Celebrating its 40th anniversary on 29th April, Bandai UK marks four decades bringing some of the world’s most iconic brands to the UK market.
Having successfully set up as a UK arm in 1982 for its Japanese parent company, Bandai UK launched trading with its foundations steeped firmly in the boys’ action figure market and gaining significant success with the likes of big-name properties such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers. Over recent years however, the business has undertaken a period of realignment to establish itself as a top multi-category player within the toy industry.
Forty years on and Bandai UK possesses an enviable portfolio of leading brands and ranges within its key divisions – Toy; Collector; Own IP; and Third-Party Distribution – all equally fundamental to the company’s early and ongoing success. Primary IPs include the best-selling Tamagotchi, Pac-Man and hit anime series,’ Dragon Ball, while distribution lines such as CoComelon, Miraculous, McFarlane, and National Geographic are proving to be hugely successful inclusively within their associated categories and the overall toy market.
‘Our approach is to continually challenge and evolve to remain relevant, and innovative, especially as the market becomes increasingly competitive.
Nic Aldridge, Bandai UK’s Managing Director
‘It’s a massively exciting time to be at Bandai UK,’ says Nic Aldridge, Bandai UK’s Managing Director. ‘Our approach is to continually challenge and evolve to remain relevant, and innovative, especially as the market becomes increasingly competitive. We are now well-established as a multi-category toy company and our recent positioning as the No.15 toy company (February 2022 NPD) assures us that this is the right approach for growth and driving forward the business. We’re looking forward to celebrating with our partners, retailers, and consumers, and planning ahead to thrive for years to come.’
(For all Bandai UK sales enquiries, please contact E: sales@bandai.co.uk T: 020 8324 6160)