New Official Piggy Bank Toys Amazon Store

We have moved to a dedicated PBT Amazon store, which is new and updated with all NEW stock and still houses loads of our collectables stock. Please check it out. We are also launching an Amazon webstore which will be available soon, which will coincide with our Official Online store. More details to follow.

Our new Piggy Bank Toys Amazon Marketplace store is located HERE

new in MOSHI MONSTERS products, including plush, plus rare Barbie collector dolls.

hundreds of different items being added daily, from Star Wars, Lego, Books, Games and beyond.

Say Hello, Kitty

Hello Kitty, where to start? 

Well, for me Hello Kitty is one of those brands that appears to appeal to a large cross section of girl consumers, from 0-3 year olds to tweens, teens and even adults. Sanio, the manufacture of HK products has certainly tapped into the Japanese ethos of appealing to mass markets, and consumers worldwide don't appear phased that a product a 2 month old baby is wearing and consuming will also be adored by fashion conscious grown ups.

Its a remarkable thing to appeal to the mass market without alienating part of your audience. My daughter, in her fad phases has been into HK for a while now, and although is moving out of wearing the clothing, still consumes elements of the product, and I can see her going back to it in the future. Sanrio have obviously licenced hundred of product and I can only think of Disney and Star Wars as being more prolific in their worldwide licencing of products.

I'm not sure what it is about the HK brand that appeals, its cute, obviously, its clever, and simple, maybe that's it. It also bright and fun. It doesn't stereotype anyone, and doesn't alienate either. There are toys, ranging from figures, to soft toys, to clothing, trainers, bags, hats, accessories, Claire's Accessories particularly stock a lot of HK product, cakes, baby toys, bikes, outdoor ranges, & even beer, but the list is endless. I did think the peak year for HK was last year, but the range and products keep coming.

Piggy Bank Toys, the official website coming soon, has already acquired a couple of Brio branded HK products which we think are really nice and solid, especially coming from a trusted brand like Brio, who's wooden toy ranges are thought of in high esteem by eco conscious parents.

We have acquired a short stock of the HK Stove (Oven) (above) and the HK Brio Toddler Wobbler Walker (below), with the stove aimed at the 3+ age group and the Walker at 9 months. Brio also do a couple of other items in the range which we are trying to source. I know that these might not necessarily be this season, but with the HK brand kind of seasonless and ongoing, I thought these should do well.

see pictures.

should you require either of these items they are available here & here, from my mattval1 store at Amazon.

Going forward, we think that the Hello Kitty range will remain strong, and are keen to stock slightly different but bright and cheerful products from HK, probably not beer, after all we are a toy store, but everything from pocket money toys and collectables to the larger playsets and beyond. Keep checking back for more HK stuff and rarer items arriving soon.

Playmobil & its new target market

This month's Toy's N Playthings trade magazine (July 2011 issue) has an interesting article on Playmobil, and its history and production. It also answered a previous question i asked pertaining to licencing, which Playmobil have strictly adhered to. That they do not Licence and suggest that the toys would cost 20% more if a licence was added. Playmobil will licence themselves, so you can get Playmobil clothing, Bedding etc, but don't expect a Star Wars range or anything else anytime soon....

First off the most interesting thing I discovered in the Article, and perhaps I should have known this along time ago, is that Playmobil was invented in Malta, and Malta remains the manufacturing and distribution hub for Playmobil to this day, and has done for almost 40 years. Which in itself is pretty amazing bearing in mind how (no offence, Malta) insignificant the island appears.

Another interesting thing regarding Playmobil, is the generic nature of the toys, a toy from the 70's will be able to accessorise with a toy from today and visa versa, so the toys have remained the same size, shape and mould style for almost 40 years.

The new Special Agents series launched in 2011 is slight change in tact for Playmobil, and moves the age range to 7-12 from the basic 4+ ageband in which Playmobil starts its sets. Now I understand the thinking behind this as believe Playmobil may well have researched into this, but I'm not sure how well its going to go down with the older age groups, and believe that the original age groups that buy Playmobil now will continue to consume the Playmobil product.

Playmobil state that the range is targeted at the older age ages because of the interaction and involves technology, but with the figures and sets still showing the same playability and no change in product design, I'm not sure 10 year old boys will want Playmobil toys when the likes of Transformers and Marvel and even Lego sets are dominating this age market.

Don't get me wrong I love Playmobil and my kids aged 9 now, still play with the sets we had when they were 4, but we don't buy new - and certainly wouldn't be looking at the Special Agents set for my son now. The Playmobil aisle is only visited by me for research and retail purposes, not as a consumer, because I know my kids - although not too old to play with Playmobil - do want more 'mature' looking toys at aged 9. Now going back a few years, things would have been different but as I've mentioned before here, kids have grown up fast, and want technology and maturer toys and products (that are not even toys). Playmobil have noticed this - hence the range, and I understand the thinking behind Playmobil and moving towards technology. Including the DSi Game (see picture below)

I think in some ways Playmobil are looking at the cutesy Lego Games model for inspiration whereby kids of all ages and Adults alike can relate to the Lego Pirates of The Caribbean (I've done 35% so far) and Lego Star Wars Video Games, but unlike Lego, Playmobil is very child orientated, and has in my opinion never really become collectable and cherished into adulthood, its a popular children's toy and the age band that plays with it has shrunk rather than expanded, like Lego has, and its possibly too late for Playmobil to market a young looking product to mature 9-10 year olds, whose reference points might well be Halo Wars, Need For Speed and Nerf guns.

