Woolies stock floods toy market
Toy specialist Character Group expects that there will be many children disappointed with Santa on Christmas morning, given the fact that some of the most anticipated toys of the season will be out of stock. In particular the group predicts that the Peppa Pig products and Go Go Pets will come up short this year.
At the same time, its results for the full year have still suffered a bit after Woolworths collapsed last year with stock meant for Woolworths from 2008 swamping the marketplace and diverting profits.
Thus, the company was forced to record that they suffered a pre-tax loss of £2m for the year out of which £1m was left over from Woolies, which was drastic compared to its report of a £5m profit the previous year. However, due to some good Christmas trading this year the company has a lot of hope towards the future.
Richard Hickinbotham a prominent analyst said that Character Group will start out in the market place in 2010 in a much better position than last year and with a new focus on their products they should be able to continue the profitability turn around that they exhibited in the second half of 2009.
Next year the group already plans to put together new ranges for the Doctor Who line along with a new Fireman Sam line and more Go Go Pets.
GOGO hamsters selling for high prices
This year’s top Christmas toy, The GO GO Hamster, has got parents as worked up as Tickle Me Elmo did in the past, as many parents are reporting stress from trying to obtain the toy and online sellers are racking up a large amount of business at hiked up prices.
Normally, the small cuddly toy costs about ten pounds, but greedy sellers are auctioning or selling the toy online for over six times that amount, because apparently parents without other choices are buying them at an alarming rate.
In fact, a complete set of the hamsters which include Mr. Squiggles, Pipsqueak, Chunk, and Num Nums went for about £150 on eBay a few days ago. The large turnaround online is due to the fact that most stores ran out of the popular toy with over a month to go until Christmas.
Owner of the toy shop chain Entertainment, Cary Grant, who is also the Toy Retailers Association chairman, stated that the reason prices are so high now is because many people loaded up on the toys before heading to eBay making them a scarce commodity in stores.
He said that while it is always hard to tell which toy will be ‘the toy’ of the year, speculators that compile lists actually usually result in people buying up large numbers of toys and hoarding them, which drives their value up online.
Grant also added that one of the reasons that the Go Go Hamsters may hold such a versatile appeal to parents as a gift for their children is due to the fact that they are the closest thing you can buy to a pet without worrying about the mess or responsibility that a pet typically entails
Tie-ins lure children to pester for toys
It is no surprise that every year there are always a few toys that take on the title of the most wanted toys for Christmas right up there with the Tickle Me Elmo’s of the past. However, the larger question outside of what these toys will be each year is how they end up to be the biggest thing since Furbys.
Are these top toys actually any cooler or better than other toys, or are they simply the products of the best marketing?
Marketing campaigns for toys start as soon as they hit the market, but become the largest in the two months leading up to Christmas when television ads during children’s programming really start to take off in an attempt to hook children rather than their parents.
Among the tools in a professional marketer’s bag of tricks are bright colours, brand names, cool characters, and fun music. Although the advertisers know that children are not heading out to the stores to buy their items, they are hoping that the children will want the toys badly enough to pester their parents until they get them.
Advertisers are now taking a slightly different turn while promoting their toys switching to integrated marketing campaigns that include television ads but focus heavily on tie-ins with comic books and films, so that children see the characters and hence the toys everywhere they go.
Of course, the intent is to make sure that the parents see them also so that it becomes unavoidable that the toys will get snatched up by frenzied consumers.
Boys toys for all ages selling well at John Lewis
Men’s fashion and boys’ toys were the hot ticket items at John Lewis stores last week according to the popular department store retailer.
The store noted that they experienced a 15% increase in sales over the past week leading up to Saturday compared to the same shopping time period prior to the official Christmas shopping season.
One of the top selling items was a child’s scooter, but John Lewis took care to note that boys’ toys for all ages were top sellers.
Director of selling operations for John Lewis, David Barford stated that the toy department has been the focus of sales all week.
He continued to say that the scooter topped the list alongside remote controlled helicopters and cars, which leads the retailers to believe that dad’s are taking a more active role in toy buying this year. Barford also commented that the dads may be purchasing toys they want to toy around with as well.
Along with boys’ toys, adult male toys such as football tables and air hockey tables also sold in high volumes this week alongside male’s fashion items.
Outside of the men’s department, John Lewis also noted that upholstery, beds, and furniture also sold well up by an astronomical 400% in some stores.
Mending and craft sales also increased in the time period with sewing machines also disappearing off the shelves.