FOUR NEW PARTNERS FOR ELMER Andersen Press, publishers of the popular picture book character, Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, has recently signed four partners to its growing licensing and brand extension programme: The Puppet Company is launching Elmer hand puppets, Pawprint Family is creating badges and awards, publisher Immediate Media will create Elmer projects for their leading crafting titles and Kabode will collaborate on a special Elmer collection of infant bedding. These companies, alongside bags and aprons licensee, Petit Jour, will be launching brand new Elmer products in 2023. The partnerships were brokered by licensing agency, Metrostar. Paul Black, Brand Director at Andersen Press, comments: “2022 was a record sales year for Elmer books so it’s great to see Elmer licensing growing too. We’re on a mission to increase Elmer’s visibility and accessibility to all families so it’s especially exciting that Elmer products will be gracing so many new stands at the trade fairs in 2023.” Claire Potter, Metrostar Founder, adds: “Our messaging is strongly focussed around Elmer’s core value of “inclusivity”. We’re finding it’s this, alongside his popularity and signature patchwork which is highly motivating to potential partners. It’s great to start the New Year with four new additions to our licensing family and as we head towards Elmer’s 35th anniversary in 2024, we’ll be announcing a number of further licenses and collaborations.” TRADITIONAL TOYS COME OUT ON TOP FOR THE UK’S £3.6BN TOY MARKET The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA), organisers of the Toy Fair, and The NPD Group announced their annual industry insights at Toy Fair 2023, held at Olympia London, from the 24th to 26th January. Against a challenging economic backdrop in 2022 that saw UK toy sales decline three percent to £3.6bn, it was traditional toy categories – plush (soft toys), building sets, action figures, and vehicles – which drove toy sales, with all four categories seeing positive growth during the year. The best performing category of 2022, plush (soft toys), up a significant 29% YoY, delivered exceptional results for the toy industry due to its popularity with a wide audience, and its collectability appeal. 2022 saw the top toy properties going to the classics Star Wars, Marvel Universe, and Barbie, and the fastest growing went to Squishmallows and Jurassic World. Licensed toys grew for the fourth consecutive year, up by 5.5%, now accounting for 31% of the market – the highest ever share. The average selling price of a toy now at £10.54, shows that toys remain accessible all-year round purchases. In 2022, consumers increasingly favoured toys that cost between £30 and £50 suggesting that people were making more considered purchases. Toys were and remain available to suit a wide range of budgets. “The UK toy industry has continued to deliver toys and games for consumers at affordable prices during 2022 amongst high levels of inflation, and a cost-of-living crisis” commented Kerri Atherton, Head of Public Affairs at the BTHA. “Last year, new product innovations were vital to driving sales in the UK toy industry which led to growth in the plush toy category. With a strong line up of new releases for 2023, the UK toy industry has signs to be optimistic about the year ahead.” Melissa Symonds, Executive Director, UK Toys, from The NPD Group added, “New licenced properties like Gabby’s Doll House and classics like Star Wars drove major sales throughout 2022. With Disney celebrating their 100th anniversary and movie releases such as Barbie, Transformers, and Super Mario, 2023 looks set to be another good year for licenced toys, an instrumental part of the UK toy industry.” Christmas shoppers appeared to leave their shopping until the last minute this year with week 51 results up 15% on the previous year. This increase could be attributed to customer expectations of potential issues with home delivery which meant high street toy and game retailers enjoyed an uplift of in store sales during Q4. In store purchases increased throughout the year with offline sales accounting for 51% of the UK toy market, an increase of 6% from 2021. Online sales are still ahead of where they were before the pandemic, when online sales accounted for just 35% percent of the market. Melissa Symonds, Executive Director, UK Toys, from The NPD Group commented, “In 2022, we saw consumers returning to make more purchases in store during the year. Consumers are increasingly choosing to shop with specialist toy stores, which saw an uplift of 16% in sales, with consumers seeking out large product ranges offering choice and value.” KINKIND LAUNCHES INTO MASS RETAIL 100 percent plastic-free beauty brand KinKind announces its launch into mass retail, supported by a £2.3m TV advertising campaign to raise consumer awareness. The brand’s mission to convert the family bathroom to plastic-free, high performance beauty care alternatives is accelerating following an ‘airtime for equity’ deal agreed with UKTV Ventures over two years, which will see KinKind feature across seven channels reaching 28 million viewers. Following the investment, KinKind has upscaled and is now launching a retail-ready range in January 2023, and is seeking partnerships with like-minded retailers who support the brand’s plastic-free mission. The brand’s range of award winning innovative, highperformance hair and body care bars includes everyday products such as shampoo and conditioner, 2 in 1 shampoo and bodywash, and body moisturiser: as well as more targeted products including body scrub, after sun and even a dog shampoo bar. KinKind offers consumers an easyto-switch alternative to traditional premium bottled bathroom products that contain approx. 80% water and are packaged in plastic. Founder Victoria Coe, an experienced FMCG marketer said: “I believe it is up to us as business leaders to make it easy for consumers to reduce plastic in their homes. It’s not just the eco warriors who want to change, there is desire on a mass scale. It is our responsibility as brands and retailers to make easy switches available, affordable, and visible.” www.kinkind.co.uk 12
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