03 February 2017
|
Olympia2
Toy sales grew by six percent in the UK last year, making the industry worth an impressive £3.5bn. This was highlighted at the recent London Toy Fair 2017, now in its 64th year.
Held at Kensington Olympia and attracting 250 exhibitors, the fair was the perfect opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their products to retailers in the hope of finding the next new craze or potential new item for your collection.
Corgi, Hornby, Tomy and Revell all had new models or kits on display, and Bachmann Europe Plc returned to the Toy Fair for the first time since 2008. Managing director, David Haarhaus said: “… we now have an extensive portfolio of products covering the hobby sector and the time was right for us to return to this prestige event”.
Over 415 million toys were sold in 2016 and The British Toy and Hobby Association, who published the information, said that collectables helped the increase in sales. Almost a quarter of all sales were collectables, with Star Wars action figures and Lego minifigures still amongst the most popular ranges.
For those of you with an eye on future trends, LEGO, and Playmobil were among the winners of Toy Fair's Best New Toys. Selected by an independent panel of retailers, these are the toys they believe will be the hottest products over the coming year. Natasha Crookes from BTHA said: "Each year it gives us great pleasure to announce Toy Fair's Best New Toys...the list represents a cross section of success stories that have kept the UK toy industry growing over the last few years".