ASTRA Toy Times March 2021

MARCH 2021

magazine

Continuing to

Adapt in the

New Year

THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SPECIALTY TOY RETAILING ASSOCIATION astratoy.org • March 2021

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March 2021 • astratoy.org

features money matters

trending now

12 Bringing Local Online

20 From a Manufacturers’ Perspective

13 The Digital Shift and What it Means for Retailers

22 Raising the Bar of Customer Service

14 Finding the Balance of Inventory vs. Sales

24 Trends Predictions from Future Forecast Reports

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15 The Cost of Doing Business

toy stories 16

Takeaways from the Holiday Season

18

Finding New Products in a Pandemic

20

departments 4

Interim President’s report

28

New Members

8

Message from the Chair

29

New Manufacturers Listing

10

Ready, Set, Play

30

Index of Advertisers

24 ASTRA Toy Times Magazine Mission Statement Our mission is to act as a channel of communication for the general membership of ASTRA and to provide information about current happenings and future goals as decided upon by the board of directors, various committees, and ASTRA staff. We strive to provide useful and timely information and support for and about ASTRA members in accordance with the ASTRA mission statement.

We are always looking for good articles and input for the magazine. Letters to the editor are welcome.

Please forward letters, comments, ideas, etc., to the ASTRA office at dmarsden@astratoy.org astratoy.org • March 2021

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Board of Directors

chair Amy Saldanha past chair Christine Blumberg chair-elect Kevin McGrath treasurer Dee Farrell (2020) secretary Nick Tarzia (2021) directors Melissa Beese (2021) Betty Skoke Burns (2021), Jeanie Crone (2022) Corey Funkey (2022), Jacqueline Killian (2021) Lisa Orman (2022), Brad Ruoho (2022) Tom Rushton (2022), Ron Solomon (2023)

Magazine

editor Tom Savage assistant editor Dee Marsden graphic artist Maia VanOrman

Editorial Advisory Committee

chair Tom Savage Jean Bailey, Consultant Theresa Duncan, Villa Villekulla Toy Store Tami Murphy, Grand Prix International Lisa Orman, KidStuff PR Kemi Tignor, Little Likes Kids LLC Allison White, Sugar B Sales Phil Wrzesinski, HABA USA

ASTRA Staff

interim president Sue Warfield marketing and communications manager Dee Marsden technical project and support coordinator Nicole Peavy Toy Times Magazine is published by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, 312-222-0984, info@astratoy.org, www.astratoy.org.

Copyright © 2021 American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. All rights reserved.

Advertisements are accepted. For more information, contact Rick Kauder, Fahy-Williams Publishing, 315-789-0473.

All articles for Toy Times are supplied by ASTRA and its members, with Fahy-Williams assembling and editing the magazine, and managing the advertising sales function.

ASTRA reserves the right to accept, reject, or alter all editorial and advertising material submitted for publication.

Advertising in ASTRA does not imply endorsement of products and services. Opinions expressed in articles contained herein are those of the authors, not necessarily of ASTRA or its individual members. The information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable.

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interim president’s report

Defining Moments T hroughout each of our lives – be it in business or in our personal lives – we have moments that define our thoughts and the directions Sue Warfield we take. Good moments – our first job, our first child, our first home. The more difficult and disturbing moments – the assassinations of President Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and Robert Kennedy, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and Sandy Hook. These moments in time can define how we move forward. All of the above encompass a moment at which something happened or changed us.

2020 was a year. A year during which there were events that, in themselves, would have been tragedies – raging fires, deep divisions based on social injustices and inequalities, and a pandemic, the likes of which we have never seen. Yet through this defining year and the moments within, we have learned and adapted.

We learned that we are stronger than we thought. We adjusted and changed. We looked within and discovered we could do things we never thought we could. We found new ways to connect and realized how much we need our connections.

While we found our strength to do more with less we also discovered that our individual strength and efforts cannot be sustained over time. We learned to ask for help – and even more important, we learned to accept and allow others to help us.

Awards, Marketplace & Academy and Neighborhood Toy Store Day – many with a new twist. We are looking at new offerings to address this new landscape of 2021 and provide relevant resources that help our members. We will be reaching out to our members, building on the importance of our relationships with each one of you with the ASTRA staff and board as well as members with one another.

We will be reimagining our committees and taking a look at how we can work with committees to keep on the pulse of what is happening and get direct member input. Back in 2000, I become a member of ASTRA as a sales rep and joined a committee. Two years later, I was asked to serve on the board of directors.

The interactions and connections with members have not only defined my direction and path from my beginnings in ASTRA; they are what keep me going through these crazy times that we will get through.

It’s a new year. Our memories and experiences from 2020 should not fade, but rather strengthen us in knowing how we pulled on our inner strength, shared our experiences, reached for help and made it to 2021. One of our volunteer members that has been helping with our virtual ASTRA Camps sent me an email at the beginning of the year. He said, “The experience I had getting involved with ASTRA Camp changed my life in amazing ways.” That email was a defining moment for me. Defining moments, defining year.

May these moments move us forward into 2021 and beyond.

Although we are a much smaller staff team at ASTRA than we were a year ago, we are continuing to deliver memberfocused programs including Best Toys for Kids, Year Round Offerings, Excellence

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message from the chair

Let’s Go, W

e survived. It wasn’t easy, glamorous or restful, but we got through 2020. From mandated shutdowns to inventory shortages, racial protests and a nation coming to grips with our racist past, last year felt like one never-ending day. And in the midst of so much difficulty, we rose to meet challenge after challenge with ingenuity, creativity and Amy Saldanha sheer force of will. I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together last year, and plan to include us at our best as we move forward together:

1. ASTRA Community = Strength ASTRA is a relationship-based service organization, and the value of those relationships helped us survive last year. We drew on those relationships to create virtual lifelines as we connected to problem-solve, hold each other up, inspire each other and (occasionally) vent and despair. We became each other’s cheerleaders as we took risk after risk.

We also used the ASTRA membership as a connection point, in some cases coldcalling other members to ask for advice, help or mentoring (“We both belong to ASTRA…can I pick your brain about something I saw on your social media?”).

We had frank conversations with each other about how long we could physically keep up the pace, and we drew strength from each other. Our deep relationships also served as the foundation for us to work quickly and have difficult conversations with each about inventory, invoices, payments and what we needed from each other to keep going.

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2. We Do Not Give Up Our members, across all sectors, continuously reinvented themselves last year. Manufacturers sourced new products, reps turned to online and other creative ways of serving retailers, and retailers created new ways of serving their customers. Online, curbside, local delivery, FB shopping; if there was a way to sell toys…we found it! We worked remotely, with limited or no staff, in conditions that changed continuously. Our creativity, tenacity and steely determination kept us going. This mindset of persevering against the odds will serve us well in the future.

3. Fear Can Move Us to Action Last year took many of us back to the fear we felt as new business owners. With our backs against a wall (and many of our homes and livelihoods in the balance), we became experts at navigating the state and local orders that dictated how we could run our businesses. We took steps to secure our safety, and the safety of our employees and customers. We kept moving forward with new offerings, new products, new services all rooted in the deeply personal relationships we have with our customers. Let’s continue this momentum in 2021.

