tfe Observations & Opinions
aNbMedia.com
And The Tea Leaves Say... BY BOB GLASER All recent conversations I’ve had have revolved around the fate of the toy industry moving forward. With Toy Fair 2021 postponed (right now rumors are the Toy Association is looking at hosting a trade show in early May 2021 at the Javits Center) and the recent announcement of the Nuremberg Toy Show postponed from late January/ early February to later in 2021, and January travel to Hong Kong not happening, how will manufacturers present new products to retailers? Will retailers be basing buying decisions off of a Zoom video presentation? All legitimate questions moving forward. BOB GLASER, PUBLISHER Like many others, my crystal ball is cloudy with no definitive answers. What I can state definitively is that those involved in the industry, media, and manufacturers specifically, desperately want to get back to doing business like they had been doing in the recent, pre-COVID world. I say this because we, TTPM, hosted our annual Holiday Showcase last month, LIVE, here in New York City. Albeit with fewer exhibitors and media participating, those that did were extremely happy and excited to participate. I can’t believe you guys are going ahead with a live event, but thank you so much for doing it, was the overriding comment we received from participants. Attending media were very excited to finally get out of the house and see products in person instead of on a screen. Exhibiting manufacturers, likewise, were very excited to be able to also get out of their homes/offices and talk about their products instead of rehashing how COVID was affecting business. It was a great day for all involved. (Of course we hosted the event in the safest way possible with all exhibitors spaced out so no standing on top of one another, media scheduled throughout the day instead of the usual free for all at our events. Face masks were provided by Disney, individual bottles of hand sanitizer provided by ORB TOYS and thermometers supplied by iHealth). I believe we are working in an industry where people want to pick up, play with, manipulate, touch and feel the products they will buy or write about. With my crystal ball being cloudy, I don’t know if the way the industry has conducted business for the past 100 years will be the way the industry conducts business as we emerge from this pandemic. What our recent event did show me is that the industry is desperate to get back to doing what they do best, manufacturing and promoting toys to enrich childrens lives. All the best for a successful and happy holiday selling season. 6 tfe October 2020
August 2020 · Volume 15, No. 2 Publisher Bob Glaser Bob@TTPM.com Vice President, Advertising & Sales Donna Moore Donna@TTPM.com Advertising Manager Graham Windus Graham@TTPM.com Controller Mary Grogan Mary@TTPM.com Editor in Chief Jim Silver Jim@TTPM.com Editorial Manager Victoria Sheridan Victoria@TTPM.com Web Developer Brendan Sanabria Brendan@TTPM.com Contributors Matthew Nuccio; Kristin Morency Goldman; Azhelle Wade; Mary Couzin; Jason Welch; Bob Witkin; Chris Tidwell; Marty Brochstein. Interested in a subscription? Contact Mary Grogan at Mary@ TTPM.com. aNb Media, Inc. 149, W. 36th St., 10th Floor, New York, NY, 10018 · Phone: (646) 763-8710 · Fax: (646) 763-8727 Toys & Family Entertainment (TFE) is published three times per year by aNb Media. Copyright 2020 aNb Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in
the U.S.A., TFE, TFE Licensing, and Specialty Emporium are registered trademarks of aNb Media. Opinions and comments expressed in this publication by edtiors, contributing writers, or solicited or unsolicited documents are not necessarily those of management