Jazwares Announces Hanna-Barbera Figures and Plush

September 4, 2012 By

Jazwares will create figures and plush based on several classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters as part of a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

Products will hit toy aisles throughout the fall and will feature several properties, including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Tom & Jerry, Yogi Bear, Space Ghost, Secret Squirrel, Captain Caveman, and Hong Kong Phooey.

The plush line includes a 12-inch pull-string plush with sound and plush deluxe sets. The Hanna-Barbera line of figures features a 3-inch articulated assortment, 2-inch collector’s sets, and 6-inch figures.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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Imperial Toy Rolls Out Roxx Game

August 24, 2012 By

Imperial Toy is releasing Roxx, a new collectible head-to-head skill game, in the U.S. this month and will support the toy launch through the fall with a national grassroots sampling campaign and an integrated marketing, public relations, and advertising campaign both online and on TV.

Imperial has partnered with TCG, which is launching the brand in Canada and internationally. Imperial and TCG have also developed a website, Roxxnation.com, and an app, RoxxNation Image Station, where fans can scan and store their collections.

Aligned with the Simon Property Group, Imperial is participating in a 27-mall tour throughout summer and fall, along with an additional 81-mall promotion for the back-to-school season, featuring hands-on game play, contests, and sampling. Roxx is rooted in the old school New York street game called “Skullies,” but adds a simple yet addictive game play power system, along with an online component that extends the game to the web, iPhones or iPads, all of which will help kids (and adults) launch, trade and collect classic and deluxe Roxx in each series release. Series 1 features 72 designs and a variety of accessories.

Imperial Toy is securing Roxx licensed assortments which are set to follow the product launch and announce accordingly in the future months ahead.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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Record-Breaking Number of Toy Companies to Showcase at Fall Toy Preview

August 24, 2012 By

The Toy Industry Association is expecting a record-breaking number of exhibitors at this year’s Fall Toy Preview, with more than 300 toy companies already registered to preview product, marking a year-to-date increase of 34 percent. With six weeks to go before Fall Toy Preview—set for October 2 to 4—participation has surpassed the number of companies (284) that participated at last year’s show.

Nearly 500 buyers from department stores, pharmacies, gift shops, museum stores, discount chains, and online retailers have registered for the event. Sixty percent are among the top 25 retailers in the U.S, including Amazon, Big Lots, Costco, Family Dollar Stores, Hobby Lobby, Kmart, Kohl’s, Target, Toys “R” Us, and Walgreens. In addition to vendor/retailer appointments, participants will also have the opportunity to network at the Opening Night Party on October 2.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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DHX Media Acquires Cookie Jar Entertainment

August 24, 2012 By

DHX Media has acquired the business of Cookie Jar Entertainment to create Canada’s largest independent children’s entertainment company. The deal will be completed in mid-October, subject to a number of conditions including shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Properties will include Yo Gabba Gabba!, Rastamouse, Franny’s Feet, Animal Mechanicals,  Kid vs. Kat, Angela Anaconda, Martha Speaks, as well as Caillou, Inspector Gadget, Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, The Doodlebops, and Johnny Test.

The transaction implies an enterprise value for Cookie Jar of $111 million. DHX expects to realize cost synergies, which should be achieved within the first year following the closing of the transaction.

This post was originally written by Ali Mierzejewski and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.


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ABC Kids Expo Announces Tweet Up and PTPA Awards Exclusive Offer

August 23, 2012 By

The ABC Kids Expo will hold its Tweet Up Event on October 15 at 3:30 p.m., during the expo. The event is sponsored and co-hosted by PTPA Media and is an opportunity to enjoy refreshments, meet with industry colleagues, and learn more about integrating Twitter into marketing efforts.

Samples must be received by September 4. Contact Kathryn Howell at (905) 738-1447 ext. 222 or find her on twitter @Dogpaddling and @PTPA for more info.

The ABC Expo has also announced a special ABC Kids Expo Awards Campaign, open exclusively to participating exhibitors at the show. Enter products with the Premium Package and receive a suite of bonus media add-ons, including an exclusive invitation to the PTPA-hosted Tweet Up Event at the show.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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Barbie Introduces Doll Inspired by The Blonds Designers

August 22, 2012 By

Mattel has released its The Blonds Blond Diamond Barbie, a doll inspired and partially designed by New York fashion designers Phillipe and David Blond, co-creators of The Blonds fashion label.

