Happy New Year!
I know, I know — it’s Jan. 9, but for many friends and colleagues, this week marks the first official, full work week of 2023. Our team at Adventure Media & Events hit the ground running on Jan. 2, so we’ve already logged a full week and in some cases, have been waiting for other folks to catch up.
The business of play never stops and last week brought news worth reading from LEGO, Mattel, Schleich, The Loyal Subjects, Arcade1Up, WowWee, Super Impulse, and more. Additionally, it’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) season and Moose Toys has assembled a full team to grow its business through M&A while Enesco is the first company to get gobbled up this year. Stay tuned for more M&A news this week here at The Toy Book.
Overall, we’re nine days into the new year and already it’s feeling maybe a little less tumultuous than last year in terms of the overall business climate.
After dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic for the past three years, the toy industry seems to be settling back into a groove for 2023 now that the enormously skewed numbers of 2020 and 2021 are behind us. Yet, COVID-19 remains a concern as the disease continues to evolve. It even caught me last fall after I returned from The Toy Association’s 2023 Preview and 2022 Holiday Market in Dallas. It was awful.
Now, we’re hearing about a new wave of infections happening in China, once again.
The HKTDC’s Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair opens today and our friend, The Toy Guy Chris Byrne, is on the ground to check out the latest in toys and games as the show returns for the first time since 2020. Check out his show preview right here and look for an in-depth report in next month’s issue of The Toy Book.
With CES out of the way, London Toy Fair and Spielwarenmesse are looming on the horizon alongside NY NOW’s PLAY USA, ToyFest, the ASTRA Toy Boat, and The Play Date (presented by The Toy Book, The Toy Insider, and The Toy Association). There is no doubt that the industry is ready to reconnect and rock the new year and our team here at The Toy Book is ready for it!
The BIG Toy Book is Coming
While Toy Fair officially moves to September this year, we’re kicking off our 39th volume with The BIG Toy Book. While the editorial deadline has passed, now is the time to book your ads in what has traditionally been our most important and most-read issue of the year — the one that industry execs keep on their desks and reference in the months ahead. If you are interested in advertising in The Toy Book, please contact Jackie Breyer or James Devin (JD) ASAP to secure your spot.
We’re also working on future issues, so be sure to check out our 2023 editorial calendar for details on what we’re cooking up for the year ahead. If you’re not receiving The Toy Book, stay on the #pulseofplay with a subscription today!
Retail Rumblings
Just before the holidays, there was some real concern about inventory levels at retail — particularly in the mass channel — as inflationary concerns and weather issues made an impact on sales. Then something happened: a big uptick hit certain locations and the shelves were wiped bare.
Earlier indicators point to a strong sell-through for Target on the mass side while other players, including Walmart and Meijer, were showing elevated inventory levels at some locations even into the new year. That said, many of our contacts in the specialty toy retailing space report that 2022 was a great year. Look for some data reveals in the coming weeks to see how the industry really performed last year.
While there are certainly some successes to celebrate, there are a few areas of concern on the retail front that may affect some toy industry suppliers.
The ongoing spiral of Bed Bath & Beyond, including Buy Buy Baby, could result in a bankruptcy filing at any moment, as reported last week by The Toy Association. The company is already exiting many major markets, and a visit to the store nearest me last week revealed nothing but scraps amid “Final Days” banners as the retailer prepares to close up shop.
On a similar note, it’s been reported that Party City, which previously launched the short-lived Toy City concept in a 2018 effort to capture lost Toys “R” Us market share, is mulling a bankruptcy filing. While the company isn’t a major player in the toy space, it does maintain a selection of giftable toys and games in most of its stores.
Finally, have you heard the rumor about Ames stores returning in 2023? I believe this to be a very unusual hoax.
A cryptic post on a years-dead website managed to snag a few eyeballs that ran with the story in a few generally reputable news outlets. Thus far, there is no credible information to make me believe that this story is anything more than a ruse, though a big question looms as to why?
Snopes has opened a case on why anyone would attempt to resurrect a dead, regional retail brand that tried and failed twice to expand into additional states. Ames vaporized in 2002, but as we’ve seen in the past, some “zombie brands” (Montgomery Ward, Circuit City, etc.) manage to shuffle along. Ames is just a head-scratcher and my Spidey sense doesn’t buy it. It’s a strange rabbit hole to travel down traversing multiple newly registered websites, mysterious companies, faceless executives, and Twitter accounts linked to royalty. But, Ames did have a toy department back in the day, and maybe this is all true. Otherwise, April 1 isn’t that far off.
Perhaps it’s time for The Hardy Boys and the Curious Case of the Regional Retail Resurrection.
Until next time!
