80 EVENT FOCUS US TOY FAIR American beauty
After visiting Hong Kong, London and Germany, for many in the trade, US Toy Fair marks the end of the show season. But how much significance does the New York-based event still hold for the European toy business? Samantha Loveday finds out more about this year’s show...
IT’S THE last stop in the toy trade show calendar and, despite the glamorous destination of New York, the US Toy Fair has had to fight hard over the last couple of years to remain a must-attend event for the international community. However, the figures show that it’s winning the fight. In 2011, the show welcomed 1,106 exhibiting companies from 27 countries, including 244 first timers. And, notably, although overall buyer attendance was down slightly, international buyer attendance has increased over the past couple of years – up three per cent in 2010 and eight per cent in 2011. Even more notable, overall international attendance rose 17 per cent in 2011, up 24 per cent from 2009. Breaking this down further, UK participation in US Toy Fair is up by five per cent. Indeed, the UK, along with France and Spain, was among the top ten countries attending the Jacob K Javits Convention Center in 2011. “We aim to make Toy Fair attractive to everyone in this industry,” TIA spokesperson Marian Bossard, VP, meetings and events, explains to ToyNews. “Since business is global we look to showcase the relevance of the US market to buyers and exhibitors from around the world. We believe that if you want to maximise your exposure, stay on point with US trends, understand what’s happening on a global scale and accept that domestic sales are no longer enough, you will want to participate in the largest and most important toy and youth product exhibition in the Western hemisphere.” For 2012, at time of writing there were 914 exhibitors signed up from 22 countries, with 164 newcomers. In terms of visitors to the show – which runs from Sunday February 12th to Wednesday February 15th – Bossard is expecting around 20,000 through the doors.
FEBRUARY 2012
Also this year, the TIA is launching a new event to run alongside Toy Fair, the Brand and Entertainment Showcase, created to bring together brand owners, potential licensing and promotional partners and retailers.
Play Happens, The Game will also be returning after the social and virtual board game was an initial hit in 2011. The game encourages attendees and visitors to spend their free time exploring NYC, as well as linking in with the various official Toy Fair activities. Two other new partnerships have also been secured to boost the fair’s credentials. A tie up with PunchTab – the instant loyalty platform which reaches over 7.2 million consumers every month across a wide range of sites – will enable participants in the Toy Fair blog to earn points and cash them in for Toy Fair goodies, or save them up for bigger prizes (such as theatre tickets and iPad 2s). Meanwhile, technology firm Uma is bringing its new semantic display product – Uma Skin – to the show. The large-scale multi-touch LCD display wall will allow for digital content – such as show information, videos and apps – to be showcased to attendees and will be a centrepiece of the show.
Bossard (above) says that UK participation in US Toy Fair is up by five per cent
“While we truly value what traditional trade shows can teach us, we are always looking to learn from other business models and bring the expertise of other industries to Toy Fair,” says Bossard. “Social media is also a major component of our efforts. With the ToyFairNyBlog we wanted to create an environment where interaction can happen as easily online as it does in person at Toy Fair.” The 2011 show saw 19 of the top 25 toy sellers – representing $15.3
billion of the US toy market – attend, and Bossard believes that if the year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are strong indicators, then the future looks promising. “While it is difficult to predict across all categories, certain ones are on the rise,” she says. “If the all important fourth quarter sales continue to climb, we suspect buyers’ shelves will need to be replenished and what better way to restock inventory then visiting Toy Fair in New York.”
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