There cannot be many people in the toy industry who don’t know Colin Fox. For the last 18 years Colin has fulfilled a number of senior rolls at the Character Group including working on their international side of the business
I first met Colin in the mid-eighties when he became one of the youngest toy buyers in the business at Fine Fare. The company was bought by Gateway and then merged with Carrefour, resulting in the stores being sold to Asda in 1989. A short spell at Zodiac saw Colin join Makro where he stayed until 2002. During his time with Makro Colin worked with Dave Cave and Sue Jones and between the three of them raised over £100,00 as a result of their fine organizing of the Makro tennis week-end.Initially joining Character on a three month maternity leave cover, Colin must have impressed the management as he stayed for a further 18 years and will retire at the end of September.
As a buyer Colin’s work ethic was “Treat everybody as you expect to be treated yourself.â€
Over the years Colin has taken 55 trips to Hong Kong, attended 23 Nurembergs, 12 New York toy fairs and 35 London toy fairs. At Character Colin was responsible for organizing their stand at the show.
When Colin first joined the toy trade he was told “If you like it and the industry likes you, you will never leave it.†Certainly very true when applied to Colin. 25 years ago, Colin was diagnosed with cancer and he is of the firm belief that his many friends in the toy trade were instrumental in aiding his recovery from this horrible disease.
Now as fit as a fiddle, Colin is looking forward to a more relaxed life style that will include regular gym visits and no more driving to and from the office.Malcolm Naish
