International Merchandising Promotions & Services (IMPS) has partnered with Jazwares to develop an all-new toy line inspired by the classic Belgian franchise.

As the global master toy partner for The Smurfs, Jazwares’ toy line will span plush, figures, and play-sets and is set to land at retail in 2022.

“The Smurfs is an evergreen franchise with a rich history and timeless values that has ignited children’s curiosity and creativity for decades,” said Laura Zebersky, Chief Commercial Officer at Jazwares.

“We are looking forward to working with IMPS to create a toy line that appeals to today’s kids while also capturing the nostalgia that other generations feel for the brand.”

Véronique Culliford, President & Founder of IMPS, added, “I am extremely proud of this beautiful partnership with Jazwares.

“It is a family company like ours that advocates for the same human values. I’m sure that with their legendary creativity, many beautiful toys will invade the world to the joy of young and old children.”

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Spin Master has debuted Present Pets, its new line of interactive plush puppies that unbox themselves.

When a child pulls the oversized gift tag on the Present Pets box, the pup inside starts to bark and paw its way out of the box. After about two minutes, the front of the box topples down revealing a new pup.

“We cannot wait to surprise the whole family with the magical experience of unboxing their very own Present Pet puppy,” said Jean Gomez, Spin Master’s VP Marketing & Global Business Unit Lead.

“It’s a dream come true for children to unwrap a surprise puppy, and we are delighted to bring that joy to families this holiday season. We hope to see lots of exciting reactions when children open their Present Pets toys.”

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Spin Master saw revenue drop 4.9% in Q1 2020 to $227.3m.

Gross product sales increased 0.7% to $242.3m, driven primarily driven by Activities, Games & Puzzles and Plush, and Boys Action and Construction.

Category-wise, gross product sales in Activities, Games & Puzzles and Plush increased by 24% to $78.1m, driven primarily by Kinetic Sand and Games & Puzzles, and partially offset by Gund.

Gross product sales in RC and Interactive Characters dropped 35% to $20.2m, primarily due to Hatchimals, but partially offset by PAW Patrol RC.

Elsewhere, gross product sales in Boys Action and Construction increased by 19.6% to $59.1m, driven by sales of DC licensed products, Bakugan and Tech Deck, while
gross product sales in Pre‑School and Girls decreased by 10.9% to $56.5m, with the decrease driven by PAW Patrol, Twisty Petz and Off the Hook, partially offset by higher sales of Candylocks.

Gross product sales in Outdoor decreased by 15.5% to $28.4m.

“Q1 2020 was a challenging quarter for Spin Master, as we dealt with both the evolving COVID-19 situation and the carryover effects from the operational challenges we experienced in the second half of 2019,” said Ronnen Harary, Spin Master’s Co-Chief Executive Officer.

“COVID-19 first affected our Asian supply chain early in Q1 and we worked extremely hard to stabilise it by the end of the quarter. As the virus spread to customer markets, we adapted quickly and implemented measures to minimize the potential impact to our people and to Spin Master as a whole.

“Our POS in the quarter was up significantly over last year, particularly for categories such as games, puzzles, activities and arts and crafts as well as demand for our entertainment content and digital gaming, as consumers looked to occupy their children whilst at home. We believe in the underlying resilience of the toy industry and our diversified portfolio of brands, entertainment properties and digital toys. Our commitment to our strategy and our strong financial base, positions us for long term success.”

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Jazwares has acquired Wicked Cool Toys.

Headquartered in Bristol, Pennsylvania, WCT designs, develops, and produces licensed and owned properties, including plush, action figures, fashion accessories, and games.

“Led by Michael Rinzler, Jeremy Padawer, and Thomas Poon, WCT has built an impressive reputation in the industry for spotting on-trend licenses, reinvigorating nostalgic brands, and collaborating with inventors to develop new products,” said Judd Zebersky, CEO and president of Jazwares, a subsidiary of Alleghany Capital Corporation.

“We are thrilled to partner with WCT and its talented employees, leveraging the Company’s offices in Pennsylvania, California, and Hong Kong.  WCT will operate as a division of Jazwares and day-to-day operations will not be impacted by this transaction.”

Michael Rinzler, co-president and founding partner of WCT, added: “We are excited to join Jazwares and the Alleghany Capital family of companies. Jazwares is a perfect strategic and cultural fit for WCT, driven by the vision and leadership of Judd and Laura Zebersky.

“In addition, we believe that Alleghany Capital’s long-term investment horizon and strategy of supporting entrepreneurial companies such as Jazwares and WCT will accelerate our combined growth potential.”

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Worlds Apart has raised £45,000 to date for the RSPCA through sales of its Scruff-a-Luvs plush range.

Scruff-a-Luvs launched last summer with a range of six plush pets, inspired by social videos of homeless scruffy pets being adopted, cared for and brought back to full health and happiness.

Worlds Apart established a partnership with the RSPCA at launch – donating proceeds of sales of Scruff-a-Luvs to the charity to help them in finding real animals their forever homes. To date, the partnership has raised £45,000 for the charity.

The toy was the number one plush item for December according to NPD figures and the number three plush for the year overall.

“We have been amazed by the runaway success of the Scruff-a-Luvs’ partnership with the RSPCA,” said Ellen Camillin, licensing manager at the RSPCA.

“Not only have these adorable toys championed our key messages of compassion and kindness to animals but the £45,000 they have raised will be invaluable in helping us continue our vital work.”

The charity partnership will continue into 2019, with the aim of raising further funds from sales of new Scruff-a-Luv varieties this Autumn/Winter.

Logan Stone, head of brand and marketing at Worlds Apart added: “We are thrilled with the success of Scruff-a-Luvs and have some exciting plans for the year ahead and beyond. Helping children to appreciate the importance of caring and nurturing pets, however they may appear, is a core part of the product for us. Our partnership with the RSPCA has really helped to drive that message home. We’re so pleased to have been able to raise the amount we have and look forward to continued success together this year.”

The success of Scruff-a-Luvs in 2018 has instigated a two-year programme of new product development at Worlds Apart with the company seeking to inspire more children with further varieties of the toy.

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