The British Toy Retailers Association have now named their top 12 toys Christmas 2011.  The list, shown below in alphabetical order, are the associations predicted top sellers and will/have featured in national press and news outlets this weel:

Doggie Doo, John Adams, RRP £22.99
Fijit Friends, Mattel, RRP £54.99
Fireman Sam Pontypandy Rescue Set, Character, RRP £29.99
Kidizoom Twist, VTech, RRP £49.99
LeapPad Explorer, Leapfrog Toys, RRP £79.99
Lets Rock Elmo, Hasbro, RRP £69.99
Milky the Bunny, Flair, £59.99
Monster High Lagoona’s Hydration Station, Mattel, £39.99
Moshling Tree House, Vivid, RRP £18.99
Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster, Hasbro, RRP £44.99
Ninjago Fire Temple, Lego, RRP £91.99
Star Wars Ultimate Force Tech Lightsaber, Hasbro, RRP £39.99

Though not directly related to Hasbro or Transformers I thought I would bring the following advert to everyone's attention.  It was published within this months Toy News Magazines which is an industry trade and is from Bandai and directed at UK sellers importing their items.

Bandai Notice
We have discovered that a number of companies are trading in Bandai products such as Power Rangers and Ben 10 toys that have been unlawfully imported into the UK from outside the EEA (mainly from the US).

Over the last few months, we have taken successful action against a number of retailers and importers.  In each case, we have prevented them from trading in such products and have recovered a significant amount of compensation.

We would remind all readers that you are not permitted to import into or sell in the UK any Bandai products that have not been placed on the EEA market by us or with our consent (including Bandai products originating from the US)m as such acts will constitute trade mark infringement. Further, these acts may amount to a criminal offence.

Should we discover that any other companies are trading in such products, we will not hesitate to take further legal action.

If you have any questions about this notice or the issues raised, please contact Amy Allbon, Operations Manager at Bandai UK.

Now if this continues to be successful, especially at bringing Bandai in more revenue, its possible (if unlikely) that Hasbro UK may start to do the same with their items.  If they do, we will let you all know.

Hasbro have issued the following press release regarding the naming of Simon Waters as their Senior Vice President of Global Licensing

Hasbro names global licensing chief
Hasbro hires former Disney executive as global licensing executive

Toy maker Hasbro Inc. named Simon Waters, a former executive at The Walt Disney Co., as senior vice president of global licensing.

Waters was most recently vice president, global franchise development and strategic marketing, at The Walt Disney Co.

At Hasbro, he will head licensing initiatives for Hasbro, whose brands include Nerf, Transformers and PlaySkool.

Shares rose $1.17, or 3 percent, to $40.11 during afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $22.66 and $42.59 over the past year.

Credit to the Associated Press for the news

­TakaraTomy have published full details of their first quarter results which showed that restructuring and an increase in sales of boys toys saw their profits increase by a staggering 551.9%!
­
Net sales dropped 1% for year-on-year, to £­1.36 billion but net income increas­ed by 551.9% to £68.7 million mainly due to an increase in the sales of their "boys toys" business, reconstruction of their business portfolios and general reduction of costs.

This is the highest recorded profits for the group since the Takara­-Tomy merger which is great news for the company. The toy side of their business was net sales fall by 0.2% to £872.3 million, with income increasing by 58.3% to £108.79 million.

When you look at global trends for TakaraTomy you can pick up on the following trends.

1. Within Japan, product expansion and promotional in-store events led to a significant increase sales for Bayblade, whilst Duel Masters and Tomica both also saw increased popularity and growth. Net sales were up 0.4% to £1.25 billion, with operating incoming up 66.3% to £93.59 million (both figures are year-on-year)

2. Within the US the increase in Transformers sales was highlighted by the company as being the key factor within this territories growth. Net sales were actually down 41%, while operating income increased from a loss of £2.81 million to a £360,171 of profit. Despite this return to profit within the US, this remains their weakest market

3. Within Europe TakaraTomy saw strong growth in their arts and crafts sector which targets the baby and pre-school markets but this wasn't enough to see both their net sales and income decrease. Net sales figures were down 16.9% to £76.53million with incoming also down to £1.4 million, 10.8%. Europe continues to be a troublesome area for TakaraTomy and though they are still making profit within this territory more job cuts could be on the way. Decreases within the European marketing budget and redundancies also led to financial growth within Europe.

4. Within the rest of Asia net sales were down 132% to £199.13 million, though operating income did increase by 16.6% to £8.36 million.

TakaraTomy also reduced manufacturing costs by moving from China to Vietnam.

Bad news for Entertainment Rights, the international distributor for Transformers Animated, as they have announced that they will be cutting 22 jobs, 1/5 of their workforce, in an attempt to save money.  ER had to take out a £1 million loan last August and operated as a loss of 105 million pounds for the first eight months of 2008.

Hasbro Inc announced 200 manufacturing and support job losses yesterday at their western Massachusetts factory, but also announced that they would invest $40 million to modernise the plant which makes their board games.

Hasbro employ about 5,800 people worldwide, and the cut represents 3% of their workforce

Shares of Hasbro Inc fell 64 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $22.78, after hitting a new 52-week low of $22.21 earlier in the session. Shares have traded between $23.25 and $33.49 in the past 12 months.

According to Toy Retailers Association chairman Gary Grant, the Christmas market, here in the UK, two weeks behind when compared to the same period in 2006. So far, the most popular product is Hasbro’s Igglepiggle followed by "Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old?" also by Hasbro and Vivid’s Goldenballs. Mr Grant did point out though that some toys are currently being sold below cost price.

"It has been a very mixed bag this year, business is running about two weeks behind where it should be, and that has caused a number of retailers to stimulate business, which means there are a lot of bargains available, ... There will be less profit for the toy industry this year. Shops are busy, but it has been a slow build and that has led to a high level of promotions and discounts,” he said.

Dixon's have announced their top tech toy wish-list, which is based on its latest online pre-orders and sales data. Toy robots dominate the top 10, with Transformers making the list, but Dixon's report that video games favourites such as the Nintendo DS are remaining popular.

"Toys are not stuffed with cotton wool anymore, they are stuffed with technology," said Pat Foley, head of marketing and operations at Dixons.co.uk.

"There is a whole generation of tech-savvy kids out there, and toy makers have tapped into this to make this a truly hi-tech Christmas.

"Robots will be very popular this Christmas as are toys relating to the big blockbuster movies out this year such as Spiderman, Transformers and High School Musical," he said.

Here is their top 10

1. Sakura Robot £49.99
2. Spidersapien Robot £69.99
3. Transformers Voice Changer Helmet £29.99
4. Disney's High School Musical Dance Mat £24.99
5. Furreal Friends Parrot £69.99
6. Bladerunner Infrared Indoor Helicopter £29.99
7. Spiderman Laptop £24.99
8. Nintendo DS Lite £99.99
9. Barbie Laptop £19.99
10. Teksta Robotic Puppy £39.99