May/June 2017

®

ASTRA’S MARKETPLACE » SPECIALTY TOY SHOWCASE

TREND UDPATE:

KIDS’ ENTERTAINMENT, ROBOTIC TOYS, CODING TOYS, AND OUTDOOR & ACTIVE PLAY

MAY/JUNE 2017

®

Volume 33, No. 3 — Published by Adventure Publishing Group

Jonathan Samet Publisher jsamet@adventurepub.com

DEPARTMENTS 10 Editor’s Viewpoint

24 What’s New

12 Industry Update

104 Property Profile:

Hey Duggee

14 Stat Shot 15 Euromonitor

106 Property Profile:

Hotel Transylvania

16 Toy Association Happenings

108 Property Profile:

Peppa Pig

110 Property Profile:

Beyblade Burst 112 Industry Marketplace 114 Flashback:

May/June 1997

Analyzing the Fidget Spinner Trend and Retailer Response to the Craze

21 Fidget Toy Showcase

A Selection of Some of the Hottest Fidget Toys

23 Tangle Goes Global

After 37 years of fidgeting, Tangle Creations partners with Zuru for global licensing and distribution.

82 Robots Reign Supreme

One Click Retail examines the rise of robotic toys in the marketplace.

86 What Coding Toys Really Teach

Maddie Michalik Associate Editor mmichalik@adventurepub.com

A Sneak Peek at the Top Coding Toys of 2017

Joe Ibraham Art Director jibraham@adventurepub.com

92 Industry Perspectives

Bill Reese Production Director breese@adventurepub.com

Health and Wellness Trend Spurs Family Interest in Active Toys

Lori Rubin Controller/Office Manager lrubin@adventurepub.com U.S. Corporate Headquarters

94 Licensing Expo 2017

Laurie Schacht President laurieschacht@aol.com

A Look at This Year’s Top Kids’ Entertainment Properties

Adventure Publishing Group, Inc.® 307 7th Avenue, #1601, New York, NY 10001 Phone: (212) 575-4510 • Fax: (212) 575-4521 SpinZipz, by Zing

specialty toys & gifts: 25 Podcast to Toy Store ASTRA’s Impact on a New Toy Retailer

Ali Mierzejewski Senior Editor amierzejewski@adventurepub.com

Kristen Nelson Editorial Assistant knelson@adventurepub.com

88 Coding Toy Showcase

Sean McGowan discusses whether or not this educational toy trend is here to stay.

26 ASTRA’s Insights: From

Marissa DiBartolo Senior Editor mdibartolo@adventurepub.com

Stephanie Grassullo Assistant Editor sgrassullo@adventurepub.com

features 18 How Fidget Spinners Took the Toy Industry by Storm

Jackie Breyer Editor-in-Chief jbreyer@adventurepub.com

28 2017: The Year of Change 30 Chatting with the for Specialty Toy Stores Industry Christine Osborne shares her take on a changing retail landscape.

Retailers and manufacturers discuss the challenges of the specialty toy industry.

40 ASTRA Marketplace 2017

A Selection of Toys Exhibited at the Show On the Cover (clockwise from top left): Identity Games’ Who’s the Dude?; Fat Brain Toys’ Off Bits; Kahootz’s Popoids; Odyssey’s Bumper Drone; Adora’s Zippity Hug N Hide Celeste; Thames & Kosmos’ Monster Trap; Smart Toys & Games’ Geosmart U.F.O.; Zing’s Blast Box; USAopoly’s Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle Monster Box; WeCool’s Compound Kings Powder; Sophia’s Picnic Lunch Play Set; Magformers’ Dolce Activity Zebra; Bears for Humanity’s Orca; Neat-Oh!’s Zipes Speed Pipes; Mindware’s Conduct Dough; Fat Brain Toys’ Rollobies; ORB’s Morph; and K’NEX’s RotoKontrol 10-in-1 Model Remote Control Building System.

On the Specialty Toys & Gifts Cover (page 25): Smart Toys & Games’ SmartMax Mega Ball Run.

The Toy Book Volume 33, No. 3 THE TOY BOOK (ISSN-0885-3991) is published bimonthly by Adventure Publishing Group, Inc.® Editorial and advertising offices are located at 307 Seventh Ave., Room 1601, New York, NY 10001, Phone (212) 575-4510. Periodicals Postage paid at New York and additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2017 Adventure Publishing Group, Inc.® All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. Subscription rates: $48 one year, foreign $200. The Toy Book is a trademark of Adventure Publishing Group, Inc.® Registered in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Toy Book, c/o Adventure Publishing Group, 307 Seventh Ave., Room 1601, New York, NY 10001.

Opinions and comments expressed in this publication by editors, contributing writers, or solicited or unsolicited documents are not necessarily those of the management of The Toy Book.

Member, International Toy Magazine Association

EDITOR’S VIEWPOINT

2017: A YEAR FOR CHANGE

by JACKIE BREYER, editor-in-chief THE TOY INDUSTRY HAS BEEN ENJOYING a pretty great run, particularly considering what’s happening at retail on the broader spectrum, with JCPenney and Macy’s closing doors and restructuring many locations. On the toy front, Marbles: The Brain Store, a specialty toy retailer with nearly 40 locations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year. Certain assets of the company were put up for auction and were acquired by Spin Master, which will use the company’s brainbuilding products to bolster its growing line of games. The games category is particularly hot right now—it grew 18 percent in 2016 according to The NPD Group—and after the company’s previous acquisition of Cardinal in 2015, Spin Master is in a good position to take advantage of this trend.

