The expansion of the Zuru UK team follows the company’s recent raft of award wins, and there are also plans for a new office and showroom.
L-R: Will Collinson (general manager UK & Ireland), Aneisha Viera (global brand director), Glyn Tasker (senior national account manager), Lucy Figg (UK & Ireland marketing lead) and Thomas Pang (eCommerce manager) at London Toy Fair 2022
Zuru has expanded its UK office with new appointments in its marketing and commercial teams to continue the company’s growth in market.
The company’s well-known Mini Brands range was recently named as Collectible of the Year at the London Toy Fair Toy of the Year Awards, and this was followed by two growth awards in the NPD Global and Europe Toy Performance Awards – for RoboAlive in the Youth Electronics section and the X-Shot range in the Outdoor & Sports category.
General manager of Zuru UK, Will Collinson, said: “Over the last three years, the growth in the UK and Irish markets for Zuru has been nothing short of phenomenal, having seen revenues increase over 70% and we are well on our way to unlocking significant further growth in 2022. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support from all our industry partners and we look forward to working closely with them to continue to bring fantastic products to market. Most recently, we were thrilled with the recognition from the BTHA and The NPD Group respectively, so it feels like the perfect time to announce our continued expansion as a business.”
Glyn Tasker has been brought on board as senior national account manager to head up a number of Zuru’s strategic accounts with Zuru’s most substantial year for new releases yet. Joining from Funko, he brings over 30 years of toy industry experience and will be based in the head office in Leeds.
Lucy Figg has been appointed to lead marketing in the UK and Ireland and has a strong heritage in retail and marketing, having held various commercial roles at Asda and most recently being marketing manager for consumer good business Freaks of Nature. Lucy will be instrumental in growing the Zuru footprint for trade and consumer audiences.
“We’ve added top talent to our team who we know will be pivotal to our continued success and will continue expanding in the months ahead to further support our partners,” said Will. “Given the importance of the UK and Irish markets, we are investing heavily in operations and are on track to open our showroom and Leeds hub in Q1 of 2022.”
He added: “It’s safe to say the best is yet to come, and we are thoroughly excited about the year ahead. We look forward to inviting our industry friends to meet our newest team members and latest developments at our brand-new showroom very soon.”
