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Unless you've been hiding under a rock with no wifi for the past few months, you can't have failed to notice that the next big thing has hit, and it has hit hard.
The three-prong, spinning, stress-relieving toy known as the Fidget Spinner has taken the world by storm and spawned a $500,000,000 business. Originally intended to aid with anxiety, ADHA, concentration and such, the toy joins the prestigious ranks of such trends as lume bands, snap bracelets and yoyos, but what does it do?
Primary school pupil and The Business’ resident Fidget Spinner expert Róisín breaks it down for reporter Liam Geraghty.
"It’s a little spinny thing that you spin around on your finger".
And that, folks, is basically it. Some light up, some have varying weights, some spin faster than others, but essentially, it’s a spinning toy that you whirl around on your finger, or, if you have excellent coordination, you can try balancing it on your forehead or nose.
The Fidget Spinner is jumping off the shelves so quickly that it has transcended the confines of toy shops and now everyone wants a piece of the action. Stephen Tillman, a manager with Smyth’s Toys, is busy trying to keep up with the phenomenal demand.
"Nearly every other customer that walks into our stores at the moment is looking for a Fidget Spinner.
"So much so that everybody’s trying to sell them – sweet shops, restaurants you name it, they have Fidget Spinners in their windows."
Clearly, somebody’s making a lot of money from the trend, but legend has it that the original inventor, Catherine Hettinger, couldn’t afford the renewal fee and let the patent go in 2005. While there is truth in this, Siobhán O’Connell of Business Plus Magazine says the story is not quite as sensational as it sounds.
"Aside from the spinning… the devices we’re now seeing have little in common with Hettinger’s original toy. They rely on a completely different mechanism for the movement…."
Meanwhile, Hettinger has moved on and launched her own Kickstarter campaign, so it’s onwards and upwards for the Florida native.
Upwards, too, for the sales figures of the Fidget Spinner, and while gauging the future of trends is always risky business, Siobhan O’Connell says you can’t deny the facts.
"…Sales are increasing every single day… with no patents, no licensing fees to be made, the margins are huge."
Click here for the full interview from The Business.
