I daresay the industry will fare better than some other sectors as the recession bites harder but it's precisely this reputation as a recession-beating prodcut that could be detrimental to the market. Some of the major retailers have already started using toys as a loss-leader to try and increase footfall. Nothing entirely, as it has always been the case with certain lines, but wen some are selling toys below cost it doesn't do anyone in the sector any favours.

And it does show that perhaps no-one is fireproof when consumers are forced into tightening their purse strings.

Elsewhere, the trade is continuing to think hard about where (and even if) it spends its trade show budget. Tomy has pulled out of ToyFair, likewise Drumond Park, while Halsall has stayed but is taking a showroom at Nuremberg. But in a year when the ridiculously tight show calendar has played havoc with its plans, recession and tough competition from Nuremberg adn Spring Fair it is still a remarkably strong show line-up that will be at ExCel in January.

There are still some hard decisions to come for Toy Fair, but if it can marry the level of affection many have for the event with a practical trade solution it can continue to be a vital event for the UK trade.