(Posted February 3, 2008)
Thanks to John (the phoenix) for sharing the following report from the 2008 NEC Spring Fair in Birmingham, England ....
(See Photos Below)
The
National Exhibition Centre is HUGE - and the Spring Fair takes
up all 21 halls, over the four days of the Show. You would need
every minute of that to see it all...and strong legs too!
Ty UK was
in Hall 5 - and I didn't get much further than that! The
striking Ty Castle display stand was topped with the heart logo,
and showed off the complete range of Ty products available in
the UK to perfection. It was well-lit, and invited retailers in
to see the new range of BB 2.0s. Today of course this was the
main draw for retailers. In the centre there was a curtained
area with a computer and large screen, where they could see the
website in action, hear about the plans for it over the coming
months and also view the advertising campaign which is about to
be launched.
To save
writing a book (!), I'll summarise the main points of interest
from today -
The BB 2.0
range itself showed well, both in counter boxes and on display
stands.....and was clearly getting a lot of interest (and
orders, more to the point!)
The website
has the potential to grow and grow - what you see now is only
the beginning, and as a non-technical person myself, I applaud
the creativity of its designers. As each quarterly release comes
out, the site will change and develop to keep it fresh and
interesting. There's even a nod to the past - the tree in the
middle of the island will contain a gallery of older beanies, so
even I might just sign up to see that (!)...and of course there
are other islands already visible...........(hint, hint...)
Next week
there will be an advert in the cinemas which are showing the
latest Disney film "Underdog", and the same advert will be shown
on television in the Meridian TV area of the UK, as well as
printed adverts in the BBC magazine "Girls Talk", which has a
website of its own.
As
collectors we have to remember that in fact we are only a small
part of the business - it's important for a company to develop
new ideas in a changing market and to aim to bring in new
"customers" who don't know where it all started. All I can say
is - this just might work! It was VERY interesting to hear the
reactions of visiting retailers - very positive indeed, as far
as I could tell.
And....they
are STILL beanies after all - something for all of us!
What else?
Splendid displays of all the licensed products - Garfield,
Spongebob and friends, and the Dora range, just to pick out
three.
....and in
the Dora range, the first appearance of Swiper, and Dora -
Fairytale Adventures. I managed to get pictures of these new
releases, and their tags. Swiper has a style number of #40728
and Dora is #40729.
A few words
about the Girlz range - redesigned, with "softer" features, and
moveable limbs, and a hair-comb...and featured today for the
first time, a range of clothes as well. The clothes have a
secret code too, so users of their website can key it in to see
the clothes they have just bought being worn by the animated
product! A clever idea!
It was good
to see the current Ty Classics on show - sometimes we overlook
these on the websites - but they are just what they set out to
be - classic designs, beautifully made...definitely quality
products.
Mark and
Jonathan Swallow, and all the UK representatives were there,
sporting the BB 2.0 logo on their shirts. They made me feel very
welcome, and it was also a great pleasure to meet Scott Wehr
from Ty Inc, who arrived in the afternoon. He was interested to
hear about the views of collectors generally, and particularly
how we felt about our part of the Ty world here in the UK.
The market
for plush toys is getting harder these days, as are many sectors
of the retail world....but the reason I am writing this, and
indeed the reason I help to manage BUK and do what I do, is very
simple. Ty products stand out for quality in terms of
production, range and style....and this "shop window" showed
that to perfection. You might not like each piece or style, and
we all have something to say as new items are announced....but
it keeps us interested, doesn't it?
Thank you
to Ty UK for letting me be there - I had a great day!
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Ty Castle
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Advertising Sign
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Display Stand
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'Dora - Fairytale Adventures' Beanie Baby
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'Dora - Fairytale Adventures' Hang Tag
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'Garfield' Exhibit
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'SpongeBob' Exhibit
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Additional Photos can be viewed on the Beanie UK website by clicking here.
Photos are the property of
John (the phoenix).
Please DO NOT use without prior written permission.
