Two global phenomena come together this year on the Aurora stand in
Cannes, offering real opportunities to increase the average basket transaction
through impulse sales (Green Village K67).
Tokidoki is the Japanese – inspired lifestyle brand created in 2005 by
Italian artist Simone Legno and his business partners Pooneh Mohajer and
Ivan Arnold. Massive success in Asia and
a rapidly growing following in Europe, Australia and the US has seen the
cartoon characters lend themselves to apparel, footwear, accessories and – of
course – plush, offered exclusively by Aurora.
The
second phenomena is the Blind Bag – this newest craze amongst kids around the
world allows boys and girls to collect their favourite TV and cartoon
characters as figurines, keychains, toys etc. However, until the bag is opened,
the child has no idea which character is inside – each mystery surprise bag
encourages children to collect and swap with each other.
In
Cannes, Aurora brings both these concepts together, introducing new figures in
its Tokidoki collection – Cactus Friends – available both as plush as well as
in Blind Bags complete with counter display unit, holding 12 pieces.
Cactus Friends comprise a range of characters sporting
protective cactus suits designed to represent the fragility, strength and
purity of life. The plush collection includes SANDy, Sabochan, Bruttino and
Cactus Dog, while the Blind Bags offer children the chance to collect on of four
different plush clip-ons (Tortellino, Carina, Timidina and Salamino).
“Tokidoki is working really well for us in travel
retail; it’s very popular throughout Asia, particularly Japan and China, but we
have growing business in Europe as well, including inflight with Germania and
on Stena Ferries,” says Aurora travel retail manager Garry Stoner. That success
is sure to continue as Tokidoki
opens its own domestic retail stores, starting in Asia, including China, and
now spreading through Europe with the latest store opening in Milan. “This has
a very positive knock on effect in travel retail as consumer awareness of the
concept continues to grow.”
Stoner says the Blind Bag option can work really well
for retailers at the cash till point, particularly where queuing systems past
impulse product choices are in use. “I really can’t emphasise enough how much
additional revenue products like these Blind Bags can bring into the retail
environment; the volumes can be enormous,” continues Stoner. “Adults buy them
for their children/grandchildren; children want to use their pocket money to
buy for themselves or friends – and young adults love them too for clipping
onto bags, rucksacks etc. Retail price
is just €7.95 so they are a perfect impulse
add-on.”
“I’m confident that the new Tokidoki offer will be a
winner for all travel retail distribution channels, and wouldn’t be surprised
if a few visitors to the stand don’t start their own collection right then and
there!”
No comments:
Post a Comment