TFNY: Thin Air Brands Taps T.J. Simmons to Head National Sales Efforts

Colorado-based Thin Air Brands LLC hired industry vet T.J. Simmons to lead national sales and distribution efforts in both the U.S. and Canada.

Simmons joins the makers of Nature Bound, Taiyo RC, the Anywhere Ball, and the new Pea Pod Babies from Wisconsin’s PlayMonster. He also previously served as sales manager for Michigan-based Kahootz Toys, which PlayMonster acquired last year.

“This is a dramatic leap toward achieving our goal to become an industry leader in the toy business. T.J. brings with him expertise and professionalism in our ever-changing world of toys,” says Mike Searls, founder and CEO of Thin Air Brands “We are excited not only to launch exciting new products [this year] but that we now have the ability to consistently grow our business in the U.S. and Canada while maintaining focus on our customers.”

Thin Air Brands was recently named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S.

The company will showcase its full range of products in booth No. 2969 at Toy Fair New York, taking place from Feb. 22-25 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Click here to view the Toy Book‘s full coverage of Toy Fair New York.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, 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) 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.