I’ve just returned from two days at this year’s Distoy show in London. There was a lot of chatter on social media leading up to the event, with some people having strong opinions about what was to come before the metaphorical ball had even been kicked. As always, I want to refrain from commenting until after the show has finished, so I’ll try to summarise what I saw and heard as honestly as possible, but keep in mind that as with any event, different people will have different experiences.
Let’s start with an irrefutable fact: exhibitor numbers were down. There’s no denying that. The widely cited figure was 60 official exhibitors, with a few others piggybacking off the show by renting rooms nearby or camping out in hotel lobbies. For reference, that’s about half of last year’s attendance.
Of course, there’s no law against piggybacking on an event, and if the show is in a hotel, it’s difficult (probably impossible) to physically stop someone. Whether it’s morally justifiable is another matter entirely. If someone has no qualms about crashing someone else’s party and not bringing a bottle of booze, then that’s up to them. Pay or not, that’s up to you.
Attendance was down, too. It’s hard to put an exact figure on it, but overall it was quieter than normal, and some people stayed for shorter periods. Whether the decline in exhibitors and visitors is due to global economic factors, a late start to the Year of Toys, an increase in LA showrooms, or some other factor is hard to say for sure without asking people who decided not to attend.
But I did get to speak to many of the exhibitors and visitors who did attend. Certainly, some were concerned about the lack of critical mass and its impact on the show experience. Some were pretty forthright in their assessment. Others took a different view. As with our January Hong Kong report, some were content to look at it through a “less is more” lens. Quite a few noted fewer tire kickers and time wasters, and longer, more productive meetings. One exhibitor told me that the contract he signed (which he said he wouldn’t have gotten if he hadn’t been there) allowed him to cover the costs of the show.
Not only were distributors represented, but several large European retailers were also there, such as JouéClub in France and Rofu in Germany, which for many was a big plus point. I spoke to distributors, toy companies, retailers, media companies and other people in the toy industry, and to be honest, I was a bit surprised by some of the feedback. LA was mentioned often, but not always positively. There is no doubt that LA has many supporters, and a number of enthusiasts who think that other events should be given up. But for the first time in the last few years, I started to get some negative comments, especially from Europeans, about the cost and time. Somehow, we went from “too many toy fairs” to “let’s go to LA for up to 8-10 weeks every year”. But for those not based in California, the flights, hotels and living costs are expensive. And the time away from the office is never ideal for many companies. In addition, several European companies suggested that the timing, especially April, was not convenient for them. In addition to LA, there’s also been active talk of him pitching a new show to distributors for a European run next May, meaning this one is presumably targeted towards his Distoy audience.
I don’t know what will happen next year. I think what everyone (including the respective event organizers) can do is re-evaluate their business model and objectives, talk to their existing and potential customer bases and figure out what to do and where to be. Now that toy companies have said they want to do (mostly) less events, the options may be greater than ever. The toy industry will never be the same!
I want to thank everyone who shared their opinions and thoughts with me this week. Despite what I have heard and read on LinkedIn, the truth is that there was not an overwhelming consensus on anything, just a variety of perspectives, and plenty for people to walk away and ponder. I also want to thank everyone for their kind comments about Toy World. When I go to shows like Distoy, I realise how global our work is now (much more global than any magazine with the words “international” or “Europe” in the title), and that toy communities around the world share many of the same challenges and opportunities. I don’t know if this is any consolation for UK retailers, but both at Distoy and last week at the Toymaster Show I heard that other European markets, such as France and Germany, are having just as tough a time as the UK. I have seen several posts this week indicating that UK retail is recovering. I am sure it is mainly due to the mid-term break, but it may also be because the election announcement has eased some of the consumer anxiety. Let’s hope this is the start of a fight back…
Congratulations to Golden Bear on signing Toykido’s Peeky Boo as Master Toy Partner and to John Adams’ Bruno Garrone on his retirement. I admire anyone who has the courage to “go to the top” in any field.
Finally, the June issue arrived in stores this week, and is now available to read digitally online. The 156-page issue is packed with plenty of great new product announcements, some decent “status quo” analysis, some authoritative opinion on the state of the toy market, and one of the best interviews I’ve read this year with The Entertainer’s Geoff Sheffield and Andrew Murphy. We asked them some pretty straightforward questions, and they didn’t dodge a single one. Whether you personally agree with what they say or not, it’s definitely worth a read to understand how they’re approaching their partnership with Tesco.