explains, while discussing the company’s goal to change its trade perception. “I think many in the industry still see the company as an impulse products supplier to the News Trade channel, and while this remains important, the reality is that we sell quality toys that offer value for money and excellent play value for kids, plus good retail margins too.”
Indeed, Magicbox Toys has seen significant success with its Superthings brand. The range is welcoming new characters, vehicles, robots, play sets and themes that will continue its expansion into the broader toy space, rather than just the pocket money collectibles category. KookyLoos, a doll range that lets kids change their doll’s facial expression with a simple swipe of a finger, is also set to benefit from new play sets and themes, plus the introduction of two boy characters in spring.
To find out more about Magicbox’s story so far, Nicola’s business ethos and how the company is overcoming challenges many will relate to, read the full profile published in the October issue of Toy World by clicking here.