4. Going Back to the Basics One outcome of 2020 is that all ASTRA members have a deeper understanding of their breakeven numbers, margins, the business interruption, property damage and force majeure clauses of their leases, and where they stand with their lenders, landlords, and vendors. That’s good for us as an industry. There were hidden wins in these analyses: many retailers found that they could sell more with fewer products or less space. Inventory shortages led to less discounting throughout the holiday season, resulting in higher overall margins.

And all the changes around us led

many of us to drop particular programs, discounting or other pieces of our businesses that weren’t profitable.

5. Reps for the Win COVID changed our relationships with sales reps and emphasized their role as trusted business advisors. They knew what could ship quickly, had strategies for selling whole categories of inventory our customers no longer wanted, and walked with us every step of the way. As we sit down to write our program orders without the benefit of in-person industry shows, their business intelligence and knowledge of their lines and our industry are needed more now than ever.

6. Shop Local Movement For many retailers, Q4 was unexpectedly lucrative, as inventory shortages, shipping delays and a huge shop local movement resonated across the country. Many new customers went out of their way to shop with us. We heard again and again, “I want your business here, I need you here and for you to be here, I need to shop with you.” At the same time, retailers in some geographies were completely shut down, either by COVID, state or local order.

The challenge for each of us moving forward will be to convert new one-time shoppers into regulars by showcasing our curated product selection and customercentric services.

COVID-19 is not done with us yet, and the next few months will certainly be challenging. I look back on last year with incredulity, a few choice swear words and incredible pride at how we as an industry responded. I have never been more proud to be a member of ASTRA – and if this is how we respond in crisis: Let’s Go, 2021!

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Lessons Learned from Playing Cards

Luck, Chance

& Probabilities Jean Bailey, Toy Industry Consultant

M

any of us have heard the song “The Gambler,” sung by Kenny Rodgers. The opening line in the song’s verse is, “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em. Know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away. And know when to run.”

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What the song captures is a skill that many people including children struggle to understand and often misinterpret – the concept of probability.

When you play cards, you are experimenting with understanding luck, chance and probability. One of the

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best ways to expose children to the world of probabilities is by teaching them to play cards.

When children play with cards, the learning opportunities are endless!

Children can develop the abilities to follow directions, understand consequences and make reasonable choices. These attributes are shared with many other types of games, yet cards hold some unique benefits that help children learn. They involve reading people’s emotions through their face which is an aspect of emotional intelligence, building memory/ concentration and finally understanding the dynamics of probability. Other areas of expertise children develop playing cards are number and shape recognition, strategic thinking, and

sorting. Let’s focus on probability, a skill that card playing truly excels at teaching.

You may wonder why probability is an important concept to understand. For the answer we will turn to a man devoted to the subject, professor of math at Harvey Mudd College and author of several books on mental math, Arthur Benjamin. In his 2009 TED talk entitled “Teach Statistics Before Calculus,” he presents the case that mathematical education in our country is overly focused on the wrong area of study.

We learn arithmetic and algebra in school and then fix all our attention on the study of calculus. Benjamin argues that is the wrong goal. Instead, he suggests, “…that the correct summit –that all our students, every high school graduate should know – should be probability and statistics.” He goes on to explain, “… very few people actually use calculus in a conscious, meaningful way, in their day-to-day lives. On the other hand, statistics—that’s a subject that you could, and should, use on a daily continued on page 26

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moneymatters

Bringing Local Online Theresa Duncan, Villa Villekilla Neighborhood Toy Store

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n 2020 there were two major growth trends in consumer behavior - a focus on supporting small, especially local, businesses and shopping online. According to a study by Accenture, consumer behavior has changed and those changes will be enduring. “Fifty-six percent of consumers are shopping in neighborhood stores or buying more locally sourced products, with 79% and 84% respectively planning to continue with this behavior into the longer term,” the study found. Now that the dust has settled from pivoting to serve customers online, brands and retailers can now take a step back and strategize to leverage those trends for the long haul.

Search Engine Optimization According to Borrell Associates, businesses in the US will spend as much as $80 billion on SEO services. That’s because search engines are how businesses are found online and getting on the front page can be difficult. But companies don’t have to have a huge budget to improve search engine rankings. Many businesses quickly set up or improved their websites at the onset of the pandemic and may have not paid much attention to SEO.

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Now is time to go back through the website to make changes to improve its chances of being found. There are a few simple actions you can take - make sure your page titles are descriptive, check for broken links on your site, and make sure the META tags and descriptions use the key words you think your customers are looking for. Resources such as Moz, SEM Rush and Neil Patel offer free guidance and tools for improving SEO. Local Partnerships While we may be used to networking within our industry through organizations like ASTRA, local networking can also help to increase your online presence. Local Chambers of Commerce, Mainstreet Organizations or other business associations can help you increase brand awareness, connect you with experts outside of your industry, and lead you to new potential customers.

Additionally, those organizations usually have websites and links back to your website from other trusted websites can be extremely valuable when it comes to helping your business to be found online. Partnering with other local businesses outside of toys can help you reach new customers. Opportunities such as combined social media campaigns or co-op marketing can help grow your following with less resources.

Web Tools There are tools that help connect manufacturers and retailers to help support local retailers. Pointy, recently acquired by Google, connects a store’s inventory to its Google Business page and a Pointy page so that when people in a local area search for a product, the store’s listing shows whether or not they have an e-commerce site. Locally is a set of online-to-offline tools that help shoppers find products they are looking for at local stores.

They do this by connecting manufacturers and retailers with services such as inventory feeds for retailers and optimizing product listings for search engines. Kibo is another solution which allows local retailers to fulfill online orders placed on manufacturer websites.

Social Media Love it or hate it, social media is a huge driver of consumer decisions. New apps pop up all the time, and it can be difficult for small operations on a budget to manage them all. Instead of trying to be everywhere, find where your customers are. “When you dive into demographics, you'll be able to narrow down your platform and find the most beneficial one to pursue. Don't spread yourself too thin by trying to manage multiple platforms at once,”says Amanda Dalrymple of Amanda Dalrymple Designs.

While we hope Covid-19 will soon be a strange and distant memory, many of the changes accelerated by the pandemic are here to stay. Toys may be timeless, but consumer behavior has changed and while consumers want to support local businesses and small companies, they are also demanding the convenience ASTRA and ease of shopping online.

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The Digital Shift and What It Means for Retailers Phil Wrzesinski, HABA USA • Lisa Orman, KidStuff PR

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hen the pandemic first hit and much of the country went into lockdowns with all but essential businesses open, there was a predictable shift to online sales. In efforts to stay safe many people went to the computer.

While Amazon made huge gains according to a recent Reuters story, they weren’t the only winners. Toy stores with eCommerce sites also reported gains, or at least were able to hold onto sales until they could open again.

As one anonymous toy retailer said, “I almost feel guilty because my sales have been way up this year. We are looking at record sales and profits.”

Another toy retailer said his eCommerce sales made the difference for his store.

“It not only kept us busy and paying the bills, but it also kept us in the forefront of our customers’ minds,” they said.

In a year-end article, Forbes reported total eCommerce growth of 30% for 2020 and sees a habitual shift in consumer behavior that will keep people shopping online.

“Older demographics, who may have been wary of online shopping previously, are going to enjoy the newfound convenience and continue to be eCommerce consumers even once brick-and-mortar locations reopen at full capacity,” the Forbes article said.

