rock band oasis. and, a new study finds marmosets are more like humans than we might think, the monkeys use unique calls to address one another, similar to the way humans call each other by name. now on bbc news, talking business. hello and welcome to talking business with me, tadhg enright. let's have a look at what's on the show. it might be the last thing most of us are thinking about right now, but for toy manufacturers and retailers, the next few weeks and months, well, it's all about christmas. the so—called golden quarter is when shoppers buy toys like at no other time of the year. but with falling birth rates and tough financial times around the world, this particular "toy story" means companies are facing some difficult challenges, with consumers having to make hard decisions about how to spend their cash. so could a surprising new trend

give the toy industry a much—needed boost? this time, it's not about spending on toys for children, but adults — so—called kidults. an emerging generation of over—18s is snapping up collectables and nostalgia brands, and they say it's good for their mental health. i'm going to be discussing that and more with my guests — the boss of build—a—bear, the stores where you can create a bespoke teddy bear, and the chief executive of the world's biggest toy company and arguably one of its most iconic brands, lego. i'll also be catching up with the president of the company behind leading toy brands barbie, hot wheels, fisher—price and more — that's mattel — to find out how tv and movie tie—ups are reviving his compa ny�*s fortunes. wherever you'rejoining me from around the world, once again, a big hello

and a warm welcome to the programme. it's a billion—dollar industry driven by creativity and innovation, with a global reach and a diverse market. the toy industry is forecast to reach $302 billion in sales by 2030, and that estimate is at the conservative end of the scale. but falling birth rates and some of the highest inflation rates we've seen in decades have created challenging conditions for manufacturers and retailers, and signal more tough times to come. while the covid pandemic boosted sales of toys and games temporarily, big—name companies report that sales have started to slip back once again. let's have a look at some of those numbers. global toy sales reached $108] billion in 2023, a 2% drop compared to 2022, with toy companies calling it a normalisation process after that exceptional growth linked to the pandemic.

but across the 612 countries, including the uk, france, germany, and spain, sales declined by 7% in 2023 compared with the previous year, but they were still 17% higher when compared to 2019, before the pandemic. i caught up with the boss of build—a—bear, a much—loved company which allows shoppers to customise their own teddies. she's also the head of the global organisation that represents the toy industry. sharon pricejohn, president and chief executive of build—a—bear and chair of the toy association. thank you forjoining us on talking business. build—a—bear is such an interesting business model. it was born in shopping malls, a place where kids can go and design, customise their own teddy bears. the company has been doing really well in recent years,

but there's been a downturn in real—world shopping. and i wonder, did that affect you when it first started to bite? i would say for build—a—bear, we've had a very successful run. in fact, we've had three consecutive years of record results. um, now, some of that was considered and in some cases driven by what is known as the post—covid bump, but that has consistently, um, continued for us. and, um, we believe that a lot of that is associated with individuals and people and families really seeking out memory—making experiences and coming back together, celebrations, the joyfulness of life. and that... build—a—bear retailtainment provides that. so, have you steered the business in new directions in recent years? yes, that's a very interesting question and it also is reflective of a big trend that's happening in the toy industry right now.

um, some years ago, even prior to 2020, we had started to put an entirely new digital transformation infrastructure in place so that we could participate fairly in the digital economy. we're over 25 years old now, if you will, and in that quarter—century of experience, we've sold almost, at this point, 250 million furry friends to people. but that online experience was driven more by the insight we were now in a situation where we could target and communicate and sell products directly to the older consumer, something that's now known as kidults. wow. fascinating stuff. and what kind of bears and characters are kidults interested in? how does that contrast with your more traditional, younger customers? a lot of the business for adults comes from what we call trend animals. those trend animals, great examples of that have

been our spring green frog, or very recently we launched our... relaunched from our vault, our pumpkin kitty, um, or the highland cow. the adult side as you get older, over 18, a lot of that is licensing. um, again, sports licensing we have in the united states, the nfl is a powerhouse licence. that's an important piece of business for us, but it's also film licences. looking more broadly now at the toy industry, sharon, in your role as the chair of the toy association, many of the statistics we're seeing today suggest children are less a part of the toy sector. is that perhaps because there's more competition for their attention? i believe that you have to think about it as... in terms of how, obviously, how children tend to spend their time, and that physical

