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. Through collabor ...

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 p ...

trade. The directorate is based remotely in Bodmin, Cornwall.

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. 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 used to be 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

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

The Entertainer ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

and

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 orig ...

Game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

* Smyths * Toymaster * Toytown Stores

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 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 Aston Martin die-cast car * 1966 –

Action Man Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe. Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of ...

(

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 (doll), Pippa, Tressy, Mainli ...

) * 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 in ...

(

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. Personal life and education Fisher's early years were spent living in a railway carriage in ...

) * 1968 –

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

(

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 media franchise and brand of scale model model car, cars invented by Elliot Handler and introduced by his company Mattel on May 18, 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox (brand), Matchbox until Mattel bought ...

* 1970 –

* 1971 – Katie Kopykat 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 the ...

board game * 1974 –

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

Family set * 1975 –

Basic set * 1976 – Peter Powell Kites * 1977 – Playmobil Playpeople * 1978 –

Combine Harvester The modern combine harvester, also called a combine, is a machine designed to harvest a variety of cultivated seeds. Combine harvesters are one of the most economically important labour-saving inventions, significantly reducing the fraction of ...

( Britains Limited) * 1979 – Legoland Space kits * 1980 – Rubik's Cube * 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 A ...

* 1985 –

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

(

Optimus Prime Optimus Prime, also known in Japan as is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Transformers'' franchise. Generally depicted as a brave and noble leader, Optimus Prime is the supreme commander of the Autobots in their fight ag ...

) * 1986 –

(

) * 1987 –

Sylvanian Families (known as ''Calico Critters'' in the US) is a line of collectible anthropomorphic animal Action figure, figurines made of flocked plastic. They were created by the Japanese gaming company Epoch (company), Epoch in 1985 and distributed worldwide ...

* 1988 – Sylvanian Families * 1989 – Sylvanian Families * 1990 –

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

* 1991 – Nintendo Game Boy * 1992 – WWF Wrestlers * 1993 – Thunderbirds Tracy Island * 1994 –

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an American media franchise created by Haim Saban, Shuki Levy and Shotaro Ishinomori built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. It is currently ow ...

* 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 created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

* 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 t ...

* 1998 –

Furby Furby is an American electronic robotic toy by Tiger Electronics. Originally released in 1998, it resembles a hamster or owl-like creature and went through a period of being a " must-have" toy following its holiday season launch. Over 40 mill ...

* 1999 – Furby Babies * 2000 – Teksta * 2001 –

Bionicle Bionicle (stylized all caps) is a discontinued line of Lego construction toys marketed primarily towards 8-to-16-year-olds. The line was launched in 2001, originally as a subsidiary of Lego's Technic series. Over the following decade, it beca ...

s (Lego) * 2002 –

Beyblade Beyblade (Japanese: ベイブレード ''Beiburēdo'') is a battling spinning top toyline and multimedia franchise developed by Takara Tomy. Beyblades were inspired by the old "beigoma" spinning tops in olden Asia. The first modern Beyblade was ...

s * 2003 –

s * 2004 –

RoboSapien RoboSapien is a toy-like biomorphic robot designed by Mark Tilden and produced by WowWee toys. Released in 2004, the Robosapien is preprogrammed with moves, and also can be controlled by an infrared remote control included or by a PDA. The produ ...

* 2005 –

Tamagotchi is a brand of handheld digital pets 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 United States on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the bigge ...

Connexion * 2006 –

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

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 * 2008 –

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise conceived by Man of Action and owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. The franchise, mainly consisting of animated series produced by Cartoon Network Studios, revolves around a young boy named Ben Tennys ...

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

Buzz Lightyear Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an Story within a story, in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizab ...

* 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 * 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

) * 2021 – Barbie Day to Night Dreamhouse * 2022 – Squishmallow 7.5″, Jazwares * 2023 – Bitzee * 2024 – RealFX Disney Stitch Puppetronic

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news, 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, work=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=2 September 2022 {{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=18 January 2021 , accessdate=2 September 2022 {{cite web , url=https://www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2021-Awards-winners.pdf , title=Barbie Day to Night Dreamhouse, Mattel and Smyths triumph at the 57th Toy Industry Awards , date=25 January 2022 , website=www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk , access-date=3 August 2024 {{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, date=1978 , 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