What does this mean for the average toy retailer? If you don’t have eCommerce, you need to put that at the top of your plans for 2021. It is no longer a fringe part of your business, but now a necessary marketing tool and revenue generator.

Not as Hard as You Think

Before you start dreading the idea of building your eCommerce platform and wondering where you’ll find the time and resources, understand there are many options and resources available to you.

Some cost more money. Some cost more time. Some will be better for your business than others.

The best place to first spend your time is doing a little research. Look into your options such as:

Your POS System – if they offer an eCommerce solution it will likely be the most seamless and automated since it ties directly into your main system Specialty Toy Network – this ASTRA affiliate has been building eCommerce for the toy industry for over a decade Shopify.com – another site specifically about taking retailers online Wordpress – if you are a Do-it-Yourselfer and have a Wordpress site, they have several eCommerce apps.

Locally.com – just by sharing your inventory with them (a mostly automated process depending on your POS), you can have an eCommerce site for every toy vendor using this service (like HABA, iello, and Baby Paper)

These are just a few of the options out there. Do the research and you’ll find

the right option for you. Here are some questions to ask: • How seamlessly will my eCommerce work with my POS? • How automated will the process be as I add new items, new inventory, or sell out of stuff?

• How will I get notifications of sales?

Finally, check with your vendors. Some can be amazingly helpful getting you the info you need to populate your website.

Some have generous drop ship programs that can even help you make sales on items you don’t have in stock.

Even with vaccines, there are many in the population who won’t be going back out shopping in full any time soon. Habits have changed. Amazon may be winning big, but they aren’t the only ones. Just ask your fellow toy retailers who already had ASTRA eCommerce sites last year.

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moneymatters

Do you have the right inventory in stock?

Do you have too many puzzles?

Not enough?

Do you have the right kind of puzzles?

Do you have enough of that item?

Do you have too much?

Do you feel like you’re throwing darts at a board when it comes to planning for future sales? Does the thought of allocating your merchandise seem like an overwhelming exercise?

Finding the balance of inventory vs. sales is an ongoing struggle

E

ver notice some items in your retail store stick around for a long time? Other items move in a hurry. Do you feel like you’re throwing darts at a board when it comes to inventory vs/ sales? All of it can be cumbersome and seem mind-boggling. That might be, but it also can be the difference of hitting sales goals for the year.

“Sometimes retailers don’t know what they don’t know. That’s a problem,” said Gord Peters, owner of Management One, a retail

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planning company that has been helping retailers for more than 30 years. “It’s one of those things in retail in general - it’s like a black hole.”

Planning is designed to maximize cash flow and to get a return on investment.

When you plan properly, you’re capturing the right data in order to make the right decisions. “You can’t sell what you don’t own and unfortunately if you don’t plan, you miss a lot of sales by not being on top of where

the action is coming from,” Peters said.

One of the most important aspects of planning is making sure you have a good point of sales system to capture sales data.

The second is creating an appropriate classification structure.

Rather than categorizing puzzles under one line item, Peters said to break it down.

How many puzzles in your inventory are 1,000 pieces, how many are 500, 250, less than 100 and how many are wooden block

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puzzles for toddlers. “If you have a store that’s doing anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million in sales per year and you haven’t broken down your classifications adequately, even if your point of sales is capable of capturing the data, you won’t get the data you need,” Peters said.

Once you have the right classification structure, you need to be able to come up with a plan that is reliable. Most retailers aren’t really in a position to do that because it requires them to forecast sales and have an understanding what the most appropriate level of inventory is necessary in order to drive those sales. “By planning and capturing data at the right level, you end up seeing where your inventory is, where your sales are coming from, where you’re getting the best return on investment, where your trending sales are and where you need to take your markdowns,” Peters said. “That’s very important, because if something is not working, you want to get out of it and move your money into something that is working, quickly, especially today.

There's just no time to sit on inventory.”

Peters said there are several reasons why people get into Being able to plan your inventory can be done with help through your Point-of-Sale system. inventory planning.

He said some retailers come to him and say ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t pay my bills. I really need help.’

That’s typically a situation where someone is carrying too much stock for the amount of sales they’re doing.

“They’re trying to fill their store because they don’t want their shelves to look bare, but they have not demonstrated the capacity to sell what they’re carrying,” he said.

“That’s one type of planning client that I tend to get.”

He said others look around at their store and realize there’s just something missing.

“I know there’s a better way to do this,” Peters said he’s heard often. “What we give them is a better way to do it.”

Making the commitment to plan and allocate sometimes comes with angst. Peters said the undertaking of planning draws negative and time-consuming comparisons.

“A lot of people think of inventory planning and they say ‘I don’t want handcuffs on me.

I want to be able to buy what I want to buy. I don’t want you to drop my inventory down,’” he said. “I hear all those kinds of things, but one of the things they forget about is the ability we have of moving inventory from where you don’t need it to where you do need it so you can grow your business, and that’s a very powerful tool.”

Although an overall broad-reaching approach when it comes to annual planning, Peters said it can be broken down to a single sale. “Think of it this way,” he said. “If you wait until you miss a sale to realize it’s time to buy because somebody walked in and you didn’t have it, then who knows how many more sales you’re going to miss until you restock that item you need.”

With 35 years of experience working in and with specialty retail (retail and apparel manufacturing/wholesale), Gord Peters recognizes the unique challenges facing this community. Peters is a professor in the Fashion and Business Management Program at Toronto’s Centennial College and holds an MBA from Schulich School of Business at York University and an HBA from The Richard Ivey ASTRA School of Business at Western University.

The Cost of

Doing Business Brice Elvington, The Toy Shop Florence

I

t’s something that we as retailers (or manufacturers/reps in relation to the retailer) face almost everyday. Our customers ask us questions and our first reaction is to pause where we quickly calculate in our minds the cost/benefit of our answer. Take, for example, a customer walking in our store and saying they were about to buy something on Amazon, but wanted to check with us first if we had it and will we match the price on Amazon?

Of course, most of us have already rolled our eyes in our mind (and possibly in plain sight) at the mention of Amazon.

Then maybe we let out an audible sigh, and either tell them our policy or ask what the price is online. We are already starting the negotiation or the cost/ benefit decision analysis of the single transaction of the one item. We have not even thanked them for coming in our store and for giving us the chance to win their business. We may not have even thought about the cost of acquiring a new customer or losing an existing one.

I would guess very few of us (if it wasn't already a great customer) would respond with an automatic "Of course we will continued on page 27 astratoy.org • March 2021

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toystories

Takeaways from the

Holiday Season T he holiday season is clearly a major time for any retailer. The 2020 holiday season was one no one probably will ever forget.

With so much uncertainty in the world, anxiety from retailers was palpable from coast-to-coast. With so much riding on the fourth quarter and in the midst of a pandemic, would it be a make-or-break season? Could independent toy stores survive such uncertainty?

By all accounts, the answer was a resounding ‘yes’ when it came to having a successful holiday season.

For Vanessa Gammel, owner of Tumbleweed Toys in Kamloops, British Columbia, November was a month to remember. Tumbleweed doubled their sales over November 2019, and she credits the ‘shop local’ movement as a driver, along with people wanting to get holiday shopping done early.

