Hasbro to Present Global Consumer Insights at PlayCon

April 12, 2013 By

The Toy Industry Association has announced that Katy Giffault, vice president of global consumer insights at Hasbro, will share the company’s case study on entering and achieving success in the Chinese market during this year’s PlayCon.

Attendees will hear firsthand the demographic and socio-economic data used, as well as the consumer insight work done internally to determine Hasbro’s strategic entry into the emerging global market.

PlayCon will be held from May 6 through 8 at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Galney Ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz. For up-to-the-minute Show information, visit www.playcon2013.org.

Filed Under: News, People, Trade Shows/Events Tagged With: , , , , ,

Children’s Products Retailers Prepare for CBME South America

April 9, 2013 By

Brazil’s market for children’s and baby products is booming and growing at around 14 percent per year, almost twice as fast as the adult market.

Children Baby Maternity Industry Expo (CBME), a sourcing event for children’s, baby, and maternity products, is one of the industry’s leading B2B events for this category. Organized by UBM, the event features four editions worldwide in China, India, Turkey, and now Brazil.

CBME South America will be held from August 27 to 29 at Transamerica Expo Center in São Paulo Brazil. More than 120 exhibitors will present industry trends, the latest innovations, and new products and services to more than 4,000 professional visitors at CBME South America.

Registration for CBME South America is now open. For more info or to register, visit www.cbmesa.com.br.

Filed Under: News, The Toy Book, Trade Shows/Events Tagged With: ,

BREAKING: Walmart’s Scott McCall to Deliver PlayCon Keynote

March 20, 2013 By

Some say retail is dead. Others say retail is king. Which is it? Go to PlayCon and find out what the world’s largest retailer has to say. The Toy Industry Association and PlayCon present an exclusive, one-on-one interview session with Walmart’s Senior Vice President for toys, seasonal merchandise, and celebrations, Scott McCall. A longtime Walmart leader, McCall joined the organization in 1993 and has served in numerous decision-making positions including divisional merchandising manager of toys from 2002 to 2007.

Filed Under: News, People, Trade Shows/Events Tagged With: , , ,

ASTRA, ChiTAG Partner to Offer Educational Sessions

March 18, 2013 By

Courtesy of ASTRA E-Bulletin

ASTRA is collaborating with the Chicago Toy & Game Group (ChiTAG) to provide toy inventors and specialty manufacturers with strategies for bringing new toy innovations to market.

Two educational sessions focused on the needs of inventors have been added to ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy, to be held from June 16 to 19 in Nashville, Tenn. These sessions are for toy manufacturers and inventors only, and any manufacturers or inventors who are exhibiting at or registered for ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy may attend these sessions at no charge.

The sessions—“From Great Idea to Hot New Product: The Basics of Production, Packaging, and Promotion” and “What It Takes for Success: Leveraging Licensing, Social Media, Gamefication, and Marketing Opportunities”—represent the first joint effort planned by ASTRA and ChiTAG.

Filed Under: News, Trade Shows/Events Tagged With: , , ,

COMMENTARY: DYO Arts and Crafts Kits Remain on Top

March 8, 2013 By

As the design-your-own (DYO) trend continues this year, more and more companies are jumping onboard and attempting to woo the world’s crafty tweens. A lap around the arts and crafts section at this year’s American International Toy Fair revealed no shortage of bands, bracelets, or buttons just waiting to be adorned.

These are a few of my favorites:

Crafty Bands

Crafty Bands

  • Crafty Bands (Epiphany Crafts): Designed for kids ages 8 and up, Crafty Bands allow kids to create their own charms using the included Shape Studio Tool. Unlike some other paper punches, this one is super easy on the hands and has a cap to ensure that the newly made charms don’t fly away. The Crafty Bands Starter Kit includes the Shape Studio Tool, four Crafty Bands (pink, purple, blue, and lime green), 20 Crafty Snaps, 20 Bubble Caps, and adhesive. beware though, you’ll need your own adhesive to adhere the paper to the snaps. I tried a glue stick, but that wasn’t quite strong enough. Some quick-dry liquid glue should do the trick. For more information on Crafty Bands, visit www.craftybands.com.
  • My Image Button Maker (Choose Friendship): This kit allows kids to turn their favorite photos and graphics into buttons. They can choose from one of 36 preprinted images or upload and use their own on myphotosizer.com or the My Photosizer iPhone and iPod touch app. My Image Button Maker comes with 12 pins, 12 magnets, 12 button fronts, 12 button pages, and six pre-printed image cards. For more information, visit www.choosefriendship.co/.
  • Rainbow Loom (Choon’s Design): Designed for kids ages 8 and up, the Rainbow Loom allows you to create a “woven” bracelet using rainbow rubber bands. The loom and bands can look a bit intimidating, but the whole endeavor only takes about 10 minutes. It was definitely worthy my time! The kit includes all the supplies necessary to make up to 24 bracelets and more than 600 rubber bands. For more information, visit www.rainbowloom.com. (Check out the cool instructional video below!)

