The second of our annual supplements focussing on toys in the garden centre sector is available now
The autumn edition of our garden centre supplement, brought to you in partnership between Toys n Playthings and Gifts Today, is now available online.
It’s been a strong summer for the sector thanks to a turnaround in the weather from 2024 – and toys and gifts have played a large role, says Peter Burks, CEO, The Garden Centre Association, in his column.
Our cover star the Science Museum Group, gave us the inside scoop on the most recent launch in a growing licensing programme aimed at bringing its mission to inspire futures beyond the boundaries of its numerous museums. Garden centres are the perfect retail environment for the new slime range, launched in partnership with Funtime, which comes with a unique STEM badge and some real science to back up the gloopy play pattern we are all familiar with. Learn more from Amy Harbour head of licensing and commercial partnerships at The Science Museum Group.
We also caught up with Laura Matheson, head of retail at St Peters Garden Centre, and Garsons’ gift and Christmas buyer, Sarah Crees, to earn what toys are selling well, and what garden centre buyers look for in a product.
Commotion returns for another Toy Testers, with two lucky little ones putting a number of garden centre-ready toys to the test, and Toymaster’s Paul Reader gives us an update from this year’s brilliant May Show and the work the buying group is doing to help garden centre buyers understand the industry.
All that, plus plenty of product, insight from some of the top toy company’s supplying garden centres and the latest news from the garden centre sector. We will return in the spring with the latest industry news and plenty of fresh products.