“We saw a big push to shop local and not online to get things early,” she said.

“People were worried about another shutdown.”

That early shopping movement fed directly into the shop local push as well.

Gammel said November and December was loaded with local customers from the area.

“Shop local was massive,” she said. “We had all of our regular customers and then a whole bunch of new people that never ordered from us before or never came into the store before that wanted to shop local.

It was really cool.”

Santa Moves Online Most communities around the country continue to have limited shoppers inside stores due to the pandemic. Most are regulated by square footage, which poses a problem for selling toys in a brick and mortar store during the holidays.

It’s the reason several toy stores went online during the summer of 2019 to prepare for the pending holiday season.

That turned out to be a lifesaver.

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For David Castillo at Red Balloon Toy Store in Salt Lake City, online sales were a game-changer in 2019. Castillo has six stores in the Salt Lake City metro area, and his new website launched in May of 2019.

He’s had three failed websites since 2015, but said he learned something new each time. This time, they were ahead of the pandemic and the website kept all six stores rolling. Castillo said the entire year of 2020 was great with the fourth quarter exploding online.

“Call it luck, call it good timing, but we made a lot of pivots that benefited us for the pandemic that was on our map already,” he said. “We were already pushing ecommerce, trying to make that in-store and online experience like one seamless experience. We were already working on it, and we were just really fortunate on that.”

He said online sales is the future and in order to succeed in today’s retail industry, retailers need to get on board.

“If you feel like the industry is heading somewhere or the market is headed somewhere and you try to dip your toes into it and fall on your face a few times - don’t give up,” he said. “We could have given up on the whole ecommerce side of our business a long time ago, very easily.”

Gammel said having a website presence during the fourth quarter made all the difference.

She said her online sales soared in 2020 and attributed it partly to COVID-19 and partly to the updates made on the site. She said the entire inventory at Tumbleweed Toys can now be found online. Before, she said, the store had a “clunky” site and everything had to be uploaded separately.

“We didn’t have a whole lot we could do with the manpower that we had. Now we can sell everything in our store online,” she said. “If people aren’t feeling safe coming in to shop and they want to do curbside pickup or have it shipped, they can order anything we sell. That’s made a really big difference for us.”

Tami Staker, owner of Whimzy Toys

in Albert Lea, Minnesota, received a $4,500 grant from the city in July to help with her business during the pandemic.

She said she put it all towards website development.

“Just like everybody else, we had to pivot and go online,” she said. “From September to Christmas, we did $7,500 in online sales, and that was a real bonus because that’s $7,500 wouldn’t have had any other way. We couldn’t be more grateful.”

Specialty Room Along with online sales, Whimzy Toys also made the holiday experience special even if numbers were limited in-store.

Staker transformed the basement of the store into a meet-and-greet for Santa.

The store used Facebook to schedule 10-minute appointments for children to come in and visit Santa, along with a maximum of five family members. The store cleaned the area for 10 minutes between appointments to keep the area sanitary and comfortable for visiting families.

The store also set up Zoom calls, complete with the same fireplace backdrop, with Santa for those families who weren’t comfortable coming to the store. Staker said both the in-person appointments and Zoom appointments filled up in a hurry.

That special twist made the fourth quarter a success for Staker. Such a success, that they’re keeping the room moving forward for other events.

They are hosting a similar event in February during Albert Lea’s Big Freeze shopping event. Staker said rather than Santa, they will have someone dressed as Elsa from the movie Frozen.

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Left: Yamil Castillo of Red Balloon Toy Store in Salt Lake City works on shipping items during Q4 last year Below: Santa holds a Zoom visit at Whimzy Toys in Albert Lea, Minnesota

want to start doing Facebook Live events, I’ve got a studio already built for it.”

“The interesting thing with the visits with Santa is that the kids were way more relaxed. The families knew no one else was going to be down there and there wasn’t a long line of people waiting,” she said. “We love that room now and we’ll keep it. If I

Lessons Learned Castillo said the biggest lesson they’ve learned for their six Salt Lake City stores is the importance of convincing his staff that they’re of more value than their customers.

“I know a lot of people say the customer is first and the customer is most important, but we really believe that our staff is most important,” he said. “We need them to know that, and to believe it. “Having done that has really helped us. Without them we don’t get through tough times like this pandemic.”

He said he had to intervene several times during the holidays when unruly customers were upset at having to wear masks because of the state’s mandate.

“That was horrifying for me. I hated to see our employees go through it because

I know they didn’t apply to be bouncers they wanted to sell toys. We would have no success without quality staff.”

Transparency On Social Media Gammel said her biggest takeaway following the success of the fourth quarter was her store’s transparency on social media. Being open and honest, she said, gained trust with her customers.

During Facebook Live events, Gammel said she talked about how the store is dealing with the pandemic, and how it is affecting the entire staff.

She said she thanked everyone for wearing a mask and respecting the store’s policies.

“We talked about how it’s affecting us, and people were able to relate to that,” she said. “Customers always say ‘thank you so much for working so hard at keeping your store clean and limiting the amount of customers. We feel safe shopping here.’” ASTRA

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toystories

Finding New Products in a Pandemic Phil Wrzesinski, HABA USA

2020 ASTRA – canceled.

2020 ABC Show – canceled.

2021 Toy Fair – canceled.

2021 Toyfest West – canceled.

O

ne of the casualties of the pandemic has been the live booth shows. Without these shows, the challenge for vendors and retailers alike is the introduction of new products. Here are some of the ways they have been getting the word out.

Shows Going Virtual

Virtual shows like ASTRA Camp, Toy Fair Everywhere, and ABC Virtual were a big hit for the presenters and attendees. Many raved about the chance to connect in meaningful ways. Retailers got the chance to see new products through video and live presentations.

While the live presentations were a hit and gave vendors the chance to put their best foot forward, most vendors agreed the 15 to 20-minute live presentations went by faster than expected, and unlike a booth visit, the hard time limit always meant something got missed.

Videos on Demand

“When I took this job, I never thought Video Producer would be one of my main responsibilities.” Phil Wrzesinski, National Sales Manager, HABA USA One big benefit to the retailers this year has been the rapid increase in product videos. Many vendors ramped up video production as a way to show off new products, and the retailers have been using those videos to help sell in a pandemic shopping climate. Win-win!

Live Zoom Calls

When Chloe Kershaw from Hape realized she couldn’t and wouldn’t have a booth at a show, she built a booth in her living room.

“I called it the Ding-Dong Campaign and invited retailers into my showroom for a live, one-on-one Zoom call with them and their rep.” Chloe did half-hour appointments all

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day every day for a week.

Vendors and sales reps alike have found video chats to be a useful tool for showing off new products.

Online Platforms

Sales reps and vendors alike have built new online platforms to show off new products. “I'm finding new products through my sales reps and through online catalogs and rep groups websites,” said Michelle Sahr from Off the Wagon.

Social Media Groups

Several sales reps have set up private Facebook groups with their retailers, finding it an easy way to communicate with their retailers and share product info, videos, images, and more.

Samples

With the expense from the trade shows down, some vendors are becoming more generous with samples as a marketing tool.

If you are on the fence on an item, request a sample. You’ll be pleased by how many vendors say yes.