interaction with games and toys and plush, that's still a really important part of the development of children. but there are other options now. and when we speak about things like video games or, um, in some cases also other... you know, cellphones or other situations where children have more audio—visual options, and when we speak about this from a toy industry perspective, we try to consider the broader realm — toys, youth entertainment, kids of all ages. and, in fact, the membership of the toy association is inclusive of entertainment company entities. could the emergence of the kidult make the industry less dependent on christmas or the golden quarter, as adults have their own money to spend all year round? well, at build—a—bear we have seen a bit of a flattening of that what has typically been a very steep curve in the fourth quarter. part of that has to do with affinity toward

build—a—bear for birthdays. about a third of our business is from birthdays. and the kidulting piece has been growing, and that's true in both europe and the united states. in fact, it's the fastest—growing segment of the toy industry right now. that's also a post—covid phenomenon of people wanting to get back to more simple things and enjoy and remember their childhood, and some of those big categories, inclusive of plush, which is where we participate, is in nostalgia and games and puzzles and, again, that licensing area. sharon pricejohn, thank you forjoining us on talking business. thank you so much. the toy industry is, of course, a fickle business and predicting just which types of toy are going to be popular with consumers is a fine art. let's take a look at some of the most popular toys right now. building sets such as lego are currently claiming the top

spot, with sales of these growing by 4%, followed by plush toys which are growing at 3%. experts say it's notjust children snapping up these two key products. as you heard earlier, one of the surprising new trends in the toy industry is the rise in over—18s buying toys. so—called kidults have become the fastest—growing age group of consumers over the last two years, overtaking preschoolers in the us as the industry's most important demographic for the first time ever. in europe, kidult consumers were responsible for $4.8 billion worth of toy purchases last year and 28.5% of the region's annual toy market revenue. the teen and adult toy—buying demographic has grown by 2.5% since 2022. it's now a key driver in the uk, spain, italy, germany, and france. meanwhile, the number of toy buyers under the age of 12 in the region has declined by 3% over the last decade. brands like star wars

and pokemon continue to be popular with teens and adults, but one company capturing the trend for older consumers is lego, with its lego icon sets, one of which can set you back more than $500. i talked about that trend and more with the chief executive of lego. niels b christiansen, chief executive of lego, great to have you on the show. my pleasure. you're outperforming the wider toy market. what is it that's setting your products or maybe your retailing strategy apart from others in the sector? i think there's probably not one silver bullet. it is the combination of a very, very strong lego brand right now, combined with a broad portfolio of products that really caters for different ages and different interests. and then, of course, as you say on the retail side, we are still opening stores. we are investing heavily

behind also online sales. so i think the combination of that really has worked really well for us. you mentioned creating toys for all ages, and some of your biggest growth has been in those sets for more advanced builders, perhaps even older builders. the icon series i'm thinking of in particular. for you, is the toy business no longerjust about children? we serve everybody that really would like to get into the universe of lego bricks. and it does cater for both kids and adults. very often, of course, adults and kids are building together. the family is building together. so it may actually say 18—plus, and it may be quite complicated to build, but you would be amazed how good kids are even at ten, 11, 12 or into the teens, how capable they are of building. so it's fantastic the way it caters for everybody and it brings also families together. so we're super happy with this development.

but some of your icon series sets are very expensive. who is it that's buying them? that's not the way we think about it, that they should be exclusive to any consumer group but i think to the point we've had the opportunity now to enlarge the product portfolio. that means we can actually cater for more interest and more things and that also allows, of course, us to cater for new interests that also would be of interest to adults. so in that sense we just have more breadth. we have also, uh, channel—wise, more opportunity to get to both kids and adults. so, in that sense, there are just something out there for everybody within the lego brand and that's fantastic. many of your biggest recent successes have involved brand collaborations with the video game fortnite, for example. you've recently announced a branding arrangement with nike. how important is that when it comes to getting consumers excited about your products? i think there is... if you look at kits... i've often said that we are actually... i mean, we're in the business of competing for kids�* time. so it's super important that the lego brand is very

