Page 4 - Toy & Hobby Retailer Magazine June-July 2020

EDITORIAL
BY IMOGEN BAILEY
What a time to be alive
IT is difficult to put into words how insane the disruption from COVID-19 has been – and
I’ll refrain from using the overused ‘U’ word – you know the one. It begins with ‘un’ and ends in ‘precedented.’
But, as much as it has been overused, it is an accurate descriptor of what has happened.
As the virus took hold, many retailers slammed on the brakes, shut stores and stood-down staff. However, the toy industry once again flexed its ‘resilience muscles’ in the wake of the crisis and traded through the pandemic relatively well.
I spoke about resilience in my last editorial when I was reflecting on the toy industry’s response to the bushfires and I’m here, talking about it again.
Toys have proven to be a category that families are seeking out to provide some entertainment and education to housebound kids and the industry has responded to this increased demand
“The toy industry has once again flexed its ‘resilience muscles’ in the wake of the crisis.”
while simultaneously adjusting to the new work-from-home, social isolation structure.
Demand for family games, puzzles, construction toys and educational products have increased, with Big W reporting a 30 per cent rise in the board games and puzzles category in April 2020 compared to April last year.
Similarly, Ugears is experiencing a significant increase
in demand; reporting ‘Christmas-like’ sales during the social isolation period. U. Games has seen it too, with MD Andrew McCosker on the phone to buyers almost daily to discuss orders and stock. Meanwhile, Lego has also seen sales skyrocket with eBay alone reporting that customers were buying the iconic toy every minute with sales up 64 per cent year-on-year in April.
Read more on how Ugears, U. Games and Lego are
coping during the pandemic, as well as a little bit of history on each from page 14.
This edition also contains reflections on both our Australian Toy Hobby and Licensing Fair as well as the international shows in Hong Kong, Nuremberg, New York and London.
Despite feeling that the shows were a lifetime ago, it was refreshing to look back on the photos and memories I had from the shows this year, pre-COVID lockdowns.
While the toy industry has certainly seen its fair share of disruption in 2020, we were lucky that all of the major shows of the year were done and dusted by the time COVID really settled into our lives.
Each of the shows boast their own unique characteristics; from the ‘Night in Havana’ themed Toy Night in Nuremberg; to the gorgeous Gala Dinner at Crown; to NBA great Shaquille O’Neal officially opening the New York Toy Fair, each one of them brings something extraordinary to the table.
I hope you enjoy taking this trip down memory lane as much I did writing it and you find some ease in reading about something other than a stinking virus. ❉
Imogen Bailey – Editor
EDITOR
Imogen Bailey imogenbailey@yaffa.com.au
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4 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER MONTH / MONTH 2000