Looking to the past to predict this year’s festive toys
But whether it’s 2013’s Frozen, Thunderbirds from the 60s or the Star Wars franchise dating back to the 70s, it seems it’s all about looking to the past to predict the top toys this Christmas.
Youngsters from Tinsley Meadow Primary School in Sheffield were among the first to try out what experts from the industry believe will be the biggest sellers at Meadowhall shopping centre.
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Hide AdAmong those predicted to be top on the Christmas lists are three films connected to the new Star Wars film The Force Awakens, an interactive Tracy Island playset and a sing-a-long Elsa from Disney’s Frozen.
Frederique Tutt, toy industry analyst for the NPD Group, said British retailers were hoping for a record year after Frozen, Minions and Minecraft boosted sales by 6 per cent since the start of the year.
He said: “With other licensed merchandise such as Star Wars still to come, the market could expect to grow by over £100 million at retail to reach £3.2 billion by the end of the year.”
Gary Grant, chairman of the DreamToys committee, said 2015 was going to be “a vintage year” for toys. He said: “While the blockbuster licences may steal the headlines, it is exciting to see innovation throughout the list with manufacturers successfully combining this with traditional play in, for example, the IDO3D craft set, and Shopkins has become the new craze of the year, embracing all that is good about toys.”