“We had a company send us a free sample of their product in August and it was such a hit with our kids that we immediately ordered and 5 reorders later I'm really happy they reached out!” shared Emily Drappi of Island Treasure Toys.

Sales Reps

Even with the pandemic shutting down a lot of travel and store visits, sales reps have never been more important to the flow of new product info.

“We have certainly leaned on our sales reps more and particularly those with online ordering platforms. At night I often browse catalogs on our reps' websites and discover new products that way. Some of our reps highlight promotions on their sites, making it very easy to take advantage of deals while discovering new items,” says Emily.

Regional Shows

One place you can still see items in person is the regional markets such as Dallas, Atlanta, and Seattle. The permanent showrooms offer a higher level of control over crowd size and cleanliness. Many reps have also been doing Zoom appointments in the showrooms.

Moving Forward

Even our customers have had to embrace digital forms of shopping over seeing items in person. Fortunately, all of the tools above have made that easier for the retailers, too.

Moving forward, retailers will be looking to vendors to offer better website platforms, digital libraries, and video offerings. “Our store has always been brick and mortar but now we are doing more and more online business and our expectation is moving towards being able to publish all the products we carry in-store, online,” said Michelle.

While we are all hopeful shows will return, as much for the relational aspects as for the seeing of new products, the specialty toy industry has shown we can pivot with the best of them and find several new ways to get the word out about what we have ASTRA to offer.

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trending now

From a Manufacturer’s

Perspective

L

ooking ahead to 2021 from a manufacturer’s perspective isn’t as daunting today as it was when we were knee deep into 2020. Forgive me for a moment for this upcoming flight analogy but hang in there with me: Last year felt a lot like we were building the plane while we were flying it and this year it seems like the plane is now flying and the ground and flight crews have things in hand. The manufacturing staff (aka flight crew) have figured out how to develop games in this time of remote working and how to support their products in a virtual buying world and the sales reps (aka ground crew) have become crucial in keeping the retailers informed on products and their availability.

The wonderful part about the ASTRA community is that it is made up of retailers, manufacturers, sales reps, inventors and affiliate partners, and 2020 has shown how important each group is in our ecosystem.

We reached out to four of our ASTRA manufacturer members to check in on their view of the flight into 2021. (Can you tell I desperately want to travel again and it’s seeping into everything I do?)

Susan Flora WordTeasers

What a wonky year. For months we sat around biting our nails wondering if the holidays would be canceled. No orders for Q4 until early June and then the scramble was on to get the quantity of games we

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needed into production. That said, despite of, or maybe because of the pandemic WordTeasers had an extraordinary year. People were forced to talk to each other again and when they got tired of generating conversation on their own, they turned to WordTeasers to infuse some quirky, fun conversation starters to get things going!

What are you forecasting for this year?

I think that this year may be a little easier to forecast because our retailers have a game plan and know that the holidays won’t be canceled even if the pandemic continues.

But forecasting is still one of the hardest things I do. It actually gives me quite a bit of angst. I wish someone would invest a crystal ball that really works!

What are you doing on product development? How is that different than last year?

We have more confidence this year that the art of conversation is alive and well.

We have challenged ourselves to expand into new subject areas that are a little different for us which some may say might be a little risky. We are introducing more titles than we ever have before – I just keep reminding myself to take a deep breath.

If you have a new product launching this year, how are you getting that new product launches in front of retailers?

This is indeed the challenge of 2021!

We will be relying on our sales reps, Zoom calls, email blasts, old-fashioned sales letters and anything else we can think of to get the message out. We have our

fingers crossed that ASTRA will take place in August!

Jeff Pinsker

Amigo Games What are you forecasting for this year?

Last year was a great year for games, particularly for well-established brands and products. We expect this trend to continue in 2021. But all of the research that we’re seeing indicates that consumers are open to new brands in ways that they’ve never been before—this bodes well for independent/specialty manufacturers.

So, we’re expecting sales to increase again in 2021.

What are you doing on product development? How is that different than last year?

We’re introducing the exact same number of products as we did last year and the year before. The big difference is that we usually rely on our customers to give us candid feedback at tradeshows that helps guide our packaging, positioning, and messaging. Their insights are so valuable that we typically wait until after Toy Fair to finalize the artwork; we’re going to have to find other ways to get their input this year.

If you have a new product launching this year, how are you getting that new product launches in front of retailers?

Some days it feels like we’re a video

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production studio rather than a game manufacturer—we’re using a lot of camerawork to introduce our products. We’re also scheduling one-on-one videoconference meetings with customers (I’ve actually started putting on shoes and long pants for these calls, in case I have to get up from my desk and grab additional samples!). Our latest approach is to build a virtual showroom that our reps and customers can visit; we’ll hold “office hours” there, but people can also visit on their own. Our reps are playing an even more important role than ever—we’re doing training sessions to help them become experts in presenting our products. Some of our groups are organizing online “events,” so we’re providing them with custom video assets and/or doing live streaming presentations. But it’s not the same as an in-person tradeshow—ASTRA Marketplace & Academy can’t come soon enough!

Lisa Bach

Chronicle Books It’s been an incredible 10 months—with so many pivots, a lot changes and plenty of growth. It was an incredibly difficult year, but one we are very proud of. We were able to come back strong in September and stay that way through the end of the year.

What are you forecasting for this year?

We were fortunate to have had a strong 2020 thanks to publishing on trend with our books, games and puzzles. For this year, we are forecasting another good year based on delivering great product, increasing print runs to fulfill demand, and continuing to partner with stores by creating new assets that stores now need (data, online images, videos, etc.). We also just launched our Chronicle Books B2B Wholesale site, which has been very successful.

What are you doing on product development? How is that different than last year?

We had to revisit our list when COVID struck, pushing titles onto future lists. Chronicle Books is a creative collaborative company, and thankfully we’ve been able to move that creativity, product expertise, and teamwork to the virtual realm. Our talented production and make teams are moving projects forward based on their passion and expertise and figuring out new ways of working together closely online. The incredible spark of ingenuity is always there—it’s been really impressive to watch our teams continued on page 30 astratoy.org • March 2021

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trending now

40 Raise the Bar Simple Ways to

of

Customer Service

C Phil Wrzesinski, HABA USA

ustomer service is the neighborhood toy store’s calling card, the one area where the big box and online stores cannot compete.

But just because we hold the upper hand doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels.

Here are forty simple ways to raise the bar:

At the Front Door Hours Sign: Make it big and bold and visible from the road. Since COVID, nobody trusts the hours on Google Maps anymore. Make sure yours are easy to see and read.

Open Sign: Same thing. Make it obvious you are open, especially in the early mornings and evenings.

Open the Door: Be ready to open the door for the elderly, for a parent pushing a stroller, for little kids, for someone in a wheelchair, for anyone with his arms full.

Coat Rack: Customers who take off their coats will stay longer, shop longer, and spend more. These are the little things that can make a big difference.

Bottled Water: Mini bottles of water can also prolong the shopping experience. You can even get them labeled with your store’s brand (and they are safer than a drinking fountain).

The Greeting Say Hello: We all know to do this. The best hellos include two things – the Customer’s Name and “Thank you for coming in.” They had options. They chose you. Thank them for that.

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Get Them Talking: Ask them anything BUT the reason why they came in. They’ll get to that in a moment. Their favorite topics are themselves and their kids.

