Toy business grows sharply in 2012; more than 40 new products to arrive this year.
2012 saw a new lease of life breathed into the Chicco brand, says Artsana UK, and there are ambitious plans in place to expand its reach even further in 2013.
Despite the difficult trading conditions witnessed last year, Chicco’s top three core toy retailers demonstrated growth on the brand of 96 per cent, 85 per cent and 68 per cent. And this is continuing: for Q1 2013, Chicco has seen sales growth of 24 per cent when compared to the same time frame in 2012.
Range expansions and new launches are now planned, with Chicco also looking to welcome more independent toy retailers onto its books.
“In a turbulent and declining market, we decided to focus our attentions and investment on core retailers and, most importantly, the nursery and toy specialists,” Mitch Levene, Artsana UK’s MD told ToyNews. “The reciprocal support of the nursery independent sector has clearly contributed significantly to the growth of our total UK business. We would like to replicate this in toy independents as it is clear that we have a winning formula.”
Chicco will be introducing more than 40 new toys this year including the launch of a Chicco Wood range. This will build on existing popular products such as its Bilingual Talking Toys and a remote control offering, both of which enjoyed double-digit growth last year.
