Page 8 - Toy & Hobby Dec-Jan 2020
P. 8

NEWS
FROM THE NEWS DESK
TOP CLICKS
MOST VIEWED STORIES ON TOYHOBBYRETAILER.COM.AU DURING THE PAST MONTH
1DISNEY AND MOOSE TOYS ON BOARD FOR BLUEY
Australian TV hit Bluey, has
become more visible on a global scale, after BBC Studios signed broadcast and licensing deals for the show. Disney came on board as the broadcast partner in all territories outside of Australia, New Zealand and Greater China, while Moose Toys was named as the global master toy partner for all territories excluding Asia.
2TOYS R US REVEALS PLANS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET “We’ve been amazed at the support from suppliers and partners and even former employees. We had well over 400 applications for careers in the last few weeks – it’s something like 420 or 430 as we speak – and around about half of them were former employees of TRU.”
TRU Australia owner and director, Louis Mittoni chats logistics, experience centres and the industry's response to the business' return.
3MINISO LANDS DEAL WITH MARVEL
Japanese retailer Miniso is set to rapidly expand across Australia, announcing plans to have 100 outlets operating in the country by the end of 2020. Adding to its global footprint of 3,869 stores the retailer estimates that up to 10 stores could be opening every month in Australia. In addition to opening stores across the country Miniso also signed a worldwide deal with Marvel. Across 123 countries Miniso stores have been transformed to feature the Marvel merchandise, including the 32 stores currently operating in Australia.
Amazon Australia appoints official toy testers for limited-edition catalogue
8 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER NOVEMBER / DECEMBER / JANUARY 2020
CHILDREN in hospitals across Australia will help Amazon Australia curate a limited-edition toy catalogue by testing and playing with the marketplace’s top 100 toys. In partnership with The Starlight Children’s Foundation, Amazon has appointed a group of children to become official toy testers – the Amazon Playmakers
– to review the top 100 toys. The Playmakers’ opinions and reviews will then be curated into the Amazon Playmakers toy catalogue. As part of the partnership, Amazon will help to further enhance the Starlight Express Rooms in children’s hospitals by donating $40,000 worth of toys, games and crafts to the play-havens across Australia. Amazon will also donate $5 to the Starlight Children’s Foundation for every
toy bought from the Playmakers catalogue during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
Amazon Australia country manager
Matt Furlong said that he hopes the initiative will brighten the holiday season for children in hospitals.
“We are incredibly proud to continue supporting the Starlight Children’s Foundation through the release of our Amazon Playmakers toy catalogue that gives back this holiday season.
“We hope that the opportunity to become an official toy tester helps brighten the holidays for these children, and we look forward to hearing their expert opinions,” he said.
The Playmakers catalogue will be on the Amazon website from mid-November. ❉
Target to support Toys R Us’ digital re-entrance in US
TOYS R Us parent company TRU Kids teamed
up with Target US to relaunch the eCommerce site for Toys R Us in the United States. Relaunched on
08 October, the Toys R Us website and soon-to-be- revealed experience stores are supported by Target’s toy assortment, digital capabilities and fulfillment services. When initiating a purchase on the Toys R Us website, consumers click on 'buy now at Target.com'
and are automatically redirected to a product page on the Target website to complete the purchase. The relaunched Toys R Us website features new content including videos, articles, product reviews, hot toy lists and brand experiences. Target will also support online sales from the physical retail stores that are scheduled to launch in Houston, Texas and Paramus, New Jersey in Autumn. ❉


































































































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