Planet Fun has sold one million LOL Surprise! Dolls this year. Photo / File
Planet Fun has sold one million LOL Surprise! Dolls this year. Photo / File
Toy distributor Planet Fun, which supplies some of the country's largest retailers with children's toys, says it prepares for Christmas a year in advance.
Last year, for this Christmas, the company imported around four million toys, Jeremy Kirk-Smith, the founder and chief executive of Planet Fun, said.
It sold most of those toys to retailers well in advance - with the majority of the buying beginning in October for the following year.
"Last year we had a record year and this year we are having a record year," Kirk-Smith said.
The most sought-after toy this Christmas is the LOL doll house, Kirk-Smith said.
Given the popularity of the LOL brand around the world, Planet Fun could only get 2000 units of that particular toy.
"Easily the most popular toy overall is LOL and to be honest in the history of toys, I don't think there's ever been such a successful line of toy products, and I've been in this business over 30 years."
Planet Fun had sold more than one million LOL Surprise! dolls this year, he said.
Planet Fun began preparing for next Christmas in June.
"We're really busy at the moment - our big thing is getting ready for next year now.
"Our last orders for the year are generally in July ... we've already order right up until the middle of the year."
Kirk-Smith spends four months a year travelling to visit suppliers and attending trade shows in Hong Kong, America and Europe, to choose product for the season ahead and to pick the latest toy craze.
It's not an easy feat.
"The hardest part is we're working so far out that sometimes we order something and think it is going to be fantastic but is an absolute disaster," he said.
"A lot of it is based on the reactions from other people in the trade, reactions from retailers, getting feedback and how it all pulls together."
Planet Fun sells almost half of its toys to retailers in the first half of the year, including The Warehouse, Farmers, Kmart, Toy World, Whitcoulls and Paper Plus.
"People say kids are exploited, but they're actually the most discerning consumer out of everyone. They're not like gullible adults who will go for some brand - they can actually see through that very, very quickly," he said.
"Kids tell you if a toy is good or bad straight away."
