Opinion - Letter from America

Toy Fair comes roaring back in New York City

After 20 years working at A.C. Nielsen/D&B Research Company, Rick opened the first Learning Express Toys franchise in the Chicago area in 1996, and then became a sub-franchiser. Although leaving the corporate environment behind, he has combined his expertise in data and numbers with a passion for the toy retail space. This month, Rick reports on his trip to the Toy Fair in New York, including a special accolade for the Learning Express group.

Forget all the talk about moving Toy Fair to another city, or that it is no longer relevant. I’m here to say it’s relevant - and even more so, in my opinion.  And here’s why.

The biggest and best suppliers attended and, importantly, allowed us to see their new products; in fact, Hasbro, Spin Master, Melissa & Doug, Calico Critters (Sylvanian Families to you Brits), Goliath, Lego and Moose actively encouraged us to visit their booths, among many more. I felt welcomed by all and that our indie voice was now being properly heard.

Networking is so important in our industry, where friends of friends become your gateway into new products and services. There’s nothing like catching up with toy people from all over the world. Their recommendations are invaluable, and the help we all give each other comes back two-fold as we help grow all our businesses.

New York is social media central. Whether you walk Times Square or stroll up Fifth Avenue, you are surrounded by possibilities for online engagement. Most people find time to drop into FAO Schwartz to catch a flavour of toy retail heaven. I met several young YouTube stars in their twenties that knew of me, which was very flattering, but also highlights how important a social media presence can be in the toy industry today.

The New York Toy Fair is also home to the TOTY Awards (Toy of the Year) and the Induction Ceremony to the National Toy Hall of Fame. This year we had the double pleasure of seeing a British company and my friend, Richard North of Wow! Stuff toys, win in two categories (Tech Toy of the Year as well as the overall Toy of The Year) for the Disney Real FX Stitch Puppetronic. Massive congratulations to Richard and the team.

I also had the honor of seeing our Learning Express Toys founder and chair, Sharon DiMinico, be inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame. Only 98 people have been inducted since its inception in 1985, so a very high bar has been set and special recognition only given to the best of the best. Sharon and I started working together in 1996, when she decided to take Learning Express national and granted me the first Mid-west franchise. Now, after 38 years in business, she has the last toy chain standing in the US. Congratulations Sharon.

At the show, the top three trends I spotted were:

•   3D printing is gaining in popularity, particularly in the mini category. The quality has improved, and low costs make this an easy everyday pick-up item that both kids and adults can collect.

•   Move over slime, the dough compound category is re-emerging with stronger scents, more luxurious textures and playsets which kids can use as a craft activity. I expect Play-Doh to follow this trend with more detailed playsets.

•   Many suppliers were asking how best to launch new products in this time of social media and a more sophisticated kid audience. It was interesting to discuss what type of displays work, how best to show or sample the product, what colours sell the best, should a video screen be included with the display, the size of displays etc. There are so many questions, but we were happy to add our input and trust our perspective proves useful.

Everyone always asks, what key products did I find? So, I would like to highlight two that I believe have a chance to sell well here in the States:

•   Jelly Bands (WeCool) - customisable, scented accessories that snap together for mix and match creations. Jelly Bands packs come with 200 beads to create up to 12 bracelets, and kids can customise each piece by snapping in different beads including letters, shapes, and more. At a $10 price point, they suit the current market well.

•   Stickflip - Flip, Catch, Level Up game. This was introduced in Nuremberg by Rainier Lauberger to a positive reception and now has a US distributor and packaging. It’s all set for a July launch.

So, there you have it, my take. I see no reason why Toy Fair shouldn’t stay in New York, in February. As the adage goes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side…