According to the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), 89 toy manufacturers will be participating for the first time in its exhibit hall at ASTRA’s upcoming Marketplace & Academy. The exhibit hall, which will represent ASTRA’s largest ever, includes a total of 15 percent more exhibitors than last year.
ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy will be held on June 7 to 10 in Charlotte, N.C., and admission to the exhibit hall is free to specialty toy retailers by registering at www.astramarketplace.org. Many exhibitors will be showing products not available yet on the Internet, which gives specialty retailers the opportunity to be the first to offer them in their communities.
“Specialty toy retailers need innovative products with high play value that consumers cannot find elsewhere, and ASTRA’s Marketplace is where store owners can go to discover them,” said Kathleen McHugh, president of ASTRA. “Innovative new products help retailers position themselves as a hands-on shopping experience that is more creative and more fun than what they can find at big box stores.”