FEATURED CONTENT
What’s in Store for 2024? by Nick Truss Last September, we all had the priveledge of returning to (or attending for the first time,) Toy Fair in New York City. Although the autumn timing was wildly different than years past, toy companies still had plenty to show in their familiar booths, split between current launches, and future releases for special eyes only. Personally, as a newcomer, it was surreal! The consensus from representatives was that it was great to be back in-person, and that inimitable “Toy Fair Feeling” was in the air, but that the ground still felt a bit shifty. Where would the next Toy Fair be? What time of year? Over the course of a very exciting few weeks, lo and behold, Toy Fair will return to its traditional February timing in 2025! In the meantime, there are plenty of big toy shows, events, and things to discuss. We reached out to toy industry leaders to get their thoughts on sales expectations for 2024, challenges they anticipate, their thoughts on digital collectibles, and more! Concerning sales, the consensus is optimistic, with a healthy dose of caution. Rudy Valenta, Vice President of the Americas at Plan Toys answered, “Over the past four years, during and after the pandemic, we saw how quickly the retail landscape and consumer buying habits can change. We have been listening to our retailers and community about their favorite ways to sell and buy. We plan to meet them at those points and believe that, along with our product curation, we will meet and surpass our sales goals in 2024.” Others see a challenging year ahead, but remain confident thanks to ironclad business partners. Jason Engle, President of Little Kids Inc. states, “Despite initial 2024 projections and a potentially daunting year, we are very fortunate that we have tremendous retailer and licensor partners that continue to help fuel our growth plans (hey, thanks, everyone!). Although many retailers pulled back on purchases for the Spring/Summer season in 2024 due to an early Easter, we have also seen many retailers rebounding from their previous inventory issues, opening up new opportunities in the coming months and back half of 2024. Additionally, we are keeping our fingers crossed for a warm, dry winter and early spring, which would certainly impact our sales for the better, with our bread-and-butter bubble business being seasonal.” 24 tfe February 2024
Amy Reitsma, Global Sales and Business Development Manager at eeBoo, derives confidence from the less tumultuous sales patterns of today, compared to those of 2020-2022. “As always, eeBoo is very optimistic for what the next year holds. We have some great new categories that are being launched, a substantial follow-up on introductions from this year, and what probably brings us the greatest sigh of relief - is the normalization of retailers and consumer purchases of adult (and children) puzzles. The wild swings of purchasing and selling that category during the pandemic have swung back to normal.” Goliath has positive expectations and big plans ahead, according to their President of NA Brian Weiss. “For 2024 our sales outlook is bullish. This bullishness is due to category expansion outside of games into other classic toy categories. Within existing categories we are planning for moderate growth due to continued vendor consolidation and macro economic headwinds.” For many companies, it boils down to how the consumer will be feeling. Kevin Daniels, Founding President of Fun in Motion, remarks, “For 2024 we are being more conservative in our expectations. While there are some rather positive economic indicators right now that suggest things are getting better like lower inflation, increasing wages, very low unemployment, expected cuts to interest rates, and a strong stock market, it remains to be seen if and when consumers start to feel the effects and loosen their purse strings. Add into the mix what promises to be a very crazy election year, so hang on tight.”
Rising to the Occasion But what of the potential bumps in the road? When asked what challenges they expect in the year ahead, Tracey Matthews, Maestro of Sales and Biz Dev at Family Games America said, “FGA is strongest with mid-tier and specialty market retailers but that market continues to shrink. Expanding online and in mass means MSRP and MAP management, a different product mix and even more support for specialty retailers. Pricing, promos and product assortment is key.”