Although dubbed “drag queen” Barbie on the blogosphere (Phillipe Blond himself has been known to cross-dress), Mattel isn’t marketing the doll in that way, though it does specify the doll is geared toward the adult collector. On its website, the company says the doll was inspired by The Blonds designers, who “create scintillating styles for starlets: gem-encrusted bodysuits; crystal corsets; mini-dresses lavishly embellished with stars, chains, spikes, and sequins.”

The doll wears a jewel-encrusted corset dress and faux fox fur. She has long wavy blond hair, extended eye lashes, and bright red lips. “Phillipe and David Blond believe that every woman should be glamorous every day,” the company says in its description of the doll.

The Barbie Collector doll is marked “hard to find” on Mattel’s website. It is currently on back order.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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Consumers Say Back-to-School Deals Better This Year

August 20, 2012 By

PriceGrabber has released results from its final Back-to-School Shopping Forecast survey, revealing that 48 percent of consumers believe retailers are offering better promotions on back-to-school items this year compared to last.

Eighty-eight percent of consumers chose “sales” as the top retailer promotion that will entice them to make a back-to-school purchase this year. Forty-nine percent of shoppers cited coupons; 44 percent noted that “free items with purchase” would persuade them to buy; and 34 percent selected sales available online only.

When broken down by categories, school supplies topped the list of best deals, with 67 percent of consumers saying they found great prices for those products. Fifty-eight percent of consumers said they found great clothing deals; 32 percent said electronics, including computers, tablets, and smartphones; 30 percent selected back packs or tote bags; and 15 percent said books.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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PlaSmart Signed as Exclusive North American Distributor for DoodleArt

August 20, 2012 By

PlaSmart Inc., has been signed as the exclusive North American distributor for mass and specialty retailers for the color-it-yourself poster kit brand The Original DoodleArt.

DoodleArt posters will be rebranded in new plastic tubes with large label inserts. Each poster kit comes with 12 felt-tip pens, each with a calligraphy tip on one end and a fine tip on the other end. The pens are filled with environmentally friendly vegetable-dye inks.

Twenty of the original DoodleArt posters have been digitally recreated with ten currently in print. In keeping with DoodleArt tradition, a new design will also be unveiled at next year’s New York Toy Fair.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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Gaming Devices Remain Dominant Consumer Electronics Used by Kids

August 17, 2012 By

According to the Kids and Consumer Electronics: 2012 Edition, the latest report from the NPD Group, portable and console video game systems continue to have the highest usage levels among kids ages 4 to 14, but media tablets experienced the highest increase in usage at 13 percent this year, versus only 3 percent last year.

Additionally, while usage of the more sophisticated devices such as computers and video game devices tend to increase as kids get older, tablet usage is highest among younger children, which highlights how important it is for manufacturers to make their devices easy to use. According to the report, households with kids ages 4 to 14 own an average of 10 different devices, with kids using an average of five of those devices.

Televisions, computers, and cell/smartphones continued to maintain the highest household ownership, while portable digital music players saw the largest drop in household ownership with just 35 percent owning these devices in 2012, compared to 48 percent last year. Household ownership of console and portable video game systems, media tablets, and digital video cameras experienced the most significant increases.

Portable video game systems are the most popular devices personally owned by kids ages 4 to 14, with 6 years of age being the average age of adoption; this is slightly younger than last year, when the average age was 6.4.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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Lego Celebrates 80th Birthday

August 14, 2012 By

Lego is celebrating a milestone birthday this year: the iconic building block company turns 80.

In celebration of the event, a short animated film about the Lego Group’s history from 1932 to 1968 has been produced. Watch the video here.

The Lego Group’s story started in 1932 when Ole Kirk Christiansen founded a production company for wooden toys in the Danish city of Billund. His central idea was, “Only the best is good enough.” The motto stayed, but other than that, a lot has changed.

The company has grown from the original small workshop to become the third largest producer of play materials in the world. It is currently represented in more than 130 countries with some 10,000 employees. The name Lego comes from the two Danish words “leg” and “godt,” which translates to “play well.”

Happy birthday, Lego.

This post was originally written by Loren Moreno and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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