While all of the retail consolidation going on right now is dismal, I recently spoke with a number of specialty and independent toy retailers who had a very bright outlook. Thanks in large part to the fidget spinner trend and the ability of specialty retailers to capitlize quickly, many retailers are feeling flush and looking forward to a strong fourth quarter to boot. One retailer, Christine Osborne, owner of Wonder Works toy stores in the Charleston, South Carolina area, says that this is a big year of change for her stores, and for the specialty toy industry in general. She offers her tips for getting ahead this year on page 28. Be sure to check out our Q&A, Chatting with the Industry, beginning on page 30, to learn more about what’s trending and what’s shaking up the industry.

Speaking of trends, Associate Editor Maddie Michalik took a closer look at the fidget spinner trend and its impact on the toy industry. Read her take on page 20.

Of course, retailers have a lot more to consider than just fidget toys, and we’ve got you covered. With ASTRA Marketplace & Academy taking place this month, we’ve got broad coverage of many of the toys that will be exhibited at the show. Be sure to peruse our extensive coverage, which begins on page 40, and if you see us at the show, stop us and say hi!

10 THE TOY BOOK | MAY/JUNE 2017 | toybook.com

“It’s a classic case of Fidget Spinner-itis!”

Also in this issue, we’ve got analysis of the rapidly expanding robotic toy category, with a piece by One Click Retail on page 82. Sean McGowan examines the coding toy category, which has also grown by leaps and bounds, to see if this category is sustainable and whether these toys are actually teaching kids important skills. Check it out on page 86.

Now that the weather is finally heating up in the Northeast, consumers are taking full advantage of the booming active and outdoor play category. The Toy Association spells it out for us on page 92.

On a separate note, Licensing Expo took place last month in Las Vegas. Approximately 30 percent of toys are licensed, so even if you did not attend this show, it’s important to keep an ear to the ground and be aware of what kids’ properties are coming down the

pike. Today’s sneak peak at a feature film or TV series could be tomorrow’s hottest new toy property. Check out our coverage beginning on page 94.

Enjoy this issue of The Toy Book. It’s packed with new products, trends, expert opinions, industry analytics, and so much more. Let us know what you think! Tweet @toybook and @jackiebreyer, or email me at jbreyer@adventurepub.com. »

Jackie Breyer is editor-in-chief of The Toy Book and the Toy Insider, and editorial director at Adventure Publishing. She has been reporting on new products and toy industry trends for 15 years. Contact her at jbreyer@adventurepub.com.

INDUSTRY UPDATE Flipside

MOOSE GAMES TO LAUNCH NEW FIDGET GAME Moose Games, an extension of Moose Toys, is set to launch Flipside, a new game in-line with the fidget trend.

Flipslide is a handheld electronic pattern and color memorization game. The twist and slide feature makes it so players can compete against themselves and each other. Players must flip, slide, and match the colored cubes with corresponding lights to win.

The game includes multiple modes, such as Speed Mode, Level Mode, Memory Mode, and Multiplayer Mode. It will be available at U.S. retailers nationwide in August. »

YOUTUBE PERSONALITY JOJO SIWA UNVEILS NEW CP LINE The global consumer products program for 14-year-old singer, dancer, performer, and social media influencer JoJo Siwa will include products across multiple categories in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Canada.

Select items are available in stores now in the U.S. Danskin will introduce its first kids’ cobranded dance, athleisure, and accessories collection. The collection will include leotards, tights, dance skirts, tutus, legwarmers, and more.

Siwa’s bows Jojo Siwa from H.E.R. AcSinging Doll, cessories continue from Just Play to gain popularity as distribution expands to multiple retail channels.

Just Play will introduce a JoJo Siwa fashion doll this year that features Siwa’s single “Boomerang.” It will be available exclusively at Walmart in July, followed by other retailers beginning in October. A full range of JoJo toys will be avail-

12 THE TOY BOOK | MAY/JUNE 2017 | toybook.com

able later this year from Just Play, including dress-up, role play, and plush items.

Additional products include Spin Master’s Cool Maker bow-maker and accessory pack; GBG for cosmetics; Rubie’s Costume Co. for costumes; iHome for electronics; Cardinal for games and puzzles; Jay Franco for home goods; Abrams for publishing; CultureFly for a subscription box; and Trends and TriCoastal for stationery. »

JAKKS PACIFIC APPOINTED AS MASTER TOY LICENSEE FOR MEGA MAN DHX Brands and Dentsu Entertainment USA appointed Jakks Pacific Inc. as worldwide master toy licensee—excluding Asia— for the companies’ co-produced animated series Mega Man. The deal was brokered by CPLG North America.

The multi-year license agreement allows Jakks to exclusively manufacture, market, and distribute a range of consumer products, including action figures, figurines, play sets, accessories, dress-up and role-play, Halloween costumes, plush, and vehicles.

Based on Capcom’s Mega Man video game franchise, the series goes into production this summer at DHX Media’s Vancouver studio. Man of Action Entertainment will write and executive produce the series in collaboration with DHX Media and Dentsu Entertainment. Cartoon Network U.S. and DHX Media’s Family CHRGD in Canada have licensed the show for broadcast.