Talk to the Big Dog: There is always an alpha shopper. Make sure you recognize and address them. Nothing turns off a sale like indifference or neglect.

Have a Map: Have resource like a map or welcome flyer that tells them everything they want to know about your services and products – especially if you offer anything out of the ordinary.

Hold a Clipboard: Holding a clipboard and walking the floor makes you more approachable because you look busy, not like a salesperson waiting to pounce.

(Plus, you can write yourself notes on the customer while you’re talking to them.)

The Sale Never Just Say No: If someone asks you for a product or a service you don’t offer, always answer with “Here is what we do have or can do.”

Never Mention a Past Sale: Don’t break their heart by telling them they missed a sale last week. That doesn’t make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Walk Them to the Item: This is a great opportunity to ask them why they want that item and possibly upsell them or add on a few items they will also need.

Listen and Repeat Back: The most underrated and underutilized skill of a salesperson is the ability to truly listen. If you listen with the intent to repeat back what the customer says, not only will you build trust

with them, you’ll clarify exactly what they want and find a better solution.

Lead with the Best: It is easier to drop down in price than to jump up in price. Show them the best solution no matter what they said was their budget. Most people are willing to extend if the product is right.

Put It In Their Hands: Hand it to them. Let them feel it and explore it in their time and on their terms. Sales go up when it is in their hands.

Get Them to Visualize: Ask them questions that help them visualize already owning the product. “How do you see your daughter playing with this toy?” “What do you think your son will like most?”

Get the Small Yes: Ask questions to which you know they’ll say yes. The small yes leads to the bigger YES. Complete the Sale: Always show all the accessories that go with the item they are buying, especially anything they absolutely must have. If they have to make a second trip, it won’t be to your store.

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and eliminates mistakes. Plus, it forces you to hand over the coins first instead of making her try to grab the coins while she has a fist full of dollars.

Say Thank You: They had choices. They chose you. Your conversation with them starts and ends with “Thank you” and not “Here you go” or some other indifferent answer.

Ask What’s Next: Maybe you can give them a suggestion of another local store or restaurant where they can go next.

Walk Her Out: When possible, carry their large packages to her car. On busy rainy days have someone with an umbrella to walk them to their car.

In General

The Close Compliment Their Choices: Everyone likes praise. Everyone likes to know they made a good choice. Men especially like that reassurance. Give it to them.

Share Tips for Use: Any tip you can offer to help them get the most out of the product is not only warranted but appreciated. Share tips on how to change batteries, how to clean the item, what to do if something isn’t working, the best “house rules” for the game, or anything else. It will give them more confidence in their purchase and establish you as the expert.

Complete the Sale: You still have time to make sure they have everything they need.

Sign Her Up: Don’t wait for the checkout counter to sign them up for your emails, birthday clubs, etc. Do it now while they’re still in the more leisurely “shopping mode”.

Ask, “Is there anything else you need?”: Or at Christmas Time you can amend that to, “Is

there anyone else on your list?” Again, you want to do this while they are in shopping mode, not checkout mode.

Offer to Take it Up Front: Always do what you can to keep their hands free for more shopping.

The Checkout …

Fast and Efficient: Once a customer is in checkout mode, they want to get out of the store as quickly and professionally as possible. Streamline your checkout procedures to make them simple, accurate, and efficient.

Complete the Sale: This is the only “selling” you should do at the register. Make sure they have what they need.

Don’t ask “Did you find everything?”: You will turn them into a liar. They will always answer Yes because they don’t want to disrupt the line, explain themselves again, or delay getting out of the store.

Count Back the Change: It is more professional

Closing Time Starts at Closing Time: We all want to get out and go home, but if you’re open until 7pm, be open until 7pm. If you’re washing off counters and putting things away at 6:55pm, you’re telling the customers you are not open until 7pm.

Empower Everyone: Give all your staff the authority to handle unhappy customers.

Teach them the three-step approach of Listen, Apologize, and Ask “What would you like us to do?”

Always Answer the Question: If they ask how much, answer with a price first followed by what they get for that price. If they ask if you have an item but you don’t, say No followed by what you do have instead.

Take Their Money: Figure out how to accept all forms of payment.

Replace Your Signs: Old and faded signs tell your customers you don’t care. Signs that are inaccurate or out-of-place just make customers frustrated. Signs sell, but only when they are fresh, accurate, and easy to read Be on Their Schedule: The big box stores and the Internet are always open. You don’t need those hours, but you need the hours best for your customers. Maybe that means open Sunday but closed Tuesday. Maybe that means opening earlier for the school drop-off crowd or staying open later for the working crowd. Choose your hours on whatever works best for your customers not on what works best for you.

Smile: At all times. Smile until it hurts.

Customers prefer to do business with happy people.

Have Fun: At the end of the day, always make sure your customers are having fun.

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trending now

Trends Predictions From Future Forecast Reports Rachael Rogerson, The Insights People

T

he recent Parents Insights Future Forecast report made 10 predictions for the parents and family sector in 2021. The report surveyed more than 2,600 parents of children aged 1-16 every week, totaling more than 130,000 parents per year across 13 countries.

Wellbeing to become a family pastime is a key trend from the report, with the need to stay fit, well and mentally healthy being more important than ever, right now. Gaming is one way in which kids are staying fit and well. As parents themselves relax through technology such as TV, digitally native kids have sought comfort

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in the platforms which connect them with their social lives, such as gaming - finding likeminded friendships and connections via platforms such as Roblox or Fortnite.

US tweens who own a games console are 10% more likely to feel happy all the time than the average kid, as studies have shown that gaming benefits kids’ mental health. Teens and tweens who also report video games as their favorite hobby are 41% less likely to report mental health as an issue that concerns them. Wellbeing, selfcare and improving mental health could well become a daily focus for families as we navigate back to some sort of normality and

brands that can help enable this are likely to resonate with both parents and kids alike.

Another takeaway from the report is the experience economy - a trend that has accelerated due to COVID. With the pandemic forcing toy shops to close, consumers turned to online shopping, so in a post-COVID world the retailers will need to inspire the imagination of the public in order to have them spend their time and indeed money interacting with them again.

In the US, 25% of malls are set to shut within the next five years, so a new approach to retail is needed. LEGO is one brand setting an example. LEGO experiences offer a new

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look at the traditional retail environment and it’s expected similar subversions from parent and family-oriented brands will emerge, too.

Toy brands have not only had to change their retail model in recent months, with schools being closed, kids have turned to toys for education too. STEM toys among US tweens experienced a 22% growth in popularity over the last 12 months.

Growth of edutainment was a key trend from another report, recently issued by The Insights People. The Kids Insights Future Forecast report makes 10 predictions for 2021 based on its extensive understanding of kid’s attitudes, behaviors, and consumption.

In addition to STEM toy growth, teachers have turned to Zoom and other online chat platforms to teach as normally as possible,

and kids have also been opting for YouTube learning, as well as virtual classrooms in video games such as Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox.

As kids take their education into their own hands, digital options have quickly come to the market and filled that short term requirement. Long term though, there is greater potential for innovation in the physical world, educational experiences for kids such as KidZania’s innovative immersion in shopping centers is a prime example, which teaches kids the practical elements of life through the world of educational play.

