2011 saw stiff competition, and eventually Leapfrog scooped the Overall Champion Award:
Rainbow Toy Award Winners 2011
However, while we may be losing a piece of the past, not all is lost as the redevelopment means a further investment of £10m is to be made to Toy Fair’s current home, Kensington Olympia. 
The parent company of both Earls Court and Olympia, Capital & Counties Properties Plc, has made the large contribution in a bid to improve and upgrade projects at the Olympia Exhibition and Conference venue in 2012, following last year’s successful redevelopment of the West Hall.
A number of development projects will begin in April of this year and will once again run alongside events at the venue without impact on the planned programme. The improvements form part of a significant investment in Olympia by EC&O’s parent company, Capital & Counties Properties Plc (Capco) and will help sustain Olympia’s position as a world-class venue.
The plans for further improvement works comes following the opening, late last year, of the newly redeveloped West Hall. The new two-story, 97,000 square feet exhibition facility enjoys new links to the Grand Hall and Olympia Two behind a restored façade, making Olympia more flexible and interconnected.
Nigel Nathan, EC&O Venues Managing Director said: “These projects are further positive steps in helping Olympia sustain its position as world-class venue. With these upgrades, Olympia is adapting to the changing demands of the exhibition industry and ensuring that it is an exhibition venue for the future. In 2012, Olympia celebrates its 125th anniversary. We continue to build on is prestigious history and invest to assure its future as the industry’s favourite venue.”
Karim Halwagi, Chief Executive of the Association of Event Organisers (AEO), believes these enhancements will further help stimulate the London event market. He said: “We welcome this investment. Olympia continues to be a popular and well-equipped venue and these improvements will further enhance its offer and reputation for event and conference organisers.”
Blog Post courtesy of Toys n Plythings, further reading can be found at TnP here
This is an exciting time of year for the Rainbow Toy Awards. We appeal for new testers, both young and old and collate their information. Each toy is tested by three separate families where we have ensured that the correct gender and age of child is matched to the product, so each toy gets the fairest testing we can possibly ensure.
Our badges will start to be seen across the internet from now until August, so spotting one our testers is easy. They will all also be invited to blog a review about the product before the awards are announced – of course they won’t be giving away their top-secret scores though!
The toy tribute to NASA’s retired space exploration vessel goes viral.
Following in the footsteps of two Canadian students who sent a Lego Minifigure into space, a group of German Lego fans have sent a Space Shuttle kit (#3367) into the stratosphere.
Powered by a 1,600g helium filled balloon, it reached 115,000 feet before coming back down to earth. A camera strapped to the rig filmed the journey and the footage has been uploaded to YouTube.
The Lego model was launched in central Germany on New Years Eve last year in honour of the retired NASA Space Shuttle, which made its final flight in July 2011.
YouTube user vinciverse said the project was a “tribute to the end of the space shuttle era – proving that although retired, this machine can still fly, albeit in toy form.”
The Lego Space Shuttle crash-landed 150 miles away from the launch site and was recovered using a GPS tracking device.
Story courtesy of ToyNews Online.
Equitoy’s one day seminar for the toy industry will take place at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Picadilly, London on 29 March 2012.
The seminar offers the toy industry presentations from safety and legal experts examining the law, safety standards, social auditing and practical ways to comply. Practical advice on how to comply with The Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC, newly amended EN71 standards and quality/CSR requirements in foreign factories will be given as well as discussion on future safety requirements.
Equitoy says anyone involved with the UK toy industry as a manufacturer, importer, retailer, trading standards and professionals in the safety, compliance and legal aspects of the toy industry should attend.
The cost of the day for single delegates is £295 + vat with a discount for members of Equitoy, BTHA and TRA bringing additional delegates of £150 + vat.
For further information and registration contact:
Alan Milne 01580 240819 or Clive Shelton 07885 762805
Story courtesy of www.toyworldmag.co.uk
Intrepid reporter and toy tester, Mari from Marisworld headed off, on a cold January morning to Toy Fair 2012.
Here’s a snippet of what she saw, the full report can be seen on her Marisworld blog.
“I had my first Press Pass hanging around my neck as I visited some of the hundreds of stands representing toy brands from near and far. A true paradise for any serious toy lover like moi! The stands were displaying their very best and if it had been a market I could have spent thousands of pounds…
I also got to see and try out the prototypes from big names, toys you will see appearing on the shelves come the summer or autumn but definitely in time for Christmas 2012! Here’s a selection below;
The Leapfrog stand was incredibly interesting as I was shown prototypes for learning toys being put together for this summer/autumn, it’s interesting to see the amount of work and thought that goes into each product, the girls on the stand explained to me that nobody dreamt the Leapfrog Explorer would have been the phenomenon it became and that was why they got caught out and the product sold out so quickly. However, I am assured that for those of us that had to go without there are container loads on the way to the UK so do watch this space, I’ve been told I will get the nod as they hit the stores.