The new Mega Man animated series will feature new technologies and robots, as well as the introduction of Mega Man’s alter-ego, Aki Light. Aki is a regular, upbeat schoolboy robot who has nano-core technology that allows him to transform into the mega-powered super hero, Mega Man. With his Mega Buster arm cannon and iconic helmet, Mega Man battles the villains Silicon City has to offer. Many characters will return, while new characters will also make their debut. »

SONY APPOINTS JUST PLAY AS MASTER TOY PARTNER FOR THE EMOJI MOVIE Sony Pictures Consumer Products appointed Just Play as master toy partner for The Emoji Movie, along with licensee partners across multiple categories to support the film’s consumer products program.

This summer, Just Play will introduce a new line of toys, including blind bags, collectible figures, light-up figures, and plush

The Emoji Movie

STAY CONNECTED!

@ToyBook

INDUSTRY UPDATE Wonder Woman costume, from Rubie’s

inspired by characters from the film.

Key product categories for the consumer products program include apparel and accessories, gifts and novelties, housewares, toys, collectibles, and games. Additionally, Ty will feature a range of products in the toys, collectibles, and games categories, with more licensees to be announced. »

RUBIE’S COSTUME CO. TO LAUNCH WONDER WOMAN COSTUME COLLECTION Rubie’s Costume Co. will produce officially licensed costumes, accessories, and masks inspired by Wonder Woman, which hit theaters on June 2.

Available in child and adult sizes, the collection features the film’s main characters: Wonder Woman, Queen Hippolyta, Super-Villain Ares, and fighter pilot Steve Trevor. Rubie’s col-

lection closely replicates the ensembles portrayed on the big screen.

In addition, Imagine by Rubie’s offers dress-up costumes and accessories for kids in separates and boxed sets. The Wonder Woman collection from Rubie’s will be available this Halloween season.

Wonder Woman has exceeded expectations at the box office, earning more than $100 million domestically in its opening weekend, the largest opening for a female-directed feature film. »

COLORIFIC TO LAUNCH PRODUCTS IN NORTH AMERICA Australian global developer and kids’ products marketer Colorific will bring its toy brands and activity kits to North America this fall. Colorific’s products include activity kits, youth electronics, vehicles, preschool products, and other items.

The company entered a partnership with Perpetual Play Group Ltd. and has engaged ChizComm Ltd. to be its agency of record.

ChizComm will spearhead the marketing efforts surrounding the launch this year. »

DEADLINE SET FOR WORLD OF TOYS PAVILION IN HONG KONG Registration for the World of Toys Pavilion at Spielwarenmesse eG’s Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair ends on Sept. 30. The show will take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and is scheduled to run from January 8 to 11.

At last year’s Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, 31 companies (up from 27 in 2016) from 14 countries (13 in the year prior) appeared at the World of Toys Pavilion.

Spielwarenmesse eG gives its international exhibitors both technical and organizational assistance before and during the fair, while supporting them with an extensive range of services including stand construction, marketing, and contacts on site. »

toybook.com | MAY/ JUNE 2017 | THE TOY BOOK 13

Licensed toys U.S. licensed STat shot STAT SHOT

LICENSED TOYS TOTAL TOYS

LICENSED TOYS DECLINED -3 PERCENT YEAR TO DATE (YTD), WHILE THE REST OF THE INDUSTRY GREW 7 PERCENT YTD. COMBINED, THE INDUSTRY IS UP 4 PERCENT YTD.

LICENSED TOYS ARE 30 PERCENT OF TOTAL TOYS YTD, DOWN FROM 32 PERCENT LAST YEAR.

ROBOTIC AND INTERACTIVE PLAYMATES ARE UP 37 PERCENT YTD, WHILE ELECTRONIC LEARNING AID HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE AND ACCESSORIES ARE UP 75 PERCENT YTD.

top 10 toy licenses in dollar rank order

1. STAR WARS top five items electronic learning aid hardware and software

1. OSMO GENIUS KIT LEAPSTART INTERACTIVE

2. LEARNING SYSTEM

3. OSMO CODING SET

2. BATMAN 3. DISNEY PRINCESS 4. TROLLS 5. MICKEY & FRIENDS

top five properties robotic and interactive playmates

1. HATCHIMALS 2. LITTLE LIVE PETS

6. MINECRAFT 7. DISNEY FROZEN

3. ZOOMER

4. BLOXELS

8. POWER RANGERS

4. HEXBUG

5. OSMO GAMING SYSTEM

9. DISNEY MOANA

5. ANKI COZMO

MUTANT 10. TEENAGE NINJA TURTLES Source: The NPD Group, Inc./U.S. Toys Retail Tracking Service/Jan. 1, 2017 to April 15, 2017 vs. Jan. 3, 2016 to April 16, 2016

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EUROMONITOR

LICENSED TOY GROWTH CONTINUES TO RISE Multigenerational Licenses Continue to Drive Licensed Toy Demand

by MATTHEW HUDAK, toys and games analyst, Euromonitor International LICENSED TOYS HAVE INCREASINGLY become a vital part of the traditional toy market, with licensed toys expected to grow 14 percent from 2017 to 2020, reaching $26 billion in sales. This growth is far above non-licensed products, and three core regions— North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific—are expected to make up the vast majority of sales and growth for this period.

While there will be numerous factors behind this growth for the three regions, smartphone proliferation, the growing popularity of multigenerational licenses in North America and Western Europe, and local licenses in Asia Pacific are expected to be the core reasons these regions will see the highest levels of licensed toy growth.

