Little Brother Books has secured these new retail partners for standout positioning in-store with its full range of leading children’s annuals.

Little Brother Books (LBB) has been appointed as the exclusive supplier of annuals to all Morrisons and Lidl stores in the UK and Ireland, effective from the 2024 range of titles which went on sale in September 2023.

This strengthens Little Brother Books’ existing retail distribution as the leading  supplier of children’s annuals range of titles across the UK and reinforces the strong and trusted retail status the company holds in the overall retail market. LBB has secured both of these exclusive new retail partners with its full range of leading children’s annuals and included a bespoke POS package with eye-catching FSDUs. Strategically positioned at key dwell points in-store, which have been determined by LBB’s market expertise over a number of years, the POS drives up-sell of annuals with consumers who are inspired by spur-of-the-moment purchases.

Matthew Reynolds, MD at Little Brother Books, commented: “We are delighted to secure the exclusive support of Morrisons and Lidl for our annuals range this year. We have worked hard to give retailers the focus they are looking for in annuals, as they are a unique and specialist format that needs long-term planning, creative development and execution to get right. We have built a long and trusted status with many of our retail buyers and worked with them to deliver a successful Annuals promotion year on year with maximum sell-through.”

Annuals are purchased on impulse by consumers as incremental Christmas stocking fillers, which means that standout positioning in-store is crucial to capture their attention and drive optimum purchase appeal. LBB has always considered this a determining factor in driving sales and ensuring sell-through pre-Christmas.

The support of Morrisons and Lidl as new, exclusive major retail partners reinforces LBB’s position as the No.1 publisher in the annuals market (including Neilsen and non-Neilsen retailers) for the 5th consecutive year running.

Matthew added: “Our retail distribution is far beyond the traditional books retailers that Neilsen audits, and we work with many major retailers including Home Bargains, QD Stores, The Range, Lidl and Smyths Toys who are not recorded in the Bookscan TCM data. We are proud to have our products available in the broader market, so customers have the opportunity to see them, and then purchase, wherever they are shopping.”

Little Brother Books’ range offers retailers and consumers a one-stop shop for annuals, with leading titles that appeal for a variety of ages ranging from pre-school to young adult, across both girls and boys.

Big winners for LBB’s 2024 annuals range include Barbie, Shoot, L.O.L. Surprise! and CoComelon, as well as its GamesWarrior Gaming Annuals such as Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite. A new title for 2024 is the IYKYK Ultimate Guide to Stranger Things which is already proving to be an immediate success from early sales data.