My next stop was the Lego stand, we’ve had Lego in our family since we could toddle and my brother was a huge fan of their Star Wars range which can be found now looking even better than in his day. I saw lots of fabulous products coming out in the autumn but I wasn’t allowed to take photos of them, all very Top Secret.
At another stand there were Bananas in Pyjamas. We adore them in this house and manage to catch most of the show before we head out the door to preschool in the morning.
Playmobil have the perfect alternative to the chocolate egg coming out for Easter, a Playmobil egg with toys inside, perfect for the families who want to reduce their chocolate intake this year. I saw the popular Advent Calendars ready for this Christmas again for those who want to reduce sugar intake over the festive season these are perfect plus they can be used as countdowns to exciting dates such as birthdays, holidays, end of school and so on.
Hornby have some fabulous collectors pieces out this year for the Queens Jubilee for the Olymipcs.
I finished off at the John Crane stand, I spoke doll’s houses for quite some time with Stewart who creates them giving feedback on what works for us and what doesn’t, watch this space for a fabulous new one coming out at the end of the year.
They have added a few new brands to their range the Italians Sevi (utterly gorgeous) and Trudi, I couldn’t refuse a photo with that huggable bear, an American Company B, the musical keyboard and the caught my eye but there are Spinaroos and toddlers keys and phones too.”
We can see Mari had a fabulous time at Toy Fair! Check out her post to see Mari with a life-size teddy bear!
There were also plenty of information flyers for the Rainbow Awards being dropped off at stands, and we’re looking forward to seeing our first entry, as Mari saw, there is certainly a lot to choose from this year!
Business shows resilience as construction toys, outdoor toys and dolls drive the market
Market statistics released this morning at Toy Fair highlight the UK toy industry’s resilience throughout 2011, with NPD reporting that sales increased by three per cent in value to achieve sales of £2.96 billion.
Figures from the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor show that, while total UK retail sales grew by two per cent in 2011, non-food sales rose by a mere 0.2 per cent, which points to a relatively positive performance by the toy market.
A total of more than 384 million toys were sold during 2011. Of the ten super categories tracked by NPD, the three fastest growing in 2011 were Building Sets (+20 per cent), Outdoor (+12 per cent) and Dolls (+8 per cent).
Building sets have been a strong category over the last few years and saw the largest growth during 2011. Outdoor toys enjoyed success largely due to sales of sports equipment, ride-ons and summer seasonal toys. The strength of the category is indicative not only of the impact of sporting events and licenses, but of the value parents attach to active play. The rise in dolls sales is just one chapter in the success story of the girls’ category in recent years.
In the year to September 2011, sales of girls’ toys (which includes arts and crafts, dolls and plush) increased in value by four per cent* whilst boys’ toys increased by three per cent over the same period. They now account for 45 per cent of all toy sales (YTD September 2011) compared to 55 per cent for boys’ toys.
NPD track sales covering the ten super categories. Individual category breakdowns are as follows:
Jez Fraser-Hook of the NPD Group has predicted: “2012 will continue to prove challenging for toy retailers with continued Government cuts, further drops in disposable income and the ongoing threat of job losses.”
However, statistics – supported by the 2011 figures announced today – illustrate how, even when facing difficult times, parents and grandparents will go without in order to ensure children don’t have to.
A spokesperson from the British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) said: “2011 was an incredibly tough trading period for all areas of retail in the UK. By managing to grow in such difficult times, the UK toy industry has proved its resilience yet again. We are made of strong stuff. Strong stuff, plus creativity, innovation, imagination and the foresight to embrace opportunity; whether that opportunity lies in technology, licenses or real world events such as the Olympics, Euro 2012 or forthcoming family blockbusters such as Ted, The Amazing Spider-Man, Men in Black III and Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, which will all help to keep children’s interest in toys alive over the summer.”
The figures were unveiled at Toy Fair this week by show organisers the British Toy & Hobby Association. Toy Fair is the industry’s annual trade event currently taking place at Olympia in London and is open to the trade until Thursday.
Article courtesy of ToyNews
This years Rainbow Awards (2012) is now open for entry, download a form here and enter your new launches for 2012 today!
We’ll soon be recruiting for toy testers once again, there is a rigorous process to become a toy tester and only the best will do!
We’ll put out the call on www.blog-match.com so join today and watch out for the call!
Approved Toy Tester
If you have a blog, we give you a smart badge to display on there too.
Below is a complete list of 2011 winners, this years Rainbow Awards (2012) is now open for entry, download a form here and enter your new launches for 2012 today!
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Rainbow Toy Award Winners 2011
Rainbow Awards for Toy Excellence