relevant to kids and adults, but particularly in this case, kids, that we are seen as cool and we are actually onto some of the passions they have and those passions right now, of course, kids spending more and more time on tablets, on digital, playing games, and we are uniquely positioned as a brand to bridge that gap between digital and physical and lego fortnite is a good example of that. similarly with sport, that's one of the other more creative or outgoing things that kids do, and the combination of the lego brand and sports also we know from history resonates really, really well. so it's about being where... it's being where consumers are, where kids are and being relevant to them. you mentioned kids being distracted by video games, by their tablets. is that your competition now, rather than other toy makers? it's not really a competition because we're also there. i mean, the lego brand is present where kids are. we are on lego fortnite. we have computer games. we have a lot of also digital experiences, but in our case it's very often

tied to the physical world. we are the ones that bridge this hybrid play, as we call it, and also allow kids to, whatever they imagine and see or experience digitally, they can also live out physically, and kids like it, parents like it, and it's super good for kids�* development. you are the biggest toy maker in the world. are you ever concerned that the industry produces too many toys, that we should be enjoying our toys for longer, rather than getting new ones? it's a fantastic question. i'm actually very happy when you ask that question, i'm very happy with the fact that we know that lego bricks, they stay in play for a long, long time. i mean, you have families with bricks that have been there in decades, they've been given on to grandchildren or children or neighbours orfamily. so i don't think you find many products that stay in play or stay in use for as long as the lego brick, and in that sense i think that is probably a natural balance that makes sure we wouldn't oversell. and we don't see lego bricks in, uh, in waste. we don't see a lot of appetite for consumers to give back their bricks. and that tells me that they're in play and they're being valued.

so i have less of concern from that point of view. we don't see a lot of appetite for consumers to give back their bricks. and that tells me that they're in play and they're being valued. so i have less of concern from that point of view. so what new products are you excited about and what do

we have grown the company by 13% but we have grown the company by i3% but we pumped less oil out of the ground. that is an important milestone and proves that we're starting to see the benefit of some of the significant investment to be doing in this area. so what new products are you excited about and what do holiday season? we haven't announced them yet, so i'm not going to announce them here either. but there are some super interesting things coming, i would say, as always. the holiday season is an important one, of course. we have many occasions throughout the year. i mean, we have the 11th of may with star wars. we have all kinds of different occasions in different countries. but the single most important one globally is, of course, the christmas season. and, as always, we are... we are very focused on also making sure that we are on kids�* wish list there, and we are on that with some really exciting things. and the same will be true this year. niels b christiansen, chief executive of lego, thank you forjoining us on talking business. thank you very much.

coming up after the break, the president of the company take a walk down the aisle of any toy store, and you�*ll be hard pressed to find a toy that doesn�*t have a movie or a tv tie—in. licensed toys, those tied to big brands like pokemon, star wars, and marvel continue to play a vital part in the overall health of the toy industry, accounting for around a third of the total toy market in 2023. 0ne toy company that even has its own film division is mattel. it owns brands like hot wheels, thomas and friends, matchbox, polly pocket, masters of the universe and, of course, barbie. hi, barbie. the film barbie, produced by warner brothers, broke records. to date, it�*s made more than $1.1; billion and became the highest—grossing film in warner brothers�* 100 year history. and a masters of the universe

film is scheduled for release in 2026. there are other films currently in the works, too. so, in a challenging market, are licensed brands and movie tie—ins a critical part of a toy company�*s portfolio? i spoke to the president and chief commercial 0fficer of one of the world�*s biggest toy companies, mattel. steve totzke, welcome to talking business. you�*ve been on quite a roller—coaster over the last, you know, five to six years or so, serious losses in and around 2018 and a subsequent restructuring to focus on your money—maker brands. and then that big push into the movie industry and the blockbuster result that was barbie. when you look back, what mistakes were made and are you confident you�*re on the right track now? well, first of all, thank you, it�*s great to be with you. and you�*re right, it�*s been a fantastic ride the last five or six years. as we started our turnaround, we moved into transition and now we are back

