Basic Fun! has announced the promotion of Tim Ives from Head of Sales to General Manager for the UK and ROI.Tim is one of the original members of K’NEX UK. He joined the company back in 2013 to head up the sales division. Following the acquisition of K’NEX by Basic Fun! in 2018, Tim continued to focus on his role as Head of Sales.Â
Speaking of Tim’s promotion, Jay Foremen, CEO of Basic Fun!, says: “Tim has always been an outstanding example of dedication, hard work and commercial enterprise. As Head of Sales, Tim has been instrumental in growing the business to what it is today.Â
“This well-deserved appointment reflects the very significant contribution and the impact he has made during a fundamental period of evolution for the company.â€
During his eight-year tenure at the company, Tim has played a tremendous role in developing the company’s key brands, which now include K’NEX, Tonka, Care Bears, Cutetitos, Lite-Brite, Fisher Price Classics, among others. He has been integral to securing Basic Fun!’s position as a top 40 toy company, within the UK. His new role will see him take on wider responsibility for the business, whilst remaining as the key business contact for his accounts, supported by Lynne Swatton-Reed, General Sales Manager and Holly Lackey, Head of Marketing at Basic Fun! UK. Tim Ives says: “I’m delighted to be taking on this new role at such an exciting time for the company. There are many positive changes being implemented at present.
We’re adding some incredible IPs to the portfolio and we’ve had continued success with brands such as K’NEX, Tonka, Care Bears, Lite Brite, Cuetitos to name and few. “We have such a brilliant team in the UK, so I am really pleased that I will be able to continue working closely with Holly and Lynne as I take on this new challenge. With their help and with the valued support of our retail partners, I am confident that we will be able to build on the incredible success that we had at the end of 2020. In fact, this year, I’m proud to report that we are currently looking at double-digit growth in the UK, so that will certainly bring us that bit closer to realising our longer-term goal of becoming a top 20 company!â€