MULTIGENERATIONAL LICENSES BROADEN THE MARKET Multigenerational licenses that have been around for decades, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers, are increasingly popular in North America and Western Europe and are furthering their licensed

toy growth potential. These licenses were the childhood favorites of many of today’s parents and allow them to share some of their favorite characters with their children. In addition, multigenerational licenses can offer a nostalgic appeal directly to childless adults who are willing to buy higher-priced figurines or play sets that they can display within their home, giving toy makers an extra demographic to market toward. As millennials in North America and Western Europe continue to delay having children, this childless demographic will become an increasingly important area of traditional toy growth.

LOCAL LICENSES’ GROWING IMPORTANCE IN ASIA PACIFIC Within Asia Pacific, local licenses, such as Anpanman in Japan or Turning Mecard in South Korea, are becoming gradually more important and are adding new opportunities for licensed toy growth. These licenses distribute their media content and associated toy products primarily in their country of origin and typically contain some sort of cultural

Licensed Toys Retail Value Sales by Region: 2017 vs. 2020 30

USD billion

25 20 15 10 5 0

2017 North America

Western Europe

2020 Asia Pacific

All other regions

connection to their home country, such as Chota Bheem in India, which is based on a famous Indian epic. These local licenses offer an additional layer of toy sale opportunities in the region on top of major global licenses such as Star Wars or Marvel. Under the right conditions, local licenses can eventually gain global influence, similar to the success that Pokémon and Beyblade have achieved.

SMARTPHONES EXPAND ACCESS TO THESE LICENSES In each of the three core regions for licensed toys, household access to smartphones will become increasingly commonplace and further the impact of local and multigenerational licenses. Nearly 80 percent of households are expected to possess a smartphone in Western Europe and North America by 2020, with Asia Pacific seeing a 56 percent possession rate. And by 2020, the three regions are each expected to have an average of three mobile internet subscriptions per household. Taken together, this will increase child access to media, allowing them to consume movies, TV, and mobile video games featuring their favorite licensed content at nearly any time of the day. This increased exposure to licensed characters will lead to deeper connections with brands than ever before, making the multigenerational licenses in Western Europe and North America or local licenses in Asia Pacific even more impactful and further drive licensed toy demand. »

Matthew Hudak is a toys and games analyst for Euromonitor International. In his role, he researches and writes on the global market for toys and video games, and drives analysis on the ever-evolving ways children and adults play.

Source: Euromonitor International 2017

toybook.com | MAY/JUNE 2017 | THE TOY BOOK 15

TOY ASSOCIATION UPDATE

TIA REBRANDS AS THE TOY ASSOCIATION Steve Pasierb, president and chief executive of The Toy Association, talks about what the Association’s rebranding means for its members.

THE TOY ASSOCIATION (FORMERLY the Toy Industry Association) is poised to tackle a global toy and play landscape that has evolved dramatically. With a new strategic plan driving a refreshed name, mission statement, and rebranding, the organization underwent a complete transformation in response to its members’ diverse needs. Steve Pasierb, The Toy Association’s president and chief executive, takes a deep dive into the trade group’s evolution—and what this “wave of change” means for its members.

What was the impetus for overhauling The Toy Association? What was the process for coming up with a new name and strategy?

We started from a position of being strong and successful—thanks to the hard work done by our staff, leadership, members, and board through the years. That strength can’t be taken for granted. But after 100 years of serving the toy industry, our executive committee, many board members, and I felt it was time to shake things up a bit.

So, as we embarked on the Association’s centenary in 2016, our membership team

held a series of town hall meetings around the country and we met with dozens of members and their staffs. We also held our own staff brainstorming retreat to kick off the planning process. That depth of insight and learning from members and staff made all the difference.

We created a new strategic blueprint focused on the year 2020, and in the process of doing that, we updated our mission statement because it was not syncing with where we were heading. I’m happy to say that for the first time, that statement includes the word “members”—“to be a unifying force for members’ creativity, responsibility, and global success, advocating for their needs and championing the benefits of play.”

Our strategic blueprint is built upon the concept of membership excellence, making certain our members’ needs are at the center of everything we do. There are six key elements to the plan: focusing on our core services and continually transforming them based on member needs; expanding our global advocacy work and market access programs; elevating the image of the toy

industry in the eyes of consumers; developing human leadership across the business of toys and play; ensuring financial stability; and continually improving the membership experience. We must do the first five exceptionally well to make the sixth possible.

What was the inspiration for The Toy Association’s new image (logo, website, etc.) and name?

We had to be more playful! None of us loved our somewhat abstract and dated logo, and we struggled with the name. Having the word “Industry” right at the center did not serve us well, because from a consumer viewpoint, that word evokes images of smokestacks and factories—not kids laughing, playing, and being joyful. After much discussion, we decided to delete “Industry” and add an emphatic “The” at the start of our name. And our new tagline, “Inspiring Generations of Play,” captures us perfectly.

Our design team took on the new brand and thus began an iterative process of design, board review, and refinement that resulted in a new brand that everyone is excited about. The red ball is playful, but allows flexibility to replace it with a beach ball, spinning top, Christmas ornament, marble, globe, and other iterations for select occasions, without taking away from our brand identity.

From a website perspective, we felt navigation was tough on the old site and the muted color palette did not capture the energy of our members and their products.