into growth mode. you know, if i look back five or six years ago when ynon kreiz, our ceo, came in, he really focused the organisation. we started to organise by category versus brand to spread our expertise. we got our sg&a in line. we looked at our global supply chain to make sure we optimise our global footprint. and, really, we looked at accelerating our commercial organisation and focused on all—channel growth strategy. it�*s been quite a ride. clearly there�*s lots to talk about on the entertainment front, but when it comes to the toys, what you�*re famous for, you have some of the biggest toy brands in the world in your stable. i�*m thinking of barbie, hot wheels, fisher—price. how have they, the toys themselves, evolved to match the demands of children, or indeed of their parents, who�*ll have been buying them in recent years? well, you�*re right, we have one of the most iconic portfolio of children�*s brands and entertainment in the industry. you know, these toys, they create emotional connections that last a lifetime. and it�*s notjust toys, it�*s making sure that the toys are surrounded by content,

entertainment, youtube, netflix, feature films, in some cases. but it comes down to the toys must be innovative, they must be new and they must be fun to play with. and that�*s really the key to long—term success in this industry. 0k, well, let�*s talk about the big moments of the past year or so for you. the barbie movie. it was a huge success. i have to say, i personally, i did not expect to like it, but i did. what has that done for the dolls? has it breathed new life? has it brought new fans into the barbie universe? absolutely. well, first of all, i�*m glad you enjoyed it. i personally loved it. and i was at london on the sound stage during some of the filming and it was a blast, and it was a blast for everyone. it absolutely has brought new fans and audiences to the barbie franchise. we had over 165 brand—new consumer products partnerships,

and it was from young girls to adults, across the gamut, so it definitely expanded barbie�*s audience and the excitement came into this year. barbie continues to gain market share, as she does most years, as the number one fashion doll in the world. barbie retains the number one spot on youtube for dolls. so, yes, barbie truly is cemented in the zeitgeist of the world. this movie wasn�*t really meant to sell toys per se. we looked to make a great movie and create a cultural moment. we knew if we did that, toy sales and consumer product sales would take care of themselves, and that�*s a good recipe for us as we move forward. you know, we have 16 other movies in development. um, he—man and masters of the universe is next out. that will be june 2026. we have movies based on rock�*em sock�*em robots and american girl and monster high. and, of course, hot wheels is set up with jj abrams.

so i can say the mattel cinematic universe is off to a great start with barbie. pa rt part of the ways to address thatis part of the ways to address that is content. with a short form content on youtube or tiktok or instagram, longer form content on netflix or feature films, but a lot of the franchises you see today that are successful in sustaining that content as a key component in addition to the great toys

and the play patterns that you mentioned earlier. i5 and the play patterns that you mentioned earlier.— mentioned earlier. is that because _ mentioned earlier. is that because the _ mentioned earlier. is that because the competition, j mentioned earlier. is that - because the competition, your competition, your toys competition, your toys competition these days is coming from the media? kids are playing computer games are going on tiktok these days instead of playing with dolls or toy cars. instead of playing with dolls or toy cam-— or toy cars. traditional toys with video _ or toy cars. traditional toys with video games, - or toy cars. traditional toys with video games, the - or toy cars. traditional toys with video games, the one | or toy cars. traditional toys - with video games, the one thing is true that traditional toy play is always part of a child�*s daily routine. you know, we see sometimes a little bit of a backlash when there is too much screen time. parents like to get into additional toy so many benefits. it create imaginative play, cognitive and development. we did a study a few years ago. it creates and that these traditional toy play is incredibly important for kids and families. is incredibly important for kids and families. what about some of your other brands that haven�*t been performing so well? fisher—price is a brand i played with as a child, american girl, i�*ve seen your

