Direct from Market: ASTRA Marketplace
Caroline Kennedy -- Gifts and Dec, 6/22/2010 4:20:00 PM
Providence, RI — The annual ASTRA (American Specialty Toy Retailers Assn.) Marketplace & Academy is more than just a trade show; it is also includes a conference for the independent retailer. This year's recent event was a rousing success, with a sold-out exhibit hall and attendance up some 25–30 percent over last year. Indeed the exhibit hall space was full of children's toy, game, gift and accessories exhibitors catering to the independent toy and gift retailer. And nearly 30 percent of those exhibitors were new to the Marketplace.
Kathleen McHugh, president of ASTRA, was extremely pleased with the outcome. "It's not just about filling the hall," she commented, "it's about filling the hall with the right mix of exhibitors."
Small by comparison to The American International Toy Fair and to a majority of the gift shows, the intimate and focused nature of the show made it easy to work without being distracted by other products geared to mass market retailers or product categories not suited to the small toy and gift store.
Although this event was a new one for this gift editor to attend, a significant number of exhibitors were familiar faces who also exhibit at the gift shows. Among those trying out the ASTRA show for the first time were The Box Girls with its family conversation starters and games; Fierce Fun Toys, exhibiting Norman Phartiphant's expanded family of noise-making critters; Rich Frog with its range of gifts, toys and accessories; Shainsware, showcasing its personalizable fashion accessories, and Yamodo/Idea Storm Products, presenting its expanding selection of games that stir the imagination.
Other vendors present — from Alex, offering its developmental toys for babies and creativity kits for older kids, to Zoobies plush animails that turn into pillows and blankets — have established presences in both the gift and toy arenas. But there were also plenty of product offerings from non-gift-show-exhibiting vendors, and several of those with whom we spoke noted that they were considering expanding into the gift market, since many gift shops also offer toys and games. This reason echoes the one that several of the gifts and accessory vendors gave for being at ASTRA: Many toy retailers are looking to expand their merchandise mix into other children's related products.
Newly introduced products that were receiving buyer interest included the My Friendship Bracelet Maker from Crorey Creations; Zippies identity tags for water bottles, backpacks, luggage or whatever: Zatswho, soft photoframe flashcards to encourage baby's face recognition and learning; The Earth Friends collection of fabric dolls handmade from organic and recycled materials; and the A Bee C Match Game, which comes in a clever plastic Bee card holder/dice cup, from Endless Games.
Fashion accessory-related items were of great interest for addressing the gifting needs for tween and young teen girls. Bead the Message presented the Secret Message Bead Kit, a jewelry-making kit for creating bracelets, earrings and other fun things using color-coded beads, with each color representing a letter of the alphabet. Snap Caps from M3girl Designs, a line of bottlecap jewelry, accessories and gift items originated by a 5th grader, was doing brisk business. And Wookie Entertainment presented the Style Me Up fashion accessories and embellishments kits to help tweens and young teens create their own self-expression.
The ASTRA Academy
As specialty toy retailers and vendors know, the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy is also a learning experience and networking opportunity. In addition to the two days devoted to the exhibits, the ASTRA Academy presents learning and play sessions for retailers, as well as sales reps and vendors. The sessions are scheduled separately so that they do not take attendees off the show floor. A full day of conference sessions is scheduled for the day before exhibits open and they continue after the exhibits close.
In two of the more popular sessions — Kit Night and Game Night — attendees have the opportunity to experience products first hand. Kit Night allows buyers to rotate around the tables and play with a selection of craft kits from different vendors, and Game Night is a round-robin session of games playing. Several attendees were enthusiastic about the fun they always have at Game Night, and one vendor bemoaned a missed opportunity that he didn't get his game in in time to part of the evening's fun.
Next year, ASTRA will be celebrating its 25th anniversary and in honor of that, the next ASTRA Marketplace & Academy will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA, within close proximity to that wonderland for kids of all ages ... Disneyland! Mark your calendars now: scheduled dates are June 19-22, 2011.
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Direct from Market: ASTRA Marketplace
Jun 23, 2010
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