{"id":113975,"date":"2026-08-09T23:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T23:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/113975\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T23:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T23:51:10","slug":"squishies-and-k-pop-cds-british-retailers-cash-in-on-collectibles-craze-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/113975\/","title":{"rendered":"Squishies and K-pop CDs: British retailers cash in on collectibles craze \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Squishy toys, trading cards and K-Pop CDs are in high demand as young people hunt down collectibles, and parents search for screen-free activities this summer, British retail bosses have said.<\/p>\n

One chain said it was selling thousands of squishies each week as retailers increasingly tap into popular culture to drive sales among children and young adults.<\/p>\n

HMV, which has 114 stores in the UK, said the number of visitors to its shops was up 12% in the first half of this year, compared with the same period last year.<\/p>\n

This means it is expecting around 50 million visits to stores over 2026.<\/p>\n

\"UK<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

Efforts post-Covid to revamp the spaces with areas dedicated to popular culture, selling products like soft squishy toys, trading cards and K-pop merchandise, have helped drive this growth.<\/p>\n

HMV\u2019s managing director Phil Halliday told the Press Association: \u201cFor years, it was quiet on a Saturday, and that\u2019s when the kids used to come in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe store colleagues will tell you, it\u2019s heaving on a Saturday now\u2026 and you can see it in the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKids are coming back in because they want to be around each other and spaces where they can gather to share experiences\u2026 not everyone wants to sit at home on the computer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

High street chain The Works also said it was getting a boost from children coming to shops with pocket money to spend.<\/p>\n

The retailer has more than 500 shops in the UK and Ireland and sells items like books, toys and games, arts and crafts, and stationery.<\/p>\n

It said that since May squishies have surged in popularity and it was selling thousands a week \u2013 including the \u201cmini dumplings\u201d, which can be calming for children to squeeze in their hands as well as becoming an item to collect and trade.<\/p>\n

The Works also highlighted sales growth for products like Pokemon cards, kids colouring and puzzle books, crafts and art supplies.<\/p>\n

The company has taken a punt on a \u201cscreen-free\u201d strategy after noticing increased demand from parents looking for activities to reduce their children\u2019s screen time, according to chief executive Gavin Peck.<\/p>\n

Mr Peck told PA: \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot more people, even adults, taking up art, thinking \u2018I want to try colouring books or I want to try crafting to ease my mind\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen real demand coming from customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(Raluca Diana) <\/p>\n

The Government has announced plans to ban social media for under-16s, which could be in place by spring next year.<\/p>\n

Mr Peck said: \u201cIf the Government gets behind something it certainly heightens the overall screen-free message and therefore we\u2019re there to support those customers that are looking for screen-free alternatives, so it can only have a positive impact on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, HMV\u2019s Mr Halliday said popular musicians like Olivia Rodrigo, Ariane Grande, Olivia Dean and BTS were also driving a resurgence in demand for music in physical formats, despite access to streaming.<\/p>\n

This has translated into stronger trading for HMV, with vinyl sales up 27% in stores and 45% online year-on-year, while CD sales have jumped by a 10th.<\/p>\n

Interest in CDs has been led in part by young people buying K-pop albums.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of that product is on CD,\u201d Mr Halliday said, adding: \u201cWe\u2019ve definitely doubled down on it and tried to really improve the offer. And kids are seeing it as a more cost-effective alternative to vinyl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an entire depth of experience and connection with these products that you don\u2019t get from streaming,\u201d he said, also pointing to sustained demand for DVDs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is definitely a sentiment shift towards physical ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n

The appeal of collecting \u201cretro\u201d technology among younger people has extended to devices, with eBay pointing to a surge in the number of searches and prices of the iPhone 5C \u2013 which was introduced by Apple in 2013.<\/p>\n

The company said searches increased by 164% globally in the year to January 2026 while the average sales price increased by 55% in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Squishy toys, trading cards and K-Pop CDs are in high demand as young people hunt down collectibles, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[20617,13177,3353,58648,58649,195,58650,58651,7996,58652,52173,58653,35558,9698],"class_list":["post-113975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","tag-city","tag-collectibles","tag-consumer","tag-gavin-peck","tag-hmv","tag-k-pop","tag-pa-exclusive","tag-phil-halliday","tag-retail","tag-squishies","tag-squishy-toys","tag-the-works","tag-toys","tag-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}