The Toy Industry Is Back: Toy Fair 2010

February 18, 2010

After spending 20 of the last 42 days at toy fairs in Hong Kong, Nuremberg and New York, I am happy to say that the toy industry is back. What started as some positive to optimistic vibes in Nuremberg and Hong Kong morphed into a robust optimism in New York with numerous manufacturers telling me that they were excited by buyer responses to their lines.

The president of one five year old company told me that he was doing an average of 3 presentations to walk-ins every ten minutes. Any number of companies told me that they were actually writing orders (unbelievable!!!!) and many more reported that they had thick decks of business cards on which to follow up.

Why the robust response? Here are just a few possible reasons:

Low retailer inventories

More retail doors (Sears announced they were expanding to 100 more toy departments and Barnes & Noble is engaged in an aggressive toy expansion)

The release of a number of innovative products that were delayed due to last year’s recession

Strong 2009 results from Hasbro, Mattel and Lego

The excitement caused by Zhu Zhu Pets

Pent up retailer demand

A sense that the recession’s worst is over and that good times are ahead

The toy industry is essentially optimistic at its core

I found the good feelings carried over into Mary Couzin’s annual Toy and Game Inventor Party where chicken wing eating, beer drinking product developers and their friends seemed even more upbeat than usual. Thank you, Mary, for another great night.

Adding to the excitement at Toy Fair was the Engage Conference and Expo which took place in conjunction with Toy Fair in the Javits Center. This was one smart conference. I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion where both the panel and the audience had IQ points in the stratosphere.

By offering a look at the “plumbing of play” Engage offered a great counterpoint to the buying and selling going on the Toy Fair exhibit floors. And may I add that the chance to hear Will Wright, CEO of Stupid Fun Club the creator of the Sims and Sim City and Lane Merrifield, Executive Vice President Disney Online Studios and co-founder of Club Penguin, present their take on play and toys was alone worth the price of admission.

So, thank you TIA and thank you Engage for putting on such a great event.

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on February 18, 2010 | Comments (4)

March 2, 2010

In response to: The Toy Industry Is Back: Toy Fair 2010
Jeff Bakalchuck commented:

Richard: I think your list of possible reasons is an excellent list. However, I would add one item. People are scared of future recessions. The current economic downturn has been severe enough to make a change in people's psyches. Toys and games are an inexpensive form of entertainment. They are also a great way for parents and grandparents to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. In times like these people want comfort and spending time with the kids(unless they are teenagers, just kidding) accomplishes that. It's why I think Hasbro's Family Game Night campaign has been so successful.

February 24, 2010

In response to: The Toy Industry Is Back: Toy Fair 2010
Bobby O'Neal commented:

Hi Richard Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm and optimism! We received some positive media attention from the Toy Fair. We were not able to attend due to the Olympics here at home in Vancouver. Fortunately, Mary was displaying our relationship game Syncrohearts for us and we were invited to do a radio interview on America Tonight about Canada's new "love game"! It is exciting to hear about the industry response and based on all of the Olympic celebrations, I would agree that we are on the road to an economic recovery. If you would like to see a pic of the Olympic torch and Syncrohearts, check out our website: www.syncrohearts.com

February 21, 2010

In response to: The Toy Industry Is Back: Toy Fair 2010
Mary Couzin commented:

Hi Richard, Thank you for the mention. I agree with you - the vibe was over the top at my Party as well as Toy Fair in general. It was a fantastic Toy Fair for us and bodes well for our events in Chicago this November. Onward and Upward!

February 19, 2010

In response to: The Toy Industry Is Back: Toy Fair 2010
HH7S8 commented:

Dear Richard: I am thrilled to hear all the possitives. I am a West Coast specialty rep and find it tough going right now. My findings seem to run a little in the opposite direction. Constant price increases, little product innovations due to the testing prohobitive cost and general lack of funding by most of my vendors. In some cases I am working out of a 2008 catalog and a few supplements. I am burried in $300 orders, stores are extremally cautious or flat out lack luster. In addition, dating deals have dried up, freight deals have gone up quite a bit. Here's an intangable, we we're taken out once in NY by a vendor, before we were fed like kings, breakfast, lunch & dinner. We still make ends meet, but I am not as optimistic as our leading manufactureres might indicate.