The Toy Retailers Association (formerly British Association of Toy Retailers) is a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...

that represents its members in the UK & Ireland. It promotes the role of the toy retailer and the value of toys to the consumer. It represents about 75% of the

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

trade. It is based in

Bodmin, Cornwall Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

History

The Toy Retailers Association (TRA) was first established as the National Association of Toy Retailers in 1950 and changed its name first to the British Association of Toy Retailers (BATR) and then the Toy Retailers Association in 2005.https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/chairmansaddress2005.pdf It acts as both a watchdog and persuader to ensure fair play for toy retailers and represents the toy retail sector on government panels and safety organisations in the UK.

Awards

The association organises DreamToys, where the top 12 and top 72 toys for Christmas are chosen every November. The press-only event is held at St Mary's Church in Marylebone, London. The TRA also organises the Toy of the Year Awards, an event where the Toy of the Year award and other prizes are presented, including Toy Shop of the Year, Supplier of the Year and Multiple Retailer of the Year. The event is held on the first night of the UK Toy Fair at Olympia, London, each year in January.

Affiliated members

Early Learning Centre The Early Learning Centre (ELC) is a British retailer that sells toys aimed at younger children. It is part of The Entertainer (through its parent company TEAL Group Holdings). It was a subsidiary of Mothercare until 2019. History The origin ...

Hamleys Hamleys is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by Reliance Retail. The world's oldest toy store, it was founded by William Hamley as "Noah's Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in London's ...

* The Entertainer *

Smyths Smyths Toys Superstores is an Irish multinational chain provider of children's toys and entertainment products with over 200 shops throughout Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France. The business is owned by the Smy ...

Toytown Stores Toytown is one of the largest independent toy and nursery retailers in Northern Ireland and the UK.About Us - Toytown Stores

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

* Toymaster

Toy of the Year

The Toy of the Year awards began in 1965 and are presented annually at an awarding dinner held during the British International Toy Fair at

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

in January. The criteria are that the toy must have been very popular in the past year and excited interest among customers and retailers in the toy market. * 1965 -

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

die-cast car A die-cast toy is a toy or a collectible model produced by using the die-casting method of putting molten lead, zinc alloy or plastic in a mold to produce a particular shape. Such toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber, glass, or other ma ...

* 1966 - Action Man (

Palitoy Palitoy was a British toy company. It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, some original items and others under licence. Its products included Action Man, Action Girl, Action Force, Tiny Tears, Pippa, Tressy, Mainline Model Rail ...

) * 1967 -

Spirograph Spirograph is a geometric drawing device that produces mathematical roulette curves of the variety technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids. The well-known toy version was developed by British engineer Denys Fisher and first sold ...

(

Denys Fisher Denys Fisher (11 May 1918 – 17 September 2002) was an English engineer who invented the spirograph toy and created the company Denys Fisher Toys. He left Leeds University to join the family firmKingfisher (Lubrication) Ltd In 1960 he left the ...

) * 1968 -

Sindy Sindy is a British fashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindy's wholesome look and range of fashions and accessories made her the best-selling toy in the United Kingdom in 1968 and 1970. After Louis Marx and ...

(

Pedigree Toys Pedigree Dolls & Toys, also known as Pedigree Toys, is a toy company located in Exeter, England. Best known for launching the Sindy doll in 1963, Pedigree also produced the Tommy Gunn action figure from 1966 to 1968. The Sindy doll was very po ...

) * 1969 -

Hot Wheels Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers have ...

* 1970 -

* 1971 -

Katie Kopykat Katie is an English feminine name. It is a form Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. People Sports *Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player *Katie Clark (born 1994), Bri ...

writing doll * 1972 - Plasticraft modelling kits * 1973 -

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...

board game * 1974 -

Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...

Family set * 1975 -

Basic set * 1976 -

Peter Powell (kite) Peter Trevor Powell (29 June 1932 – 3 January 2016)''The Times'' Obituary - Peter Powell, 8 February 2016. p48 was a British kite maker who developed a steerable kite in 1972, using dual lines. The kite that made him famous is known as the "Pet ...

* 1977 - Playmobil Playpeople * 1978 -

Combine Harvester The modern combine harvester, or simply combine, is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops. The name derives from its combining four separate harvesting operations—reaping, threshing, gathering, and winnow ...

( Britains Limited) * 1979 - Legoland Space kits * 1980 -

Rubik's Cube The Rubik's Cube is a Three-dimensional space, 3-D combination puzzle originally invented in 1974 by Hungarians, Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik t ...

* 1981 - Rubik's Cube * 1982 - Star Wars toys * 1983 - Star Wars toys * 1984 -

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

* 1985 -

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

(

Optimus Prime Optimus Prime, , is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Transformers'' franchise. The Transformers characters were developed for an American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were ...

) * 1986 -

(

) * 1987 -

Sylvanian Families is a line of collectible anthropomorphic animal figurines made of flocked plastic. They were created by the Japanese gaming company Epoch in 1985 and distributed worldwide by a number of companies. History Beginning and growth At the beginning ...

* 1988 - Sylvanian Families * 1989 - Sylvanian Families * 1990 -

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

* 1991 -

Nintendo Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same tea ...