We agreed it was time for a completely fresh start. We began with a mobile-first view that the site had to work on multiple devices— many of our members use the site from their phones and tablets. We’re also updating Toy New Tuesday and focused on reducing the overall volume of email going to members.

We’re thinking about all of this in a comprehensive manner.

What are some facets of the “new” Toy Association?

16 THE TOY BOOK | MAY/JUNE 2017 | toybook.com

TOY ASSOCIATION UPDATE 1. Greater global focus: For us to be relevant in five years, we have to be useful to our members from a global perspective.

Our work in other countries includes dealing with regulatory issues and barriers to trade and improving member access to emerging markets, including countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, where populations and middle class salaries are growing.

2. Safety education: We are building resources to help train the next generation of safety and regulatory professionals in our field. There is a growing shortage of these experts working at toy companies, so safety and compliance programs are going to be needed. This is classic Association work and a gap we can certainly fill given our staff expertise and access to other experts.

3. Events: We’ve helped members connect directly with consumers with our new business-to-consumer venture, Play Fair, and are connecting buyers and sellers with our ShopToys365.com platform. We’re also exploring a supplier show. Toy Fair and Fall Toy Preview remain vital. We must be all about helping more members sell more products more often.

4. Thought leadership: Our research must be actionable and offer fresh perspectives.

We will form a Future Forecasting Committee to bring together experts to scenario plan and illuminate the future of toys and play.

5. Promoting play: Play is an essential component of our lives—from childhood through to adulthood. It’s our continuing goal to ensure that parents, educators, the media, and the government recognize play as a positive and healthy aspect of childhood development. We will remain on the frontlines of encouraging families to take time out of their busy schedules to play.

6. New headquarters: Our new headquarters is a welcoming hub for members.

The office includes meeting rooms for members and fellow associations, offices for visiting members, and playful features, such as a timeline exhibit of our more than 100-year history, a tribute to the Toy Industry Hall of Fame, and a huge display of TOTY Award-winning products.

Based on changes that are happening within the global toy industry, what are some of the major issues The Toy Association is tackling on behalf of its members?

The biggest changes are international

regulatory challenges and barrier to trade issues, along with changing consumer behavior at retail.

We are working with Toy Industries of Europe (TIE) on key issues, brainstorming and constantly striving to do the right things by members and consumers alike. Maintaining and building upon a strong collaboration with TIE is essential. The new Southeast Asia Toy Association (SEATA) also has our support— we’ve already been on the ground with them doing trainings and finding ways to help them be more successful. We will continue to serve as secretariat to the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) because our fellow associations play a vital role in their countries.

We’re also secretariat to the International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable.

Consistent with our commitment to thought leadership is increased collaboration with members on changing consumer behavior. The retail dynamic is changing at lightning speed, the relationship between our toy manufacturers, buyers, and sellers is evolving, and speed to market is quickening. How consumers discover, explore, and purchase toys in the future will be significantly different than it is today.

What role do strategic alliances play in The Toy Association’s work?

Here at home, the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA), the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), and Women in Toys (WIT) all play vital roles.

Licensing is exploding, capturing upwards of 30 percent of total U.S. toy sales.

It’s important that we maintain a close relationship with LIMA and continually find ways to help the many members we share. We are also committed to directly assisting the team at ASTRA, so that they can continue to focus their time and resources on helping specialty retailers make their businesses successful.

The specialty retail market is an essential part of the toy industry’s DNA that must be protected and nurtured. WIT is active at North American International Toy Fair and Fall Toy Preview, bringing an energy and enthusiasm to everything they do—and they do a lot! We want to help accelerate WIT’s growth and find opportunities to work more closely together. All three organizations are mentioned by name on our strategic blueprint as organizations to which we’re committed.

Internationally, we sustain the Canadian

Toy Association (CTA) and are committed to its long-term success. CTA’s ongoing advocacy work with Health Canada is a high point, while its hot toy media events do a fantastic job of getting consumers in Canada excited about the latest toys. As I mentioned, TIE, SEATA, and more than a dozen ICTI member nations are important partners in our work. Finally, we are committed to maintaining productive relationships with ASTM International, the International Standards Organization (ISO), and standards organizations around the world.

Where do you see the organization heading in the next five or 10 years?

Changes will be constant and new challenges will certainly come our way, but we have already proven without a doubt that we can triumph over obstacles. The ever-quickening pace of change shows no sign of relenting, so let’s accept it and master it.

We will continue to focus on protecting and promoting our members, helping them to sell more product more often. We will spread awareness about the developmental benefits of play through The Genius of Play, remain proactive and aggressive on consumer safety education, and reinvent our trade shows and business-to-consumer events. I think we’ll see Play Fair grow to multiple markets. The TOTY Awards underwent a big round of changes last year, is up for more changes this year, and will continue to be refined and improved. Our Toy Industry Foundation has to become a more vocal advocate for the charitable work happening throughout the entire toy and play community.

Above all, we must deliver on our strategic goals and truly function as a global trade association. We’ve got work to do! The best part is that we love our work, are committed to our members, and feel blessed to be in a position to help them thrive. »

toybook.com | MAY/JUNE 2017 | THE TOY BOOK 17

FIDGET TOYS

TO THE How Fidget Spinners Took the Toy Industry by Storm

by MADDIE MICHALIK, associate editor ARGUABLY THE FASTEST-GROWING trend in toy history, fidget spinners are making an impression like we’ve never seen before. Unlike past trends such as Beanie Babies, Rainbow Loom, Silly Bandz, hoverboards, and the like, spinners are proving to be more than just a fad.

