Reydon Sports has spent the start of this year working its way further into the toy sector through toy shows and fairs and is already reaping the benefits.

Since Covid, Reydon Sports has grown “massively”, after expanding its offering beyond sports equipment. The team began to diversify into outdoor toys, games and leisure, allowing it to take on a lot more products and brands.

In the last 18 months, the business has joined the Toymaster Group and attended its first regional toy shows in April, followed by the May show in Harrogate. Through all the changes, the company has seen its turnover more than double from £7m to £16m.

The biggest partnership for Reydon Sports as yet has been with Nerf. Its distribution of the blaster products began about a year ago, and this year Nerf is set to expand its product range and allow Reydon to distribute globally.

Andy Griffin, marketing director, told Toy World: “With Nerf overall we have really made our mark on the toy market. We’re taking over full distribution towards the end of the year; it’s the main partnership we’re focusing on in the toy sector.”

The Toymaster May Show has already proved to be a “massive catalyst” for Reydon in reaching new audiences and achieving its objective of becoming more visible in the toy industry.

Andy said: “What we learned was that a lot of toy shops probably didn’t know we exist – or that, although we are a sports wholesaler, we do a lot of hybrid rages that marry sports and toys. I think it opened up their eyes. One major product range we have been selling to them is football team merchandise; people were coming to the stand specifically asking about this range, which they hadn’t had access to before.”

To read about other bestsellers and the company’s plans for the rest of the year, find the full article here.