As I said I really do like the Special Agents range and think kids in the original target age groups will relate to the play sets and vehicles, not so much the tech features, and for those alone it will sell well. And there are plenty of kids who are still in their appropriate age range still playing with toys, I'm just not sure that the target bracket for this range will really be the ones consuming it.

Still, much love to Playmobil as they approach 40 years, their sets are getting better and more 'realistic' with more ranges, and universal and global appeal. I might even try and wangle a trip out to Malta to see their offices and spend a day at the on-site fun park, because I still love the toys, and I'm 40 myself!

I may well be wrong, and i certainly don't think that the special Agents range will fail, in fact i think it will be one of the top sellers this year, it just won't be on top of most 10 boys year olds lists. 

....and while I'm here I'll plug a couple of the older, and still great, sets that I have for sale over at on the Amazon Market Place ....just type in Playmobil into the search at my store...

Need For Bloks - Mega Brand Launches Official NFS Range

Following on from the news of the Mega Bloks / Express Newspapers promotion starting this weekend, Mega Bloks recently launched another licencing deal tie in with the astoundingly popular car video game, Need for Speed. 

With authentic looking licenced vehicles, in three construction sizes, this range, to rival the younger aimed Cars 2 Lego range, will certainly be attractive to boys of all ages, even those not old enough to buy / play the higher Pegi rated video game. With Porsche, Mustange and Mclaren all in on the act these build and collect and play vehicles will certainly be popular, this side of the channel as across the pond. The range features individual cars and playset, to build and collect.

The Hasbro 12

July, is obviously the month that the majors list their hopes for the festive season. And major brand / manufacturer Hasbro has listed its top 12 products (across 5 ranges). Its a mix of big boys, girls, and young and interactive toys.

Furreal Cookie My Playful Pup

Littlest Pet Shop Tree House

Let’s Rock Elmo (above)

Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe

Monopoly Electronic Banking

Bop-It! XT

Kre-o Transformers Bumblebee set

Transformers Ultimate Optimus Prime

Star Wars Ultimate Force Tech Lightsaber Assortment (below)

Beyblade: Extreme Top System Tornado Battlers

Spider-Man All Mission Racer

Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster

The Let's Rock Elmo, Nerf Vortex Nitro and Furreal Cookie items are you will see listed in the Hamleys top 10, so its certainly worth noting these products, and to get in there early for 2011...

of interest to me personally is the Ultimate Force Tech Lightsaber, 

The toy features a progressive light-up blade with vibrant LED lighting and authentic sounds, allowing kids to experience the Force in a whole new way. Available in Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader models with an approximate retail price of £34.99 each. Available in August.

According to Hasbro, the new Ultimate FX Lightsaber is designed as an authentic-looking toy, with a plastic handle and shorter blade that make it lighter and easier for kids to handle. Of course, Hasbro will continue to offer the metal handle Signature Series Force FX lightsabers for adult collectors in 2011 as well.

Mega Bloks Promo - Express newspapers

Those of you collectors out there will be no doubt interested in the Express Group Newspapers promotion, launching on Saturday this weekend, which sees them linking with the Mega Brand and Toys R Us to giveaway Thomas the Tank Engine Mega Bloks vehicles. Children can collect 4 of the 6 collectible characters, including Thomas, Percy, Harold, James, Bertie or Gordon. Coupons, as usual are collected and redeemed in Toys R Us stores, not sure on whether its a mail in promo alternative, or if its a daily redeem, which is difficult, seeing as Toys R Us are not local to everyone. Still its a nice promo, and kids love a collectible. The products are worth £5.99 each, so well worth buying a paper for, get down to the newsagents and then on to toys r us, all next week. 

please note that our picture is not representative of the promotional toy, just a typical Thomas Mega Blok sample, that we currently stock! No Pictures are available as yet of the toys in this promotion.

Another Day and another Top 10 for Christmas

So, today Disney announced their top ten for Christmas, obviously the list is a little Disney biased, to say the least, but as they hold some of the biggest franchises of the year, including Toys Story 3, which is still going string and Cars 2, it looks like Disney products will be flying from the shelves:

Hawaiian Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie

Princess Classic Doll Set

Cars 2 Remote Control Cards

Imagination Winter Range

Minnie Mouse Tea Set

Cars 2 Augmented Reality Book

Lego Duplo Winnie the Pooh Set

Vintage Dress Kit

Ingersoll Mickey Mouse Watches

Disney Universe video game

number one, is the Hawaiian Woody Buzz and Jess set from the Hawaiian Vacation mini film - on before Cars 2, so Cars 2 is pushing the basket for Disney this year.

we'll certainly be stocking some Disney products in the lead up to Christmas, however, i believe that a few of these top ten items will be Disney store exclusives, and as such mainstream retailers won't be supplied with these... but check our 'collectables' pages for these items in the future... 

when we get our range fully sorted, PBT's will be letting you know what OUR top 10 toys for 2011 will be...




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