Smyths Toys launches Funko Pop! Vinyl to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity

The UK toy giant, Smyths Toys, has teamed with Funko to create a special Smyths Toys exclusive Pop! Vinyl figure of the retailer’s own mascot, Oscar in a fundraising effort for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity in support of seriously ill children across the UK.

The initiative kicked off this week, making the special Oscar Pop! Vinyl available across of of Smyths Toys Superstores in the UK. The figure retails at £9.99.

Last Christmas, Smyths Toys raised £50,000 for GOSH Charity following profits from the sales of their Oscar Plush. The retailer has now committed to donating at least £50,000 to GOSH Charity again this year.

Sinead Byrne, joint head of marketing at Smyths Toys, added: “We are delighted to launch Oscar as a Funko POP! Vinyl to bring our character Oscar to life this year. Smyths Toys is proud to partner again with GOSH Charity to help support seriously ill children from across the UK and continue to be amazed at the work the Charity carries out on a daily basis.”

Liz Tait, director of fundraising at GOSH Charity, said: “Now in the fourth year of our partnership, we are thrilled that Smyths Toys Superstores are supporting GOSH Charity once again with the launch of the Oscar POP! Vinyl. This is a brilliant opportunity for us to raise much-needed funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital, at a time when the hospital needs our support more than ever, so for that we’d like to say a huge thank you.”

Eva Verhaak, head of strategic marketing and sales – Funko EMEA, added: “Smyths Toys Superstores’ initiative to support GOSH Charity is an amazing cause and we are absolutely delighted to be part of it, working with Smyths to create an exclusive collector’s item, a POP! Vinyl figure of the well-known character, Oscar.”

YouTube skateboarding channel Braille turns to footwear after successful toy range debut

The leading skateboarding YouTube Channel, Braille Skateboarding, is building on the international success of its officially licensed range of toy fingerboards and skate ramps with a leap into the world of footwear. In a partnership brokered by Semaphore Licensing, the skate brand has teamed with R&R Footwear to develop a new range of functional skate shoes.

Braille Skateboarding launched onto the consumer products scene in July this year when it brought its first collection of toy fingerboard and skate ramps to the international market. The range – which also comprised mystery surprise sets – became a hit with retail giants Amazon and Target, as fans ‘went wild for the toys’ inspired by the channel’s popular Skate Everything series.

Skate Everything features a collection of videos that showcase Braille Skateboarding’s founder, Aaron Kyro, creating skateboards from anything other than what you would think to use, such as computer keyboards, ironing boards, electric guitars, and even gummy bears.

The toy range was quickly met with ‘huge demand from skate fans from across the globe’ and soon after retailers and stockists were reportedly placing reorders to meet the elevated consumer demand. According to Semaphore Licensing, this demand was fuelled by the brand’s YouTube Channel and its more than 5.6 million subscribers.

Braille Skateboarding has also secured its first international retailer in Smyths Toys, who has brought the brand to the UK market. Projections currently show that by the end of 2020, close to one million finger boards will have been shipped to retailers.

Following the initial success, Braille is now positioned to expand its licensing efforts into new categories. The company has since partnered with R&R Footwear in a move to develop and roll out a ‘stylish and functional skate shoe’ that would appeal to skaters and non-skaters alike.

Braille Skateboarding now plans to chronicle the development journey of the new shoe in partnership with R&R Footwear as it aims to launch the product to retailers in summer 2021.

“We are ramping up to bring unique products to shelves globally on behalf of Braille Skateboarding,” said Michael Bienstock, founder and CEO, Semaphore Licensing. “We join Aaron in his mission to ensure the entire world knows what a Braille board is.”

Another win for licensed toys as Star Wars, WWE and Super Mario land Smyths’ top toys for Christmas top spots

WWE, PAW Patrol, Pokemon, and Super Mario have all made the top billing as this week sees the international toy retailer, Smyths Toys, take its turn in listing its top toy predictions for Christmas 2020, pitting some of the world’s biggest and long-lasting toy brands against new launches in the space this year.

Licensed toys have once again featured heavily in the retailer’s top ten picks, with LEGO Super Mario, Star Wars Mandalorian, and Barbie making their appearacne alongside pre-school staple PAW Patrol, and the universally popular Pokemon and LOL Surprise toy brands.

Sinead Byrne, joint head of marketing at Smyths Toys, said: “We are excited to announce our Top 10 Toys for Christmas, and it was a difficult choice again this year. We have some cool characters from L.O.L. Remix and Pokémon to Mario and The Child, as well as our exclusive Wrekkin’ Slambulance, as seen live on WWE last week.

