Well, that’s the Summer over – cooling temperatures and horizontal rain showers the order of the day. And night. But there are some bright spots – TnP is here and bright lights are shining through the pages.
October has been a month of trade shows – Autumn Fair, INDX Toy & Gift and Brand Licensing Europe (BLE). We’ve got a review of BLE with an interview with the event director. The overall impression is that it’s been much busier and way more positive than 2023 – record breaking numbers attending celebrate the 25th anniversary.
Our Independent Opinion columnist is Charlotte Croser of Jollys Toys again. Among other things – fun things those are too – she comments on the contrasting toy handling approaches of INDX and Autum Fair.
On the supplier profile front we have an interview with Ancory Toys founder, Abel Dzienciolski. It’s a fantastic read and includes his high hopes for a couple of toy ranges that are already a huge success in the US. Two ranges that are not part of the licensing phenomenon.
We’ve renamed our increasingly popular Ambassadors series as TnP Toy Testers. The Ambassadors name was fun but the new identity gives a clearer idea of what the testing joys are all about. This month’s Toy Tester is four-year-old Taron who fell in love with EDX Education’s Eco and Steam ranges.
Our retail columnist, John Ryan, goes to town this month on the partial return from self-checkouts to staffed tills. He has purely commercial views on this given his extensive Retail Gazette background. By “commercial” we mean “interesting.”
Our features this month take in Construction Toys, STEM & Educational and the Kidult phenomenon. The soaring and healthy Kidult is clearly triggered by parents playing with their children (imagine that!) during Covid.
We interview Geoff Sheffield of the Entertainer who has recently been voted in as chairman of the Toy Retailers Association. He gives us the insight to plans for DreamToys.
We’re moving into Q4 and there’s already a massive increase in energy and activity in terms of product launches as we head into the festive season and on into the January shows.
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