The return of traditional toys is another trend highlighted in the report, as family activities have risen in importance due to more families being at home together in recent months. In the US, there has

been a 72% year-on-year increase in the number of tweens playing board games with their parents. At their peak throughout lockdown, 45% of these kids were playing Monopoly and Uno as a family unit. It’s expected these new passions kids have found, will be shared with friends when the world returns to normality, meaning there is a gap in the market to creation offline games and experiences for families - and subsequently friends - to enjoy together.

To learn more about the attitudes, behavior and consumption patterns of kids, parents and families, download the Parents Insights Future Forecast report at: www. parentsinsights.com/futureforecast or Kids Insights Future Forecast report at: www.kidsinsights.com/futureforecast ASTRA

ASTRA

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Lessons Learned from Playing Cards continued from page 11

basis. … It’s risk, it’s reward. It’s randomness. It’s understanding data. … It’s the mathematics of games and gambling.”

Let’s explore gambling as reflected in perhaps the most sensationalized game of cards -- poker. Most parents may not be naturally inclined to teach their child how to play poker, but there are those that could present a case that they should. Nowhere is that argument made more salient than in Maria Konnikova’s book, “The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win.” In the book which details the author’s year-long journey from never having played cards to becoming a poker champion, she asserts that, “This book isn’t about how to play poker. It’s about how to play the world.”

One jaw-dropping statistic that Konnikova reveals is that “…in poker, you can win with the worst hand and you can lose with the best hand. … after analyzing hundreds of thousands of hands played, the actual best hand won, on average only 12 percent of the time.” What

parent wouldn’t want to teach their kids that, according to the rules of poker and probability and though they might be dealt a bad hand, they statistically still have a viable chance to win?

The lesson to hang in there, make the best of the hand they have and let the cards unfold is one that lasts beyond game play.

On the topic of probability, we can learn a lot from a man who is known for his mastery of the subject--Nate Silver. He is a renowned statistician, writer, and founder of FiveThirtyEight, a website that focuses on stats, polling analysis, politics, and sports. He’s also a darn competitive poker player and argues that “We need to stop and admit it: we have a prediction problem.

We love to predict things—and we aren’t very good at it… We must become more

comfortable with probability and uncertainty.”

Nate would agree that learning to interpret statistics and understanding probability are aspects of math well worth mastering at a young age.

So, let’s shuffle the deck and encourage kids to play cards, explore probability in a safe and fun way and become more comfortable with uncertainty. And this doesn’t just apply to kids – as ASTRA members, we ourselves have had our share of uncertainty this last year. May we find inspiration in more lyrics from the song, The Gambler. “...the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep.” And as any skilled poker player would confess, you cannot change the cards you’re dealt—just how you play ASTRA your hand.

SAND AND WATER PLAY TABLE Sand & Water

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The Cost of Doing Business continued from page 15

we are so thankful you thought to go out of your way to support us" or would empower each of our employees to say that, without even knowing what the price match will be.

Our response doesn't even need to always be a direct answer to their question, but a genuine reaction to how grateful we are to them as a customer and their support. These tiny sacrifices are also the dozens of seeds that product fruits that turn into hundreds or thousands of new seeds that get planted and grow into new customers, foot traffic, and sales, some of which we'll never even know the link to our past act of kindness.

Right after the holidays, I decided my goal was to get my toy inventory down as low as possible heading into the summer (in which we have plans to move to a new store), so my message to our team was go above and beyond and answer yes

(within reason) to any customer request, whether it be a discount, price match, return, or a surprise add-on. I just wanted to sell and move as much inventory as possible so there's less to transfer over.

As of January 22, we have already had a record January in sales and we are on track to have our best first quarter month ever (and best month ever outside of Nov/Dec before 2020). What has been amazing to me is how busy we've been with new customers, both in our community and across the country, who have referenced a social media post or friend/relative that mentioned how great our customer service is. None of these new customers ordered on our website, but came into our store or messaged us in some form to do business personally. And just about every mistake or complaint from last year and this year has turned into a loyal customer from the way we made it up to them.

Nothing takes away from a great day more than getting caught up in the loss you are taking on a single transaction. Try not to look at these as single events, but as a part of the entire day/month/year, where they will probably appear minimal, if at all. It's a cost of doing business, just like gift wrap or a light bulb that needs replacing. You wouldn't calculate the cost of the light bulb and how much money it will make for you once replaced - you would just do it, knowing you need a well-lit space for your customers to see your merchandise. Try saying yes before you even have time to process the question your customers are asking, even if just for one day. If you are really bold, try doing it for an entire month. Wait until the month is over before you analyze what it cost you, but also make sure you analyze the mood in your store and number of new customers you've had! ASTRA

www.thetoynetwork.com

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NEW members If any of the information below is incorrect, ASTRA truly apologizes. Please contact us immediately at info@astratoy.org.

Video Game World

AFFILIATES

500 Channing CIRCLE NW Concord, NC 28077 the0nlys@hotmail.com

Bureau Veritas

Zoey Koko

100 Northpointe PKWY Buffalo, NY 14228 michael.knott@bureauveritas.com Wishes the Toy Store https://group.bureauveritas.com 240 Chapel PL B112 PO Box 5100 RETAILERS Avon, CO 81620 Samozrejme wishestoystore@aol.com 123 S Market ST Troy, OH 45373 Dutch Country Living LLC allisonfullenkamp@gmail.com 17192 Highway 2 Bloomfield, IA 52537 Six Cooks cfo@dutchcountryliving.com 5305 High ST Morehead City, NC 28557 The Nature and Discovery Store purchasing@sixcooks.org 19 Huges St New Ringgold, PA 17960 Whirlygigs Toy Shop joejmistishen@gmail.com 107 Water ST Exeter, NH 03862 Wit & Whimsy Toys whirlytoy@gmail.com 8789 Auburn Folsom RD Ste C www.whirlygigstoyshop.com Granite Bay, CA 95746 witandwhimsytoys@gmail.com

218 Adams ST, Unit 220410 Dorchester, MA 02122 sara@zoeykoko.com Jacks Toy Shop

109 E State ST, Ste B Redlands, CA 92373 shopjackstoys@gmail.com Tucker’s Toy Shop

6361 Ocean HWY E, Ste 4 Winnabow, NC 28479 mcgeoyandbailey@gmail.com www.tuckerstoyshop.com The Sports Center limited

Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza Nassau, NP 99999BS admin@sportscenter242.com Zippy Toys

3145 W Columbus AVE Chicago, IL 60652 info@zippy.toys

MANUFACTURERS High View Design Pty Ltd

4/9 Yale CLOSE Abbey WA 6280 Australia keaton@itslingo.com

Czech Games Edition

6137 Crawfordsville RD Ste F PMB 359 Speedway, IN 46224 justin@czechgames.com www.czechgames.com Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop

4731 136th ST Crestwood, IL 60418 dkriescher@comcast.net Cybele’s Games

10735 Beechnut CT Fairfax Station, VA 22039 michele.mckenzie@kltrdesigns.com

Have fun & save the planet!

New Preschool Games & Puzzles!

Respect the Earth: Ecologic Puzzle

Fun, educational puzzle features charming cartoons Shows kids how to care for our world Sustainably made, and so much fun to play and learn!

