Page 29 - Toy & Hobby Retailers Magazine Feb-Apr 2020
P. 29

“It was important for us to partner
in Australia and New Zealand with a business who shares our passion for toys and understands the value and importance of building long term brand partnerships,” Kloth says.
“Mark has many years in leadership roles in the toy industry and Nicki complements that with her experience both as a seasoned toy buyer, as well as a well-respected brand builder.
“With FAO Schwarz, the exciting thing for us is to see the strategic partnerships being developed from leading department stores to iconic toy retail locations and toy speciality stores. This is very meaningful to us, as it is in alignment with our global plans for FAO Schwarz,” he says.
In Australia, Zimmermann says that the strategy for the brand is to build its awareness here before ramping things up in 2020.
“Our plan in Australia right now is to build the brand, the brand equity and the brand awareness, through independents, through department stores and through chosen speciality retailers.
“We already know, having just traded through this 2019 season that one leading retail chain for example, is more than 50% ahead of
“I’ve been blown away by the market response to brands like FAO Schwarz.”
going to be extremely successful contributors to the Outliving portfolio,” Zimmermann says.
“Also underneath the ThreeSixty banner is the Discovery brand, particularly the #MindBlown range which takes STEM to an innovative level unlike anything I’ve seen in any showroom.
“We can see in the market from the NPD data just how strong that is, in terms of its contribution to market share,” he says.
Aside from representing ThreeSixty’s
brands in Australia, Outliving also distributes Crocodile Creek, Rex of London, Cupcakes and Cartwheels and Gift Republic, brands which Zimmermann says rounds out the company’s portfolio of toy brands.
“Rex of London takes us into the traditional wooden toys – it’s some of the iconic, nostalgic toys that we remember when we were growing up as kids.
“And then there’s a whole range of trivia that we do through Gift Republic that every time
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grow and develop the people in the business,” he says.
One of those toy brands Outliving is capitalising on is FAO Schwarz.
Owned by ThreeSixty Group, the brand has been on a global mission to reimagine FAO Schwarz while maintaining the heritage and nostalgia of the classic brand.
As part of the strategy ThreeSixty is opening flagship locations for the brand across the globe with ThreeSixty COO Jan-Eric Kloth saying that it was important for the business to appoint an Australian distributor who could help execute the global strategy on a local scale.
their expected sell-through and we’ve only just come into the start of December.
“[Next year] there is a major announcement that will be made most-likely in June for an event that will take place in November. It will be more around the FAO Schwarz brand and that’s all that I can say at this point in time,” he says.
However, it’s not just the FAO brand that is cementing Outliving in the toy space, the business also distributes ThreeSixty’s Sharper Image and Discovery brands.
“Within the Sharper Image brand, the categories such as RC, drones and robotics are
CLOCKWISE FROM MAIN: Outliving Australia team.
ThreeSixty Group co- founder Kirk McLean, ThreeSixty COO Jan-Eric Kloth and Outliving MD Mark Zimmermann at the ThreeSixty Hong Kong Office.
FAO Schwarz in Myer.
we take it to a trade show it is one of the silent achievers in the portfolio. It always seems to exceed our expectations on sales.
“Then when we look at Crocodile Creek and the strength of the brand through the puzzle range and games range, Crocodile Creek is also a key focus for us.
In 2021 Outliving plans to have a stand at Melbourne Toy Fair but in the meantime, Zimmermann is reflecting on 2019.
“Having coached the team this time last year then having transitioned into being the MD of the business, the highlight for me has been seeing how much the team has achieved together.
“At a business level I’ve been blown away by the response that the market has had to brands like FAO Schwarz and how accommodating they’ve been at showcasing it in their stores in a meaningful way. That to me has been an absolute highlight,” he says.
Kloth adds that ThreeSixty is excited for what the partnership with Outliving will bring in 2020 and beyond.
“Outliving has demonstrated that it understands the importance of working with the retailers to create a strong in-store experience for the customer when they come into contact with our products, as well as making it easy for our commercial partners to enjoy coming on this journey with us.
“We are in the business of bringing smiles into people’s lives and creating everlasting memories through nostalgic experiences, bringing innovation and cutting-edge product to market at genuinely good value for money prices. In supporting Outliving by ranging our product ranges, you come on this journey with us.
“This is not one that you should miss out
on, as we are a collective global team who are highly passionate about making this the biggest success story in the kids toy and novelty gifting space that we have seen for years,” he says. ❉
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