shops in the united states. those are two product lines which have been underperforming. could some movie magic help to revive them? well, first of all, fisher—price is 94 years. you played with it. i played with it. it truly is an iconic brand. we�*ve been adjusting the range. i feel very confident that we�*re on the right track. we expect to have a good holiday season with fisher price and for years to come. and when it comes to american girl, we�*re on a bit of a roll. we grew in 01. we grew again in q2. we have new renewed partnerships with disney and american girl, and it is on our film slates. and for the toys themselves, what does the future of them look like to you? i know you�*ve been looking at embedding technology into some of your old favourites. what�*s in the pipeline there? well, look, toys, there�*s one thing that�*s true — newness, innovation and creativity works, whether that�*s at mattel or our competition. we do use technology sometimes to advance the toy play. sometimes it�*s just good

old—fashioned play value. i mentioned fisher—price wood earlier — it�*s off to a great start. you know, for this holiday season, it�*s a great example — the fisher—price record player, which i played with in the �*70s, i don�*t mean to date myself, vinyl is hot again, and so we�*re relaunching the record player. we have a partnership withjohn legend. he�*s doing an entire album behind it. um, so there�*s just fun like that, that you put a new twist on an old favourite, that seems to resonate very well with today�*s consumer. fascinating stuff. steve totzke, thank you for talking business with us today. it�*s been a great pleasure, and enjoy your holiday season. and i wish you a happy holiday season ahead as well, even if it is three or four months away. 118 days. well, that�*s it for this week. i hope you enjoyed the show. don�*t forget you can keep up with the latest on our global economy on the bbc website or the smartphone app. you can also follow me on social media... thank you for watching.

see you again soon. bye— bye. hello. a beautiful scene to greet you in aberdeenshire. just one example of the many weather watcher photos we�*ve had this morning. it has not been like this everywhere. it got cloud across the south—east and a few showers had moved away and is well and that cloud will continue into the afternoon. the possibility of the odd shower here but elsewhere, well, that sunshine will continue and it is going to be a very pleasant stay with maximum temperatures getting up to 1722 north to south across the uk. perhaps a bit fresher

around the north sea coast. 15 or16 around the north sea coast. 15 or 16 here. through tonight we�*re going to see some pretty heavy showers start to move their way and across the south and east of england. could be quite heavy and thundery into the early hours. they will drift further northward. and with that comes much more warm and humid air into sunday said temperatures will rise but it also means that sunday morning will be pretty warm in the south—east of england. 15 or 16 here. further north perhaps not quite as chilly as last night and temperatures are down to nine or ten. into sunday we will continue to see the threat of the showers moving in across southern areas. the odd rumble of thunder and gusty winds associated with that. some uncertainties of these at locations of those showers as they started with the way for they started with the way for the north—west but there will be dry weather further north, for most of the day, with sunny spells and turning really quite warm in the south—east. temperature is 26 or 27. on

into next week. high—pressure shifts away. low pressure moves in. that will bring a much more unsettled feel with showers and longer spells of rain but those showers could be on the heavy side with the odd rumble of thunder as well. they drove north on these words. sunny spells developing across central eastern and southern areas late in the day on monday. up into the mid 20s across the south—east. temperature is about 17—21. on through the week, well, it is going to remain a little bit mixed. there will be a little bit of rain around at times particularly on tuesday but there will also be a good feel of dry weather with sunny spells. 18—24. typical, really, for this time of year. goodbye.

live from london. this is bbc news fighting is to pause in parts of gaza in preparation for the delivery of polio vaccines. more than 600,000 children are to be inoculated. social media silence as brazil bans x. the supreme court suspends elon musk�*s platform until it complies with legal orders. 0asis fans contend with queues and website crashes as they race for tickets for one of the world�*s most hotly anticipated rock reunions. and a museum welcomes back a 11—year—old boy who smashed a three—and—a—half—thousand year old vase.

hello, i�*m luxmy gopal. un agencies are preparing to deliver a mass vaccination campaign across gaza this weekend — to protect children from polio. the territory this month identified its first case of the disease for 25 years. it�*s hoped more than six hundred thousand children will be vaccinated. the programme has been disrupted by the war in gaza — israel and hamas have agreed three localised pauses in the fighting to allow health teams to carry out their work. let�*s speak to our guest... chair of the world health organization global commission 0rganization global commission and certified polio eradication. thank you for joining us, how feasible is it that the polio vaccination can reach all the children who needed? i�*m sure it will be

difficult, especially with the degree