Nominations Open for 2019 ASTRA Awards

The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) opened nominations for the 2019 ASTRA Awards. The annual event honors and recognizes outstanding companies and individuals for achievements and contributions to the specialty toy industry.

ASTRA members are invited to submit nominations across five categories: Retailer of the Year, Manufacturer of the Year, Sales Rep of the Year, Rising Star/Young Professional, and new this year, the Industry Innovator award.

The inaugural Industry Innovator award will recognize “outstanding innovation and out-of-the-box thinking in the specialty toy industry,” and will be presented to “professionals who raise the bar in business practices and strategies.”

Nominations will be accepted through April 15. The Annual Business Meeting and Awards Presentation will take place at ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy on Monday, June 10.

The organization is also encouraging members to take part in its annual performance analytics survey to establish benchmarks on critical financial metrics. Participating retailers that are ASTRA members will receive a free report that compares its store’s financial performance to the average ASTRA retailer and to high performing ASTRA stores.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book and Co-President of The International Toy Magazines Association (ITMA). He is also a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), New York Comic Con, Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.