TOY FAIR 2016
JAY FOREMAN President and CEO, The Bridge Direct
The toy industry was up approximately 7 percent in 2015. What are your expectations for 2016? I’d anticipate steady or down. I think consumers have spent the “gasoline bonus” they got with low oil prices, and more importantly, between the malaise in China and its effect on the global markets and the election with the Republicans hammering the fact that “our country is a disaster,” consumer confidence is going to soften. That’s just my two cents on that. Also, there is no big driver like Star Wars or Shopkins in toys. We’re beginning to see more innovation and risk-taking in new product introductions than in recent years. Will you introduce any new products or lines that take play to a new level? We’re big on keeping play where it has always been—basic and generally on the floor or tabletop. We’ll let others make the next big innovation, which winds up to be the next big closeout, on their own. What were your top-selling toys/toy categories of 2015? Any surprises? Our biggest surprise was how well our Shopkins “Kinstruction” construction line sold through in the fourth quarter. Companies have tried to place girls’ construction and building into the market and, with the exception of Lego Friends, not many have succeeded. So regardless of how well Shopkins core toys performed, we were sitting on eggshells waiting to see sales results. Fortunately, the product blew out. Star Wars drove toy sales in the fourth quarter. Which licenses will be hot next year? I think Shopkins will stay hot, along with core Star Wars. There is a lot of buzz on the Trolls movie. I wish them luck. I tried to bring Trolls back 12 years ago, along with Hasbro’s Trollz line, and it just didn’t work. Of course with DreamWorks behind it, this just might be the time. What categories drove sales in 2015? Which categories will flourish this year? It will be interesting to see if drones are a flash in the pan or here to stay, along with hoverboards. Those were the two most dynamic and interesting new categories in 2015. I imagine they will stay top of mind.
RICHARD BARRY
Executive Vice President, Global Chief Merchandising Officer, Toys ”R” Us, Inc. How do you differentiate your toy department from the average retail toy department? As the world’s leading dedicated toy retailer with stores in more than 35 countries around the world, we compete on our status as the toy authority, offering a differentiated shopping experience through our many brands and broad assortment of toys, an unbeatable in-stock position, exceptional customer service, and toy expert employees to help shoppers find the right product for the child in their lives. One of our competitive advantages is our extensive and differentiated merchandise assortment, which includes private-label products and branded exclusives, providing our customers with exciting and unique products only available at Toys “R” Us. We believe strongly that these items are important to both margin and differentiation, but we also remain nimble to bring hot and new products to customers before they’re available anywhere else when possible, while also working closely with manufacturing partners big and small to identify truly innovative products that kids will love. Another factor that sets Toys “R” Us apart is our ability to bring products to life for our customers in a very engaging and visually appealing way with in-store destinations on a global scale. Last year, we were able to do that with the highly anticipated movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The excitement consisted of a year-long celebration in honor of the epic Star Wars saga, such as Star Wars feature shops containing hundreds of products based on the blockbuster franchise, and exclusive items that could only be found in our stores. We also have a partnership with Claire’s, a specialty retailer of jewelry and accessories, in select Toys “R” Us stores around the world, to bring an assortment of jewelry to our customers. Creating experiential moments for kids and families visiting our stores is also important, and for this reason, we regularly host fun and interactive in-store events with our valued partners, such as Hasbro, Lego, Mattel, and Activision. We are also very different from our online-only competitors, as we have the opportunity to leverage both our physical stores and e-commerce capabilities to provide a compelling shopping experience for our customers as we advance our omni-channel strategy. As we strive to fulfill our mission to be the best toy company in the world, we look forward to continuing to provide our customers with the latest toy innovations, unique shopping experiences, and ability to shop with us however and whenever they choose.
TOYBOOK.COM | FEBRUARY 2016 | THE TOY BOOK 73