Toy Fair 2009: Surprisingly surprising

This year’s Toy Fair surprises. Buyer attendance is down yet most manufacturers I have spoken with, and I have spoken with quite a few, feel it has been a good, solid show. 

In analyzing why that may be, I am focusing on the following:

• Many manufacturers came in with low expectations. As a result, they are relieved that buyer attendance has been as good as it is. 

• Buyers have adjusted to the realities of the new fractured economy and are buying again.

• The lower attendance figures reflect the absence of smaller retailers. I say this because smaller manufacturers are consistently telling me that they are writing far fewer orders at the show this year. To the most part, the only retailers who place orders at Toy Fair are the smaller ones. Ergo, fewer orders being written may mean that fewer small merchants are in attendance. As a consequence, though the head count is down, the relative buying power is not. 

• There is a lack of innovative product this year so manufacturers who are showing ground breaking products are getting a great deal of interest from buyers. 

• Smaller manufacturers, who may have been overlooked in the past, are getting a second look by retailers desperately looking for anything new to spice up their toy stores and departments.

Bottom line, those manufacturers who decided to be aggressive and lead with innovative new products may have a surprisingly good 2009.