Interview With Nickelodeon Consumer Products UK & Australia's Mark Kingston And Flair's Nic Aldridge About Classic Brands Making A Comeback

ToyNews, a monthly trade magazine for the toy business, has unveiled a exclusive interview they recently held with Mark Kingston, the Vice President of Nickelodeon Consumer Products UK & Australia at MTV Networks, and Nic Aldridge, the Marketing Director at Flair Leisure Products Plc., the British toy distributor who's responsible for distributing Playmates' "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in the UK, in which they speak about retro brands making toy comebacks:

'Great brands will continue to make toy comebacks'


"If there’s a gap in the market that can be filled by updated existing IP, it will happen," says Nickelodeon.

Licensing experts believe Turtles, Furby and Cabbage Patch Kids are just the start of what could be a huge resurgence in retro toys.

Long-running brands like the above enjoyed a comeback last year with new products hitting shelves, and other established properties could follow suit in the coming years.

“Nostalgia and tradition might be a part of [why older brands are returning nowadays] but I think these things can be rather cyclical,” Nickelodeon’s VP of consumer products for the UK and Australia Mark Kingston told ToyNews.

“I think that great brands will continue to make a comeback. If there is a gap in the market that can be filled by updated existing IP then it is going to happen. Classic brands are successful due to new creative interpretations that make them relevant to today's generation.

“The popularity of Turtles is testament to relatable, dynamic characters and exciting storylines for kids today, making it a truly timeless property.”

Rob Corney, MD of Bulldog Licensing, which handles properties such as Sindy, added: “Retro brand resurgence has been a core facet of licensing for as long as I can remember. Although technology has moved on and the method of consumption of entertainment has changed, kids are still wowed by the same principals that enthused them 50 years ago.”

Flair, which is responsible for the Turtles figure range in the UK, has the rights to several classic brands including Plasticine, Slinky and Tom & Jerry.

Marketing director Nic Aldridge said: “This is much more than a passing trend and we will continue to see retro as a recurring theme in years to come, as products are innovated and redeveloped to meet the demands of today’s market.”

Flair's Turtles recently reached number one in the action figure supercategory.

Tags: toys, turtles