The main thing that the eagle-eyed among you will notice is that our dedicated Retail section now has a news frontispiece on it, so you know where to go for the latest events in toy retail.

We’ve also added to our retail charts section, to provide a clearer picture of what’s selling right across the retail channel and online. It’s good to keep things fresh and, of course, we’re always open to suggestions for anything else you might like to see included in the mag, or here on the website. Just drop us a line. Don’t be shy.

Elsewhere in the mag this month Jon Salisbury goes all wistful for the days when toys really were the centre of a child’s universe, looking back at the landmark toys and companies that defined their individual eras. It’s a good read, from a man who, incredibly, was actually alive when the very first toy was invented in the earlier part of the last century.

We also take a look at the movie-based products that will be on the shelves this summer with Iron Man, Batman, Speed Racer, Hulk and Indiana Jones all likely to have a big say in sales revenues over the year. The trick of course is backing the right pony. We’ll leave the forecasting to someone else.

The recent Toymaster show at Harrogate was a fairly upbeat affair as always, but moreso when you consider the recent travails that the indie retail sector has undergone of late.

There’s always something of a celebratory element to it and this year’s 25th anniversary celebrations only magnified that. Suppliers too seemed happy with the level of business they were getting from the event and if the future of independent toy retail in the UK is Toymaster then it’s in good hands.

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