- Title: UK: WORLD-FAMOUS HAMLEY'S TOY STORE PREPARES FOR HOLIDAY SEASON.
- Date: 12th November 2003
- Summary: (EU) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT - NOVEMBER 5, 2003) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD PERKS, DIRECTOR OF RETAIL RESEARCH, MINTEL INTERNATIONAL GROUP, SAYING: "I would say it's probably the most difficult of all retail sectors because you have this very skewed demand towards the end of the year, because it's a very fashionable business. Everything depends which is the key toy. You won't really know that till the end of the year, so it's "have you guess right". Also I think because children are loosing interest in toys. They don't really want them as much as before. They want computer games, they want designer goods, they want electronic gadgetry. And children who want that sort of things are younger and younger every year." (EU) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT - NOVEMBER 6, 2003) (REUTERS) VARIOUS SHOP WINDOWS WITH CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS (EU) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT - NOVEMBER 5, 2003) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD PERKS, DIRECTOR OF RETAIL RESEARCH, MINTEL INTERNATIONAL GROUP, SAYING: "If you say, the Christmas builds up through October, November and December, and you get January to September as your average level of sales, than you can say that that extra spending that comes through Christmas is worth about 11.5 billion pounds." (EU) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT - NOVEMBER 6, 2003) (REUTERS) COUPLE LOOKING AT SHOP WINDOW CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ON HAMLEYS REGENT STREET
- Embargoed: 27th November 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Business,General,Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVAEOZ1LB2AQJAQ9HM7PYAGTAZCI
- Story Text: It's not Christmas yet, but British top toy store is all set up for the holiday season with its 22 thousand lines of different toys.
Christmas is still a month and a half away but the British top toy store has already announced the beginning of the industry's most important holiday season.
Hamley store has unveiled its show-window in London's Regent Street last Thursday (November 6).
BBC's pop star reality TV show "Fame Academy" Alistair and Carolynne have been asked to light the Christmas lights and entertain the shoppers.
"Christmas time is really important for the industry.
The UK toy industry is worth about 1.89 billion pounds, and typically at the moment, at Christmas time, we'll be looking to take about 30% of our new revenues. So for us it's a real big deal," said Hamleys Regent Street store manager Dave Meekings.
And Hamleys, world's oldest and biggest toy store, seem to be well stocked and prepared for the upcoming holiday season with its toys inventories exceeding 22 thousand different lines.
Last year's big Christmas hits were Harry Potter toys, following the runaway success of books and films about the boy wizard. Dave Meekings says there is no emphasis on any particular toy this year, and the store relies on the toys which continued to be strong throughout the year and proved popular with kids.
"There is certainly more breath to the toy industry than maybe there have been in previous years - a lot of computerised sort of games. And at the end of the day a lot of the things that drives it is what kids get into in the playgrounds up and down the country," said Meekings.
Among the favourites are Bratz fashion dolls, which come with specialised clothing sets for events like a first date, shopping sprees or beach outings. Much of their success comes from integrated merchandising, with girls able to buy clothes and accessories to dress themselves like real life versions.
The British Association of Toy Retailers (BATR) has recently revealed its predictions for the top ten toys for Christmas 2003.
Among the top ten, along with Bratz dolls, are Mattel's Barbie - Swan Lake, where Barbie doll is the beautiful princess in her latest movie, "Barbie of Swan Lake". The Lego fans will be after the Bionicles toy family. The little ones are likely to be hooked up by a Boobah soft toy family - Humbah, Jingbah, Jumbah, Zing Zing Zingbah and Zumbah. They move eyes and pop-up heads, and are made from an iridescent fabric with attractive sparkle.
There is also something for the whole family - Cranium, the new board game that would take you through 14 fun activities. Inventors say it will celebrate the whole brain and takes about an hour to play.
And pizza-loving amphibians - Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo and Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, action figures based on the characters seen in the new animated TV series are expected to make a comeback.
Toy market professionals say that, like fashion, the popularity of toys goes in cycles. Brands are important but the success of a toy relies on its 'playability'. So it's not surprising that those which thrilled children twenty years ago can still appeal to kids today.
So there is the whole range of "retro" toys which once were world's top hits and are still expected to do well this Christmas - Hornby's electric trains, which first appeared in 1925; Corgi's toy cars and other models which were first manufactured in 1934; Monopoly game, invented in the U.S. by Charles Darrow in 1933; and of course all years favourite, the Teddy Bear, believed to be created in 1902 in the U.S. by a Russian emigrant Morris Michtom who had seen a cartoon of the U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt declining to shoot a bear cub while out hunting. Michtom launched his range of "Teddy" bears in his Brooklyn shop spreading the teddy bear craze in the U.S. and worldwide.
But whether vast variety brings good sales results remains to be seen.
"I would say it's probably the most difficult of all retail sectors because you have this very skewed demand towards the end of the year, because it's a very fashionable business. Everything depends on which is the key toy. You won't really know that till the end of the year, so it's "have you guess right", said Richard Perks, director of retail research, from retail sector researcher group, Mintel.
"And also I think because children are loosing interest in toys. They don't really want them as much as before.
They want computer games, they want designer goods, they want electronic gadgetry. And children who want that sort of things are younger and younger every year," he added.
Christmas is critical for all retailers. According to Mintel more than 11% of all year sales happen in December.
"If you say the Christmas builds up through October, November and December, and you get January to September as your average level of sales, than you can say that that extra spending that comes through Christmas is worth about 11,5 billion pounds," said Perks.
With these sales figures in mind London retailers are not prepared to take any chances. It's early November, but Christmas trees and Santas are already in the high street, inviting consumers to start filling up their stockings for the holiday season. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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