Fri, 6th February 2009

Buoyant mood helps Toy Fair success

The 56th annual UK Toy Fair opened - and closed - in an upbeat mood in London last week, after visitors and exhibitors brought a positive mood to the fair.

Jamie Dickinson, trade marketing manager of regular exhibitor Playmobil, said: This year's Toy Fair has gone very well, as usual. In 2008, we had our best year ever in terms of sales and orders. This year, we have beaten that by 20 per cent!"

Over in the Greenhouse Area, John Chambers, managing director, JC Games, added: "We have taken firm orders for 240 games and Hamley's will be launching Qb in April, a deal set up after speaking to the buyer during Toy Fair. As a result, we are ordering 3,000 new games to meet anticipated demand."

The inaugural Toy Fair: Best New Toys and appearances from Brian Blessed, Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson, Gladiators Atlas and Battleaxe, Sportacus and Big Brother's Samanda provided a strong focal point for the hundreds of journalists attending the fair, with stories airing on GM:TV, Sky News, Channel Five News and More 4 News while the event was still in full swing.

Toy Fair also announced it is to return to Olympia in West London for 2010: a move that was welcomed by exhibitors such as John Crane, whose sales and marketing director Keith Elmer commented: "Everyone seems to be very positive with Toy Fair moving to Olympia, and I am sure the show will be just as good as always."

Simon Pilling, Toy Fair event manager, concluded: "Each year, the BTHA's goal is to provide the UK toy industry with a fitting showcase for its products and an effective platform for doing business. But while we can provide the infrastructure to make Toy Fair happen, the atmosphere in the hall is totally reliant on our exhibitors and visitors. So, this year in particular, we want to extend a big thank you to them for bringing such a buoyant mood to the show despite the stresses and strains of the last year.

"We are confident that the move to Olympia next year will give us all something to look forward to and will help to maintain the positive buzz that is so integral to this industry."