Buzz Report: ASTRA Marketplace & Academy

By Karyn M. Peterson -- Gifts and Dec, June 27, 2007

LAS VEGAS—Members of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association gathered in 'Sin City' this weekend, an extravagant and flashy setting for the more humble and intimate 2007 ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. The 15th annual show—held at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas—boasted impressive attendance, according to ASTRA executive director Kathleen McHugh, and spirits were definitely high at the opening reception on Sunday.

"This is going to be a great show, and next year will be even better," Rick Garlock, owner of the Treasured Child toy store in La Grange, Ky., told Playthings.

It was a hopeful mood that carried over through the next couple of days, with specialty retailers and small manufacturers alike predicting good things for the future of the industry overall.

At Monday’s 15th Anniversary Celebration Luncheon, outgoing ASTRA president Debbie Scholl, owner of Houston’s FUNdamentally Toys, outlined several key initiatives for the group, including a new retailer operation survey that’s free for all retailer members, a new board selection process and a new website design that includes a retail webinars series . "We’re really trying to move forward," Scholl said. "The advanced marketplace is one of our biggest accomplishments, and the Hot Toy List had a great reception this year."

Citing ASTRA’s humble beginnings as a group "small in numbers, but big in dreams," Scholl reminded the members in attendance how far the group has come, and acknowledged past presidents and board members in attendance at this year’s event. Scholl also presented a short yet heartfelt memorial to Martine Redman Donofrio, co-founder of Briarpatch and an ASTRA board member for many years, who died suddenly this spring. "Her legacy lives on," Scholl said.

ASTRA president-elect Sue Warfield, a rep for Retail Specialties, Ely, Minn., also praised the group’s accomplishments, and put out a call for volunteers for six core ASTRA member committees that will allow retailers and manufacturers to guide and help each other in business.

"It’s really a great opportunity for all of you to really get involved," said past ASTRA president Jamie Seeley Kreisman of St. Paul, Minn.-based Beka. Kreisman also noted that top line revenues for the group were on an upswing, and had already risen 18 percent in 2007 over 2006 levels. "We have good news ... and some good news," he joked.

Over at the exhibition halls, manufacturers traded estimates over how many retailers were in attendance, as well as predictions for what items would be the hottest draws at their booths.

For Escondido, Calif.-based Marky Sparky, popular items like the Blast Pad, Doinkit Darts and, especially, the company’s Big Jack bat (now recommended by the Miracle League for special-needs children) were being introduced to new buyers and re-ordered by returning customers. "It’s my big pitch this year," president Mark Rappaport punned.

ToyOps, Pensacola, Fla., also gained some new retailer interest at the show for its staple line, the Triops underwater critter kits, as well as for its Craft Tubes, Discovery Tubes, Timberslot construction kits and Dig & Discovery activity kits. New products on display for the fourth quarter included Heavenly Incense and Luxury Soap science kits, designed to appeal to girls, and the GloSlime Factory and Scary Soap Science kits, designed to appeal to boys. The company’s new Eco-Dome system was also generating a lot of buzz, according to sales manager Tom Williams, in part, he said, due to it recently being named a Dr. Toy best product.

Brain Noodles, Windsor, Conn., was also having a good show, coasting off of its successful debut at Toy Fair this year where "we were surrounded," sales manager Mary Ann Lombard told Playthings. Interested ASTRA buyers included specialty toy store owners as well as teacher-stores and retailers looking for options with special needs, especially autistic children, Lombard said. The line of creative play kits—which resemble oversized pipe cleaners—was recently named a best new product by the National Art Materials Association. "It’s a happy byproduct" to be a toy that helps special-needs kids, Lombard added.

For Winnipeg-based B-Bel, scoring a basket at its booth won interested retailers a sample pack of its No-Bake Party Cake Chef, though the big focus was on its Doll House Decorator line, which ships next month. Originally branded with a Trading Spaces license, the house and its expansion kits and family figures will get new packaging and a big re-branding push in time for fourth-quarter holiday buying. The company was also at ASTRA hoping to gain some more exposure for its Wild Ones action figures, a line of unlicensed action/adventure based toys that "give specialty retailers the opportunity to compete at mass-market prices, while keeping their margins," sales director Christian Poirier told Playthings. "They’re non-violent and realistic" and stores that have stocked them have had about an 85 percent success rate with sales, he said.

The Ugly Dolls were also in attendance and creating the usual stir, now with 21 different characters for retailers to choose from. "It’s busier than in previous years," Pretty Ugly’s Alexandra Nunes told Playthings, noting that a few new accounts signed on during the show, and a number of repeat buyers were on hand seeking deals for multiple re-orders of their favorite characters. "We’re doing well ... can’t complain," she said.

Marketplace interest was definitely "fabulous" for Brooklyn-based OgoSport, according to owner Rick Goodwin, who drew in both repeat customers—"already on their third reorders" after Toy Fair—as well as new accounts with ongoing demos of the new products in the line throughout the day. "Everyone seems really receptive," Goodwin said. "For order writing, it’s been a great show for us—sporting goods, school supply catalogs—we’re really expanding our base. The keystone of our company is creating products that get kids and adults outside playing with each other." To that end, a new product line that incorporates the Ogo product and play concepts into a larger game will be debuting next spring, Goodwin said.

Stay tuned for an additional buzz report from the show at Playthings.com!