For spring specials, contact sales@adventerragamesUSA.com See more eco games & puzzles for preschoolers and older kids at adventerragamesUSA.com

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ASTRA welcomes its newest manufacturer members

Cybele’s Games 10735 Beechnut CT Fairfax Station, VA www.cybelesgames.com Cybele’s Games was created to share 10 year-old Cybele McKenzie’s creativity with other children by publishing fun family board games created by her. She invented Candy Collections! during the summer of 2020 for her family to enjoy together. The debut board game launched in January 2021.

High View Design Pty Ltd 4/9 Yale CLOSE Abbey WA 6280 Australia keaton@itslingo.com

Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop 4731 136th ST Crestwood, IL 60418 dkriescher@comcast.net

By combining the fun and excitement of card games and the effectiveness of educational flashcards, Lingo™ playing cards offer an innovative yet enjoyable way to homeschool a foreign language.

Play and enjoy standard card games, such as Crazy Eights, Spoons, Hearts, Go Fish, Rummy, Memory, or Solitaire, while picking up essential foreign phrases of your chosen language at same time.

Each deck contains 54 essential translations accompanied by intuitive, easy to learn pronunciations.

For over 17 years, Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop has been a one-of-a-kind teddy bear workshop that kids love, and parents and educators trust. In 2020 we brought three additional, unique products into the fold that extend our animal-themed workshop kits (the Gobbies), as well as some FUNctional wear accessories (Zippies and Sanimals) to our little customers. We are thrilled to expand our borders beyond schools and into specialty retail toy stores

Play Peekaboos ! ®

This sweet 12” baby doll is cuddly, cute, and dressed in an adorable plush animal hoodie that pulls up or down to play peek-a-boo!

Five styles, diverse skin tones.

Love is in the Details.

®

www.madamealexander.com 833-MADAME A (833-623-2632)

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index of advertisers ASTRA Toy Times Magazine, March 2021 Adventerra Games...........................adventerragamesusa.com...................................28 Amahi Ukuleles.................................amahiukuleles.com................................................14 American Bubble Company.........americanbubble.com.......................................... 6-7 CSI Connect Marketing, Inc...........toycollectionretailer.com.....................................21 Fat Brain Toy Co.................................FatBrainToyCo.com...................inside front cover Foxmind Games................................foxmind.com............................................................... 9 Harrisville Designs............................friendlyloom.com...................................................13 Kala Brand Music Co........................kalabrand.com.........................................................19 KidStuff Public Relations................kidstuffpr.com..........................................................12 Madame Alexander.........................madamealexander.com........................................29 MW Wholesale...................................mwwholesale.biz...................... inside back cover The Toy Network...............................thetoynetwork.com...............................................27 Theo Klein U.S....................................klein-toys.com..........................................................26 Top Trumps.........................................toptrumps.us............................................................10 Trophy Music Co...............................grotro.com.................................................................25 Ultra Pro International....................ultrapro.com.............................................................17 Wikki Stix.............................................wikkistix.com............................................................11 Wild Republic.....................................wildrepublic.com...................................................... 5 Winning Moves.................................winning-moves.com............................. back cover

To reserve your ad in the next issue, contact Rick Kauder (315) 789-0458 • rkauder@fwpi.com

FREE

RENEW YOUR

SUBSCRIPTION online at edplay.com

Renew for free online, and request enough copies for your entire staff.

Dedicated to

30

the Specialty Toy Industry

March 2021 • astratoy.org

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Manufacturer’s Perspective continued from page 21

work without missing a beat. It wasn’t easy but they did a stellar job and we’ll see fabulous new product this year because of it.

Yes, things take longer to develop/review/approve, and there is a lot more pantomime and using photography/video to show details in production—but it’s working!

If you have a new product launching this year, how are you getting that new product launches in front of retailers?

We are launching an incredible amount of new product this year—from Mudpuppy puzzles to an innovative Chronicle Books children’s series called Beginning Baby to great games from Laurence King. We also just acquired Ridleys, Petit Collage, and Games Room, which we are delighted to welcome to the Chronicle Books offerings. It’s been challenging without gift shows, as we miss seeing our customers and being able to showcase all that is new in person. We want customers to pick up/touch our product. Our lines are in showrooms across the country where our sales reps are making appointments with customers. We also are doing more eblasts to highlight curated collections, and leading retailers to our new B2B site. All virtual shows are not created equal, but we are taking part to support the shows and to highlight our brands. Our sales reps are our biggest asset, as we create tools (digital catalogs, curated sell sheets, samples) so they can work closely with their buyers to make sure they see all that is new from Chronicle Books and our distribution clients. We depend on and value those relationships--especially during this pandemic!

Kevin Carroll Carma Games

What are you forecasting for this year?

The first half of 2020 was soft, but once we introduced BUILDZI, in July, that gave us some great momentum going into 4th quarter and we ended up having a strong year. We expect 2021 to be on par with 2020 What are you doing on product development how is that different than last year?

The pandemic hasn't really changed much for us. We have a new floor display with video monitor that we'll start to roll out in a couple months and we are working on an add-on item for BUILDZI that we plan to introduce at ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy in August. We would have done these two items even if there wasn't a pandemic.

If you have a new product launching this year, how are you getting that new product launches in front of retailers?

In May, we plan to fly a hot air balloon from Connecticut to California and use a bullhorn to advertise our new product. If that doesn't pan out (given that the prevailing winds go from west to east), we'll probably use our crack team or reps, along with email announcements, and flyers included with ASTRA our invoices.

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Hoot Owl Hoot Game & Floor Puzzle

10

Count Your Chickens Game & Stack Your Chickens Toy

Mermaid Island Game & Sparkle Mosaics

NEW! Cooperative Games

NEW! MindWare Games

www.mwwholesale.biz info@mwwholesale.biz 800.296.9485 2140 West County Rd C Roseville, MN 55113

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N Win ew Fro ning m M Gam oves es!

Q: How do you like your words?

A: Over easy of course!

Learn how to play Words Over Easy! https://youtu.be/cKK3QtGBNls

Players scramble to come up with words using all the letters, face-up, from the “good eggs” and none of the letters from the “rotten eggs”. When time’s up, players compare their word lists and score for their original words.

Learn how to play Trashed! https://youtu.be/NOr0EoFPo_I

Trashed was inspired by the old-time favorite card game Garbage. With custom cards and unique twists to gameplay, Trashed takes the classic game to a whole new level. Trashed is a simple-to-learn,delightful card game!

800.664.7788 x101 or x103 wmsales@winning-moves.com

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WORDS OVER EASY and TRASHED are trademarks of Winning Moves. © 2021 Winning Moves Inc. All Rights Reserved. Words Over Easy is a creation of Shenanigans Toys & Games and Ken Gruhl. TRASHED is a creation of Roger Munyon and Random Games & Toys. WINNING MOVES, WINNING MOVES GAMES, and CLASSIC, RETRO, COOL, & FUN, and Logos thereof, are registered trademarks of Winning Moves Inc. © 2021 Winning Moves Inc., 75 Sylvan Street, Suite C-104, Danvers, MA 01923 USA. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured by Winning Moves Inc., 75 Sylvan Street, Suite C-104, Danvers, MA 01923 USA. Colors and parts may vary. MADE IN CHINA.

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