* 1992 - WWF Wrestlers * 1993 - Thunderbirds

Tracy Island Tracy Island is the secret headquarters of the International Rescue organisation in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'' and its adaptations. In the original series, the heavily-camouflaged island is located in th ...

* 1994 -

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...

* 1995 -

Pogs Milk caps is a children's game played with flat circular cardboard milk caps. Players make a stack of these caps, and take turns to drop a heavier "slammer" object onto it, causing the caps to be disrupted. Each player keeps any face-up caps and ...

* 1996 -

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

* 1997 -

Teletubbies ''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on th ...

* 1998 -

Furby Furby is an American electronic robotic toy that was originally released in 1998 by Tiger Electronics. It resembles a hamster or owllike creature and went through a period of being a " must-have" toy following its holiday season launch, with c ...

* 1999 - Furby Babies * 2000 - Teksta * 2001 -

Bionicle Bionicle was a line of Lego construction toys, marketed primarily towards 8-to-16-year-olds. The line originally launched in 2001 as a subsidiary of Lego's Technic series. Over the following decade, it became one of Lego's biggest-selling prop ...

s (Lego) * 2002 -

Beyblade is a line of spinning-top toys originally developed by Takara, first released in Japan in July 1999, along with its debut series. Following Takara's merger with Tomy in 2006, Beyblades are now developed by Takara Tomy. Various toy companies ar ...

s * 2003 -

s * 2004 - RoboSapien * 2005 -

Tamagotchi The is a handheld digital pet that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the USA on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the biggest toy fads o ...

Connexion * 2006 -

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

Cyberman The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...

Mask * 2007 - In the Night Garden... Blanket Time

Iggle Piggle ''In the Night Garden...'' is a British live action pre-school children's television series, aimed at children aged from one to six years old. It is produced by Ragdoll Productions. Andrew Davenport created, wrote and composed the title theme ...

* 2008 -

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise created by Man of Action Studios, produced by Cartoon Network Studios and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The series centers on a boy named Ben Tennyson who acquires the Omnitrix, an alien device rese ...

Action Figures 10” and 15” * 2009 - Go Go Hamsters * 2010 - Jet Pack

Buzz Lightyear Buzz Lightyear is the main character in the ''Toy Story'' franchise created by Disney and Pixar mainly voiced by Tim Allen. He is a Superhero toy action figure based on the in-universe media franchise consisting of a blockbuster feature fi ...

* 2011 -

LeapPad Explorer The LeapPad Explorer was the first release in a new line of LeapPad products after the discontinuation of the original LeapPad line by LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. LeapPad Explorer was released on August 15, 2011. New versions of the LeapPad Ex ...

* 2012 -

* 2013 - Teksta * 2014 - Disney Frozen Snow Glow Elsa * 2015 - Pie Face * 2016 -

Hatchimals Hatchimals is a line of mini-figures produced by Spin Master. The flagship toys feature a robotic creature—representing one of various species—that "hatch" themselves from an egg. After their initial release in October 2016, the toys faced a ...

* 2017 - L.O.L. Surprise * 2018 - L.O.L. Surprise * 2019 - L.O.L. Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper Fashion Camper * 2020 - (No overall winner chosen due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

) * 2021 - Barbie Day to Night Dreamhouse

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-37911284/over-50-years-of-toy-of-the-year, title=Over 50 years of toy of the year, website=BBC News, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-2010, title=Toy of the Year 2010 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-2011-0, title=Toy of the Year 2011 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-2012, title=Toy of the Year 2012 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-2013, title=Toy of the Year 2013 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-2014, title=Toy of the Year 2014 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-2015, title=Toy of the Year 2015 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-2016, title=Toy of the Year 2016 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-awards-2017, title=Toy of the Year Awards 2017 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/sites/default/files/press/releases/toyawards2018.pdf, title=Toy of the Year Awards 2018 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2019 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-of-the-year-2019/ , title=Toy of the Year 2019 – Toy Retailers Association , publisher=Toyretailersassociation.co.uk , date= , accessdate=2022-09-02 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-of-the-year-2020/ , title=Toy of the Year 2020 – Toy Retailers Association , publisher=Toyretailersassociation.co.uk , date=2021-01-18 , accessdate=2022-09-02 https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2021-Awards-winners.pdf {{Bare URL PDF, date=September 2022 {{cite web, url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jan/31/2, title=Lego is toy of the century, author=Guardian Staff, date=31 January 2000, website=The Guardian, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/toy-year-1965-2007, title=Toy of the Year 1965-2007 - Toy Retailers Association, website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018 {{cite web, url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O176713/mf-massey-ferguson-760-combine-harvester-britains-ltd/, title=MF Massey Ferguson, 760 - Britains Ltd - V&A Search the Collections, website=collections.vam.ac.uk, accessdate=10 August 2018

External links

Toy Retailers Association

British Toy and Hobby Association
Trade associations based in the United Kingdom Toy companies of the United Kingdom Organisations based in Lincolnshire Organizations established in 1950 Toy retailers of the United Kingdom 1950 establishments in the United Kingdom Toy industry Children's media and toys awards