Initially designed to help kids focus, fidget spinners are tri-shaped, technology-free devices that spin around a center. The point is to mindlessly spin them in a repetitive motion, allowing kids to focus more intently on a task, like homework or studying.

Fidget spinners are the perfect recipe for a booming trend: They’re collectible, gender neutral, appealing to a wide age range, and available at a low price point. But, surprising to most, fidget spinners have been around for years. It was the Fidget Cube Kickstarter campaign, from Antsy Labs, that reintroduced an interest in the fidget toy category as a whole late last year.

“Spinners and the fidget craze are a by-product of the Fidget Cube,” says Sharon DiMinico, founder and CEO of Learning Express. “The cube first appeared at Learning Express in mid-December 2016. In very early 2017, the vendors supplying the Cube helped us see the potential of the fidget spinners.”

The Fidget Cube is a six-sided toy designed to help restless hands focus, equipped with features including five clicker buttons, a switch to flick up and down, and a side designed after a gaming joystick with gliding action.

“When you go viral first, people start to get agitated because they see it so much,” says Aric Klar, owner of

18 THE TOY BOOK | MAY/JUNE 2017 | toybook.com

Toyology Toys, a retailer in Michigan, and It’s Fidgety, a company that makes fidget toys.

“And when people get agitated, they start to get curious. In October, people started getting curious about the fidget trend.”

Just like any schoolyard fad, word spread, more kids wanted spinners, and they’re one of the hottest items to have right now. A large part of what fueled the trend is social media, where people film tricks and share their videos.

Spinners can cost consumers anywhere from a couple of dollars to more than $50, depending on the quality and type. Spinners are made in a variety of materials, from plastic and metal to aluminum and brass, and come in different shapes and weights. The rapidly expanding diversity in fidget spinners has only enhanced the trend, with kids collecting and trading spinners with different designs and patterns.

Jamie Glassberg, vice president at TopTrenz, says that the company is one of the biggest distributors of spinners in the country. The Spinner Squad line features spinners

Spinner Squad, from TopTrenz

with different prints that range from tie-dye patterns to whimsical emojis. Demand is so high that TopTrenz is launching 10 to 20 new prints every week to keep up. “[Kids] are trading them and they can’t get them because the supply is not really that big out there,” says Glassberg. “We’re selling like crazy, but a lot of stores are selling out up to 400 in one day. It’s unheard of.”

A WIN FOR SPECIALTY Specialty retailers have the ability to jump on a trend fast, source it quickly, and have it on shelves in a few weeks. The key to success for many of these retailers was to go big or go home. Owners of specialty retail locations who spotted spinners early, evaluated their potential quickly, and made a big investment won big with this trend.

“Specialty is the first place these trends land,” says Christine Osbourne, CEO and founder of Wonder Works, a chain of four specialty toy stores in the Charleston, South Carolina area. “We are a testing ground for them. The hands-on information gathered for manufacturers is huge, and they can take the product to mass after we have a run with it.

Specialty stores will then be on to the next item for that trend. It is a great cycle and helps the sustainability of our industry.”

According to Osbourne, It’s crucial for retailers to develop relationships with vendors, especially when it comes to hot trends. A good vendor relationship can result in stores getting product almost immediately and ensures they are not left waiting for inventory.

“Given the small physical size and high dollar value, our suppliers were able to fly in inventory,

FIDGET TOYS allowing us to have spinners weeks before most other retailers,” says DiMinico.

And the numbers show. According to Rick Derr, owner of a Learning Express toy store in Lake Zurich, Illinois, some Learning Express stores are experiencing double and even triple digit increases over the prior year. And, both Klar and Osbourne reported better April sales than November 2016 in their stores.

HEADING INTO MASS Although jumping in on the spinner trend later than specialty stores, mass retailers will draw sales with new types of spinners from companies such as Zing. Zing’s new Spinzipz light up and are stackable, and prices for these spinners will be lower than existing competitors.

According Josh Loerzel, Zing’s vice president of sales and marketing, the company began to identify the potential of the fidget toy category around the third quarter of last year. The company introduced Thumb Chucks earlier this year as its first entry into the fidget category.

“When Zing saw how spinners were taking off, we moved quickly to meet demand and launched Spinzipz as our second toy of this year in the fidget category with six more items following closely behind in what we call our EDP (every day play) toy line,” says Loerzel.

In response to this demand, Zing’s entire EDP line this year will feature fidget and skill hybrid items. The company plans to look beyond spinners to evaluate next items in this trend.

“Because of the trend, retailers are asking us to airfreight samples to their stores, and we’ve never seen that before,” says Loerzel.

“Mass retailers are giving us placement on our entire EDP line and essentially creating a new category in the store… Because Zing is a smaller company, we were nimble enough to ramp up production to meet quick retail demand as well as continue to innovate new products in this category.”

SPINOFFS Like Zing, other manufacturers are trying to stay ahead of the trend with new items to bring into the fidget toy category. TopTrenz introduced a four-sided spinner called Quad, and Klar’s It’s Fidgety company is adding Fidget Gears and Spinning Bars and Stars to sell alongside its line of Fidget Controllers.

ZURU recently entered a worldwide

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agreement with Antsy Labs to manufacture and distribute the Fidget Cube, the aforementioned campaign credited with starting the fidget toy trend.