For more commentary from Sierra, check back each Friday afternoon. Views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Toy Book as a whole. We hope that you will share your comments and feedback below. Until next time!

Filed Under: Commentary, Toy Fair Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Toys Account for 45 Percent of Global Market for Licensed Preschool Properties

February 25, 2013 By

Courtesy of Toy Industry Association

According to a new report released last week at the Toy Industry Association’s (TIA) Content Connection, an educational program for licensors attending the American International Toy Fair, retail sales of licensed merchandise for character-based preschool properties totaled $10.4 billion worldwide last year, up 1 percent over 2011.

The Global Market for Preschool Properties research study was presented during the seminar held on February 10 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

According to the report, toys accounted for 45 percent of the total on a global scale, up from 38 percent in 2005. The second largest merchandise category was apparel, accessories, and soft goods (24 percent), followed by publishing (9 percent), DVDs (8 percent), and paid apps/electronic content (5 percent).

For more information, visit www.epmcom.com/preschool.

Filed Under: Data, News, Toy Fair Tagged With: , , ,

Toy Insider Mom Shows GMA Live the Hottest Toys from the American International Toy Fair

February 19, 2013 By

Filed Under: People, Toy Fair, video Tagged With: , , , , ,

President of The Alexander Doll Company Receives Wonder Women of Toys Award

February 19, 2013 By

Gale Jarvis, president of The Alexander Doll Company, was named Manufacturer of the Year at the Women in Toys’ 9th annual Wonder Women of Toys Licensing and Entertainment Awards dinner held during the American International Toy Fair. The annual dinner recognizes and celebrates the most outstanding women in the toy industry. The Wonder Women of Toys award was presented to Gale Jarvis by Shirley Price of Funrise.

During Jarvis’ tenure, the Alexander Doll Company has developed licensed brands, including Madeline, Eloise, Fancy Nancy, Pinkalicious, Radio City Rockettes, Peanuts, Olivia, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, and more.

Jarvis spearheaded and is credited with the company’s venture into a new category of fashion dolls, which has included couture dolls styled by innovative fashion designers like Jason Wu. She has also been responsible for adding to the classic family of familiar faces with new sculpts for dolls from the Alex doll line, as well as one of Judy Garland, Greta Garbo, and Marlene Dietrich for the company’s Screen Legend Series.

Filed Under: Awards, News, People, Toy Fair Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Disney Infinity Provides a Sneak Peek

February 18, 2013 By

Disney released new images from Disney Infinity, its most ambitious gaming initiative ever, during the American International Toy Fair, held in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Center from Sunday, February 10 through Wednesday, February 13. Disney Infinity is an all-new gaming platform that combines Disney’s most popular franchises with one of today’s hottest trends in toys: interactive figures that come to life in video games. Players can place real-world toy versions of their favorite Disney characters onto a device called the Infinity Base and transport them into the virtual game worlds of Monsters University, the Incredibles, and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as into a giant Toy Box where they can create their own Disney experiences.

Filed Under: New Products, Toy Fair Tagged With: , , , , ,

Toy Trends Announced by Toy Industry Association, Official Voice of Toy Fair

February 15, 2013 By

From toys that are “So Retro!” to arts and crafts inspired by “DIY Design” television shows, and playthings for sociable teens and tweens, the hottest toy trends of the year were unveiled by the Toy Industry Association (TIA) during its 110th American International Toy Fair.

After searching high and low through 150,000 products on display at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, TIA’s toy trend experts uncovered a new crop of trends that are sure to be on every child’s holiday wish list this year.   [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Toy Fair Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts