Harry Potter, PAW Patrol, Barbie and LOL Surprise have been named among the key licenses tipped to fuel the UK toy industry to sales in excess of £1.2 billion this Christmas.
That was the message of festive cheer to emerge from this week’s Dream Toys 2018 reveal at St Mary’s Church in London, where LEGO, Hasbro, MGA Entertainment and more lined decked the halls with toys and folly.
The list of predicted top sellers was unveiled to the usual chorus of Christmas songs, Christmas dinner and an appearance from the big man himself – The Entertainer’s Gary Grant – as a number of the year’s key licenses took to the stage.
Selected by a representative panel of retailers and industry experts, the Dream Toys Top 12 Toys of Christmas are those that are expected to drive big sales – to the tune of £1.2 bn as projected by The NPD Group – this Christmas.
The Dream toys Top 12 are:
Barbie Ultimate Kitchen – Mattel
Boxer – Spin Master
CraZ-Slimy Creations Super Slime Studio – Character Options
Fingerlings Untamed Jailbreak T-Rex Playset – Jazwares/WowWee
Harry Potter Hogwarts great Hall – LEGO
Harry Potter Wizard Training Wand – JAKKS Pacific
LOL Surprise Pop-Up Store – MGA Entertainment
LOL Surprise Under Wraps – MGA Entertainment
Laser X Twin Pack – Character Options
Monopoly Fortnite Edition – Hasbro
PAW patrol Ultimate Fire Truck – Spin Master Toys
Poopsie Surprise Unicorn – MGA Entertainment
With a new title in the Wizarding World cannon from Warner in the form of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald released this week, Harry Potter has been tipped as a license to watch as the toy sales begin to tot up at retail across the UK by the NPD.
“2018 has been very disruptive for the toy industry globally,” said Frederique Tutt, global analyst for the NPD Group’s toy division. “However, while retail is experiencing a transformation, ore than £1.2bn worth of toys will be sold this Christmas.
“We expect dolls, slime, Harry Potter, collectables and unboxing toys to be on children’s lists.”