Nov 1, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

ZURU™ Reports 133% Earnings Increase Year-over-Year in U.S. Market for First Three Quarters of 2017

Leading international toy and consumer products company, ZURU, announced today a 74% increase year-on-year in retail sell-in across multiple brands in the company’s product portfolio for the first three quarters of 2017, resulting in a 133% increase in earnings for the U.S. market alone. Top performing products include Bunch O Balloons™ innovative water balloons, the Original Fidget Cube™ and ZURU Spinners. For the first half of 2017, all three products were featured in the top 10 selling toys according to NPD reports.

The Kickstarter sensation and innovative Bunch O Balloons brand had the biggest performance at retail with an increase of 46% in year-over-year dollar sales across major retailers based on retailer sales data. Bunch O Balloons is once again the #1 selling toy in the U.S. in Q1 and Q2 of 2017, the second year in a row according to NPD data.

Nick Mowbray, Co-CEO of ZURU, stated, “We are extremely pleased with our growth in the U.S. market stemming from several product lines that are performing above expectations. The Kickstarter sensation, Bunch O Balloons, showed strong year-over-year performance. The new introduction of our ZURU Fidget Toys, including the Original Fidget Cube from Antsy Labs and ZURU Spinners, and the relaunch of our lifelike robotic pet range, Robo Alive, are proving to be a hit at retail. The high action X-Shot Bubble Balls also contributed to our growth, as well as our X-Shot foam dart blasters, which grew by 86% in retail sell-in with 4.1 million units of X-Shot items shipped into the states to date.”

In addition to the continued performance of many of these product lines in the second half of the year, ZURU has launched a number of innovative products in time for the all-important gift-giving season, including original toy construction toy block tape, Mayka Tape, which was a Walmart Top-Rated By Kids toy, Tangles under the company’s fidget toys’ portfolio, Hamsters in a House Series 2 collectibles, and the re-launch of Shnooks feature plush that has recently won GOLD in the soft toy category at the UK Top Shop Independent Toy Awards. The Shnooks re-launch will be late in the fourth quarter and carry over to 2018.

Mowbray continued, “Looking ahead, we are excited about our new offerings and have received an enthusiastic response from retailers and other industry partners to our 2018 product line-up, especially for Skwish, Metal Machines, new iterations of our Tangle line and the growth of our fidget category, a new boys collectible that we expect will be a hit, and a surprise unboxing capsule that plays on the social unboxing trend. The opening of our new sales office and showroom in Los Angeles, CA, will support our dynamic growth in the U.S. as we continue to strive to produce toys that deliver unique experiences and engage children all over the world!”

About ZURU

ZURU is a disruptive and award-winning company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets innovative toys. Inspired by kids and imaginative play, ZURU is one of the fastest growing toy companies and is known for their agility, creativity and new-age manufacturing techniques. The company employs more than 400 staff, has 10 offices and supplies most major retailers in 120+ countries. ZURU has delighted millions of families all over the world through partnerships with entertainment properties, including Nickelodeon, Disney, Universal Studios and DreamWorks as well as successfully building their own global brands such as Bunch O Balloons™, ZURU Fidget™, Mayka™, X-Shot™, Robo Alive™, Micro Boats™ and Hamsters in a House™. Let’s reimagine play, everyday!

Visit us at www.zuru.com, Like us on Facebook @ZURUToysCompany, or Follow us on Twitter @ZURUToys.