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Out of the Toy Box
Richard Gottlieb, president of Richard Gottlieb & Associates, a New York-based business development firm specializing in the toy business, offers his sometimes funny and always unique take on developments in the industry.
Childhood, Animals and Toys
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-05-15 15:37:49
Why ae parents and their young children so fascinated with animals? That is the point of a nice, but possibly overly complex, look at why animals are given so much prominence by adults when nurturing their children.The article "A Child's Wild Kingdom," written by John Mooallem, appeared as an opinion piece in the New York Times Sunday review section. Mr. Mooallem makes the point that... Read More
Comments (1)The First World Congress of Play
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-05-05 16:26:11
We wanted Out of the Toy Box readers to be among the first to know about The First World Congress of Play which will be taking place in San Francisco this fall. We will keep you posted in the coming weeks as to place, date and events.Put on by my company, Global Toy Experts and Creativity Incorporated, the conference will bring the world's play industries together in one place at one time. It... Read More
Comments (0)How the Erector Set Helped Build the 20th Century
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-04-29 14:06:30
My good friend, noted inventor and toy industry thought leader, Bruce Lund, likes to talk about how our great 20th Century engineers and architects were inspired by the toys with which they played as children. Look at Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome or Frank Lloyd Wright's designs and you will see the elements of their childhood construction sets. George-washington-bridge-wallpaperThat's why I... Read More
Comments (0)Lessons from JC Penney
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-04-22 20:32:27
Ron Johnson was fired from his position as CEO of JC Penney last week after sales under his leadership continued to freefall (for my earlier comments on Johnson's efforts see: "JC Penney Moves Away From Fake Pricing" and "The Pricing Paradox: to Promote or Not to Promote, that Is the Question"). Johnson's major misstep (he made others) was ending JC Penney's reliance on sa... Read More
Comments (1)Think Asia, Think Hong Kong Events in Los Angeles and New York
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-04-18 19:46:17
June 11, 2013 New York HiltonJune 14, 2013 JW Marriott Los Angeles LA LIVE I am going to be attending the Think Asia, Think Hong Kong conference, June 11 in New York and I suggest that you check out the New York and Los Angeles events for yourself. Hong Kong and Asia are so important to the U.S. play industries that every opportunity to meet and get to know Asian businesspeople and Americans w... Read More
Comments (0)Toys R Us; Does it Need a New Business Model?
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-04-15 17:59:36
Everyone in the toy industry, and I mean everyone, is a stakeholder in Toys R Us. They are the biggest pure toy and play retailer in the world and all of our fortunes are inextricably locked together with theirs. That is why the decision by Toys R Us to withdraw its IPO coupled with its continuing leadership uncertainty creates queasiness in many play industry members. The company, it seems, is... Read More
Comments (8)What's Next for Specialty Retailers?
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-04-07 15:50:04
In my last posting, "The Coming Retail Sea Change" I wrote about the troubling outlook for big box retailers. How long can they sustain their current infrastructure (store counts, store size and distribution center) when confronted by the head winds of technology and demographics? Simply put, changes in technology have driven consumers (particularly younger, tech savvy ones who no lo... Read More
Comments (3)The Coming Retail Sea Change
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-04-01 15:48:24
I have, for some time now, been asking the question: "When will the tipping point for big box retailing occur?" That moment when the internet has syphoned off just enough consumers so that it is no longer possible for bricks and mortar stores to maintain 200,000 square foot stores and the multiplicity of distribution centers that support them. One writer thinks its going to take pla... Read More
Comments (0)Toys and the 101 Objects that Changed the World
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-03-25 16:19:57
The History Channel has created a list of the "101 Objects That Changed the World." I was pleased to see that the list included 10 toys, or roughly 10% of the objects cited. Here is a list of the toys ranked in reverse order with their ranking:99 Frisbee93 Slinky92 GI Joe89 Hula Hoop87 Teddy Bear82 Rubik's Cube 54 Barbie51... Read More
Comments (0)Why Does Skylanders Succeed while 90% of App Toys Fail?
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-03-18 17:40:19
One of the disappointments of 2012 was the failure of what was deemed to be a powerful new category of play: App Toys. Why did this happen, particularly in light of the spectacular success of Skylanders?Many of us in the toy sector have our opinions but why not turn to someone who is a member of the digital play segment? That's what I decided to do and by making that effort found an excellen... Read More
Comments (1)The Slow Toy Awards
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-03-12 13:30:10
I recently came upon a website for "The Slow Toy Movement." This organization has as its "... aim to recognise the ‘real toys' on the market that are well made, inspire the mind and provide children far more than the noise and flashing lights commonly associated with the toys of today."In order to do so, they announced in October their list of awards for toys that they deem as... Read More
Comments (1)Low Cost Imported Toys; some things never change
Posted
by Richard Gottlieb
on 2013-03-04 21:44:46
It is easy to believe that the concerns regarding Chinese dominance of toy industry manufacturing is a new phenomenon. That most toys were formerly made in the US and that things changed about 25 years ago.That was why I had an "aha!" moment this week as I was researching some early 20th century toy companies that no longer exist. While doing my research I came upon a hearing that to... Read More
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