by STEVE PASIERB, President and CEO, The Toy Association
Through changing consumer behavior, economic uncertainty, and disruption in the world at large, The Toy Association is here to support the wide-ranging toy and play community — including businesses of all sizes and types — with the tools, resources, and opportunities necessary to prevail over any challenges.
We offer strong advocacy, insightful market research, and the iconic Toy Fair in New York City to fuel business growth. Small and mid-size manufacturers and specialty retailers can especially benefit from our hands-on approach. The Toy Association team is here to listen to challenges, understand needs, and act on them, whether that means freeing a vital shipment stuck in customs, connecting members to legal resources, helping decipher testing and regulatory issues, advocating on everyone’s behalf in Congress, collaborating and proposing workable solutions at every level of government, or driving influential pro-play and pro-safety messaging in consumer media. We are a partner to all. Each company’s individual success is our collective success.
This year, we are looking forward to a groundbreaking Toy Fair — our first in-person Toy Fair since before the pandemic — taking place from Sept. 30-Oct. 3. As always, the event will kick off with The Toy Foundation’s Toy of the Year Awards on Friday night, followed by four days of business and networking in a new fall time frame that will offer fresh opportunities for all.
With more than 98% of available exhibit space already sold out, the global toy industry will be there to make connections, share innovation, and preview what’s coming to market in 2024. Buyers will also have a chance to make last-minute decisions for the fourth quarter to stay on-trend and set themselves up for a successful holiday 2023. The voice and views of specialty retailers will especially have a great impact on the products manufactured in the coming year. Â
Through a new required merchandising initiative, the show will boast more open booths and fewer closed walls, offering retailers and media an interactive and inviting experience, giving them a chance to see more products than ever before. Toy Fair will continue to act as a media hub for reporters from all over the world covering the toy, play, and youth entertainment industries, providing companies with ample opportunities to make a splash through brand activations, partnership announcements, and the hottest toys of the holiday season.
From retailers, inventors, and designers to licensors, manufacturers, distributors, and importers, the toy community will come together to transfer knowledge, see the latest trends, and learn from a wide range of experts across many disciplines who will present their ideas at Toy Fair University. Sessions covering manufacturing and packaging, retail, social media and influencers, technology, safety, and intellectual property will support businesses of all sizes.
First-time exhibitors will benefit from the Launch Pad area, where buyers and others can scout out unique, never-before-seen products from young companies. Inventors and designers are supported through the Creative Factor Inventor Day, during which a select group of inventors are invited to pitch their ideas to established companies. And, the Student Congress will help build the future of toy and play people.
If this all sounds a little overwhelming, particularly to anyone eager to attend for the first time, rest assured that our team has planned a full schedule of webinars and resources to help businesses not only prepare logistically for Toy Fair, but also set them up for success as they look to make the most of their time at the show. And, we’re here to help directly with any individual question.
We take our commitment to protect and promote the business of toys and play very seriously. We are dedicated at each and every step — from an entrepreneur with an idea through to publicly traded companies; from a single local retail door to a mass marketer — as it’s all about the total health and vibrancy of our extraordinary, wonderful, diverse community.
On the eve of our 107th anniversary of service and as the industry travels to Columbus, Ohio for another amazing ASTRA Marketplace & Academy, we wish everyone all the best. Your business and the children, families, and adults we all serve, will always be our priority.
A version of this article was originally published in the 2023 Classics & Specialty Issue of The Toy Book. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!