“We knew that we were one of the only major players in the toy industry that could bring this to mass market as quickly, as efficiently, and as cost effectively as we have,” says Nick Mowbray, co-CEO of ZURU. An interesting aspect of the fidget spinner craze is the sheer number of manufacturers producing them. Since the original spinner was not patented, the product can be made by anyone.

ZURU is making an effort to ensure this is not the case with the Fidget Cube. The company’s goal is—unlike the original fidget spinners—to ensure that the IP is protected.

“We look to implement this IP portfolio and protect both the retailer space, but also to protect our online presence amongst major platforms such as Amazon, eBay, or Alibaba etc.,” says Anna Mowbray, COO of ZURU. “In order to achieve this, ZURU’s in-house legal team Wonder Works toy store in Mt. Pleasant features a “Fidget Headquarters” sign outside the store and this fidget toy endcap. will work closely with our outside counsel in both the direct markets anyone’s guess. Being the first to market and we manage and partnership law staying in stock with a variety of styles has firms via our distribution networks. We work been the key to maximizing sales.” to inform our legal partners so that they ultiOver the past six months, the fidget mately understand where the IP portfolio sits, toy category as a whole has been rapidly what it covers, and then align on a strategy expanding. According to Klar, companies to approach any given market in a way that is relevant to that jurisdiction. We aim to control are making sure they have items to fit the trend, which could result in oversaturating the knockoff products at the customs of destimarket. nation ports. We monitor and place alerts at “I think the category as a whole stays in customs to stop knockoff goods before they the industry forever, and the reason for that enter any markets.” is back to the educational benefit of fidgeting and people understanding that now,” he LOOKING AHEAD says.

There’s a lot of chatter over what is in No matter what the future holds, fidget store in the upcoming months, whether the toys seem here to stay. » trend will die down by the time school gets out for the summer across the U.S., or if sales Maddie Michalik is an associate will remain as strong as the holiday season editor at Adventure Publishing approaches. Ironically, most schools have Group, where she contributes to now banned fidget spinners—where they The Toy Book and The Licensing were used to help kids—deeming them a Book. She also reports on trends distraction to others. and news, and writes weekly prod“Like any mega trend, it will eventuuct reviews for The Toy Insider. ally slow down,” says DiMinico. “When is

FIDGET TOYS

Kids can flex, stick, and build with FAT BRAIN TOYS’ Squigz. Each of the eight differently shaped pieces has a suction cup for intuitive play for kids ages 3 and up. The suction construction pieces flex and stick and make a sharp “pop” sound when separated. Once they take hold, it takes some pull to separate the pieces. Kids can assemble the Squigz to form rockets, vehicles, and more, or stick them to bathtubs, windows, lockers, and any other flat surface. Squigz also never leave a trace of their presence.

ZING TOYS’ Spinzipz are small enough to fit in kids’ pockets and quiet enough to use anywhere. These small, handheld plastic toys have two motion-sensitive LED lights for glow effects day or night. Kids ages 4 and up can spin a single-blade Spinzipz individually, or can use the special stacking SpinPin to spin more than one simultaneously. Four Spinzipz colors are available: blue, red, green, and yellow.

SpinBladez are three-pronged versions of Spinzipz. Kids can hold Spinzipz and SpinBladez between their index finger and thumb to flick the light and start the spin.

Kids can twirl, flip, and twist Thumb Chucks around their fingers to perform tricks. Two high-bounce plastic “chucks” are connected with a belt and can fit in kids’ pockets. The motion-sensitive LED lights make the chucks glow in the dark.

Kids can master a wide range of tricks using the free Thumb Chucks app, which includes more than 20 tutorials that teach a variety of tricks. Thumb Chucks are available in red, orange, green, and blue.

SpinBladez

SPIN MASTER’s Kinetic Sand is moldable sand that never dries out. This sand only sticks to itself, cleans up easily, and allows kids ages 3 and up to make creations over and over again. Bringing the fun of sand indoors, the portable Kinetic Sand Single Containers include 5 ounces of Kinetic Sand.

The Fidgety Controller, from IT’S FIDGETY, is designed to help users fight stress, anxiety, and bad habits, and to relax and stay calm at the same time. Its design allows one or two hands to fidget simultaneously. The controller is durable, lightweight, and can fit in pockets for discreet portability.

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FIDGET TOYS

THE BRIDGE DIRECT reintroduces Koosh, 3-inch balls that come in an assortment of bright color combinations. Made for kids ages 3 and up, Koosh can be used for indoor and outdoor play, games, stress relief, occupational therapy, and more.

Tangle Therapy, from TANGLE CREATIONS, consists of a system of interconnected, rotating links covered with soft, textured rubber. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, Tangle Therapy can be twisted, turned, bent, coiled, and shaped into endlessly changing configurations. It can be used for hand therapy, minor stress relief, motor dexterity, and more.

Morph, from ORB, is a shape-shifting fluff that builds, bounces, and floats. This super light sensory sensation is available in six colors: blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, and purple. Kids can hold it and watch as it holds its shape, or fluff it up to three times its size. Morph is designed for kids ages 3 and up.

The Fidget Cube, from ZURU, is a versatile fidget toy featuring six different sides with multiple buttons, dials, and switches so fidgeters can quietly focus while clicking, spinning, rolling, and gliding. This desk toy is equipped with addictive features including five clicker buttons (two of which are silenced), a switch to flick up and down, and a side designed after a gaming joystick with gliding action. Launched last year on Kickstarter by Antsy Labs, Fidget Cube has since been one of the platform’s most successful crowdfunding campaigns.

