Feature - LA Preview

Segundo to none

Publisher John Baulch looks at what to expect from the forthcoming LA Toy Preview trip.

Over the coming weeks, a significant number of suppliers, retailers and distributors from across the global toy community will be heading to LA – or more precisely, to El Segundo, a modest city in Los Angeles County which is rapidly becoming an international toy hub. Home to the head offices of numerous leading USbased toy businesses – including Mattel, MGA, Moose, Jazwares, Zuru and more – a veritable circus has grown up around the trip traditionally undertaken by a select group of major retailers to visit those companies headquartered there.

What was once a focused event based on visiting a handful of toy companies has now expanded to include four separate nearby buildings, housing hundreds of permanent or temporary toy company showrooms. Over the following pages we speak to Jonathan Busher and John Ollen, who have led the charge to establish showroom locations such as the 1960 Building, and also to the Toy Association’s Kimberly Carcone, about their respective buildings’ plans for forthcoming trip.

There was a minor blip at the end of April, when the LA Spring Preview week was all but decimated by the uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s tariff strategy. I was sent footage at the time of painfully empty courtyards outside the toy buildings, with many potential visitors clearly put off by the lack of clarity around tariff implementation.

Thankfully, while the tariff situation is still not fully resolved, there is at least some respite, after the USA and China extended the current trade truce for a further 90 days. That hiatus has given breathing space for the global toy community to have the confidence to meet in LA and start planning for autumn winter ’26.

The general consensus is that there will be more companies exhibiting than ever before, while a healthy number of retailers and distributors are expected to be in attendance – arguably more than have ever travelled to LA in September in previous years. It will be a whirlwind couple of weeks, with most American retailers expected to travel during 8th-12th of September, with most international visitors expected to be in attendance the following week (15th-19th). However, there are no rules to the LA Fall Toy Preview – some international retailers will go out early, seeking to gain a competitive advantage by being the first to view new launches, while I suspect some American retailers may need a little longer, given the sheer volume of toy companies now exhibiting.

Over the following pages, we’re delighted to bring you a sneak peek at some of the companies and brands which will be showcasing their new ranges in LA this September. Much of what will be on display is inevitably still marked ‘highly confidential’, but a huge thank you to those companies that were happy to share some of their new developments and create a sense of excitement and anticipation ahead of the event.

We’ll also be bringing you the latest news and gossip from LA over the course of September – or, at least, the news we’re allowed to share. Much more will no doubt be revealed in the fullness of time, but if you want to see the potential direction of travel that the toy market will be taking next year, LA is turning into the place to do just that.