“PAW Patrol has entered the age of dinosaurs, and Barbie’s Princess Adventures are hot to trot. Mix up game night with Monopoly for Sore Losers, Mini Brands Mini Mart shelves are full and ready to go and the Present Pets unboxing experience is sure to delight any child this Christmas.”

The toys all feature in the newly released Smyths Toys catalogue and are available in all stores nationwide. 

Smyths Toys Superstores now trades from over 130 stores across the UK and Ireland. Catering for all ages, the leading toy retailer offers a huge range of toys, video games, bikes and baby products, including all the top brands.

Top Toys 2020 – Click here 

Smyths Toys Superstores Top Toys List:

  • WWE Wrekkin’ Slambulance
  • Pokémon Carry Case 
  • Star Wars Mandalorian The Child Animatronic 
  • L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. Remix 4-in-1 Plane and Remix dolls 
  • Barbie Princess Adventure Prance & Shimmer Horse
  • Present Pets 
  • LEGO Super Mario Starter Set
  • Monopoly Sore Losers 
  • PAW Patrol Dino Rescue Dino Patroller Motorised Team Vehicle with Chase & T-Rex

  • Mini Brands Mini Mart

Another win for licensed toys as Star Wars, WWE and Super Mario land Smyths’ top toys for Christmas top spots

WWE, PAW Patrol, Pokemon, and Super Mario have all made the top billing as this week sees the international toy retailer, Smyths Toys, take its turn in listing its top toy predictions for Christmas 2020, pitting some of the world’s biggest and long-lasting toy brands against new launches in the space this year.

Licensed toys have once again featured heavily in the retailer’s top ten picks, with LEGO Super Mario, Star Wars Mandalorian, and Barbie making their appearacne alongside pre-school staple PAW Patrol, and the universally popular Pokemon and LOL Surprise toy brands.

Sinead Byrne, joint head of marketing at Smyths Toys, said: “We are excited to announce our Top 10 Toys for Christmas, and it was a difficult choice again this year. We have some cool characters from L.O.L. Remix and Pokémon to Mario and The Child, as well as our exclusive Wrekkin’ Slambulance, as seen live on WWE last week.

“PAW Patrol has entered the age of dinosaurs, and Barbie’s Princess Adventures are hot to trot. Mix up game night with Monopoly for Sore Losers, Mini Brands Mini Mart shelves are full and ready to go and the Present Pets unboxing experience is sure to delight any child this Christmas.”

The toys all feature in the newly released Smyths Toys catalogue and are available in all stores nationwide. 

Smyths Toys Superstores now trades from over 130 stores across the UK and Ireland. Catering for all ages, the leading toy retailer offers a huge range of toys, video games, bikes and baby products, including all the top brands.

Top Toys 2020 – Click here 

Smyths Toys Superstores Top Toys List:

  • WWE Wrekkin’ Slambulance
  • Pokémon Carry Case 
  • Star Wars Mandalorian The Child Animatronic 
  • L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. Remix 4-in-1 Plane and Remix dolls 
  • Barbie Princess Adventure Prance & Shimmer Horse
  • Present Pets 
  • LEGO Super Mario Starter Set
  • Monopoly Sore Losers 
  • PAW Patrol Dino Rescue Dino Patroller Motorised Team Vehicle with Chase & T-Rex

  • Mini Brands Mini Mart

Universal Brand Development launches new Jurassic World retail campaign with Smyths Toy Superstores

Universal Brand Development has launched a new Jurassic World retail marketing initiative with Smyths Toy Superstores, a campaign that kicked off with a special screening of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom at The Vaults on London.

The event featured hours of immersive activities and the opportunity to play with new products from the recently refreshed cross-category consumer products programme. Digital gaming experiences, themed food and drink and an authentic dinosaur-stampede complete with costumed adults running for their lives also featured.

The invite-only soiree was co-hosted by the YouTubers Gorgeous Movies who took over the Smyths Instagram account, posting live updates using the #EnterJurassicWorld hashtag. The campaign continues post event with Gorgeous Movies creating bespoke Jurassic World content from the day for its YouTube channel of more than 1.7 million subscribers.

In addition, Smyths has also been posting footage highlights from the day on YouTube and across its Facebook page with a retail call to action.

 Continuing to expand Jurassic World’s retail footprint remains a top priority for Universal Brand Development as the brand nears its third decade with new product ranges and refreshes coming through.

Fans can look forward to the new upcoming Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous animated series from DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment for Netflix due to hit screens later this year, and the third installment in the Jurassic World film series, entitled Jurassic World Dominion, which will premiere in summer 2021.