From the inventors of Fidget Cube, the ZURU Spinner lets fidgeters quietly spin, twirl, and turn their nervous energy away. The spinner will launch with four colors.

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Spinner Squad is TOP TRENZ’ collection of fidget spinners. Series one features seven solid colors, while series two has 48 printed designs.

For kids ages 13 and up, additional styles, such as glow-in-the-dark, metallic, and light-up spinners are also available. Spinner Squad also comes in more shapes, such as a Quad with four prongs instead of three and the Samurai with a triangular edge on one side.

Spinner Squad Tri Metallic

TANGLE TOYS GOES GLOBAL After 37 years of fidgeting, Tangle Creations partners with Zuru for a global licensing and distribution deal.

by ALI MIERZEJEWSKI, senior editor

FOR DECADES, TANGLE CREATIONS HAS been creating products that allow kids—and adults—to fidget, even before “fidgeting” became very en vogue.

Tangle was invented by Richard X. Zawitz 37 years ago, based on his background in Asian art and philosophy. As a sculptor, he came up with the idea of curved sculptures as part of his senior thesis at the University of Hawaii.

Tangle playthings are simple: They are interconnected, 90-degree, tubular elements that are connected in ergonomic combinations. Originally designed to be kinetic sculptures, Zawitz found that people enjoyed playing with them in their hands, and rolled out the Tangle Junior, which brought Tangle Creations to the toy space. Now the line consists of different manipulatives that allow people to play, de-stress, focus, and open up a creative space in their mind.

With the current popularity of fidget toys in the industry, consumers are searching for new and interesting ways to fidget. And although Zawitz’s concept is not new, consumers are seeing a larger value in what he’s been creating for decades.

“It means that the industry and the buying public now understand the value of fidgets,” says Zawitz.

“There’s an action that occurs on the brainstem that engages the left and right brain serotonin and dopamine, and release the pleasure and learning chemicals.

There’s a huge benefit to fidgeting.”

Now, Tangle Toys is partnering with Zuru for a global licensing and distribution deal that will allow consumers all over the world to have

access to Tangle Creations. The access to these products gives Zawitz hope that he’s on his way to achieving his larger goal.

“My goal has always been that every man, woman, and child on this planet experiences the joy of the creative process, so that’s my belief and that’s my goal, and I ain’t quitting until I get it done,” says Zawitz. “We’re going real big with Tangle, and [Zuru is] young and they’re fearless and I love it.”

With Zuru growing to be a big player in the toy industry, the two companies will be able to work together to weed out all of the copycat products that inevitably come into the market with any big trend. But aside from manufacturers that are making “less-than” products, Zawitz also believes that his products will outlast some of the other official and trendy fidget toys.

“Quite frankly, spinners are going to spin out within three to six months,” he predicts.

“They may end up becoming basic, but these fads go huge and they come down. In that category, they aren’t comparable—and quite frankly, spinners are controversial.”

So while spinners and other such products are becoming a nuisance to teachers in classrooms—perhaps serving as attention diversions rather than products to help kids focus—products such as the ones from Tangle Creations encourage passive learning.

That is, they do not disrupt kids’ listening ability while they fidget.

“Where Tangle is superior is that it’s silent,” explains Zawitz. “It’s not a diversion because when you use both hands, you’re engaging the brainstem so you’re fidgeting and it’s helping focus.”

After 37 years, Tangle Creations will expand on a global scale, hopefully accelerating Zawitz’s mission to spread creativity and energy, based on the principles of Taoism. »

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WHAT’S NEW

Air Fort, from AIR FORT LLC, is a fort that inflates in seconds using a household fan. When inflated, the Air Fort can fit several kids and adults. When deflated, it folds into its matching carrying bag, weighing only 24 ounces.

Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the Air Fort comes in pink and white, and camouflage styles.

STEP2’s McLaren 570S Push Sports Car is a toddler-sized sports car with realistic stylings and lifelike decals to look like the actual luxury vehicle. It has multiple cup holders, a storage area under the seat, and a steering wheel that makes engine-revving noises. The luxurious push car has Whisper Wheels, which limit road noise, and is easily folded to allow for easy storage.

ZIMPLI KIDS’ SnoBall Battle Pack transforms a once seasonal experience into an activity that can be enjoyed all year long. Kids can add the SnoBall Battle Pack powder to water and watch it turn into a snow-like substance so they can have snowball fights any time of the year. The SnoBall powder makes more than 60 snowballs, and the formula is stain free, nontoxic, environmentally safe, and a nonirritant.

Mayka Toy Block Tape, from ZURU, instantly transforms virtually any surface into a base for construction toy bricks and figures. One side features a bendable, flexible surface with a toy block pattern that is compatible with LEGOs and other construction bricks, and can be cut to any desired size. The other side has a reusable adhesive backing to allow kids to construct on nearly any object, around corners, and on curved surfaces to make 3-D creations.

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You Are a Princess doll line, from PAMSON ENTERPRISES, allows kids to dive into their imaginations and create a unique character, identity, and backstory for their doll. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, each doll features a “create and design” your own story and coloring book, providing a place for kids to be creative. Each Princess set comes with a doll, a “create and design” your own story and coloring book, and a patented stand for the doll.

The dolls come in small and large sizes.

ASTRA'S MARKETPLACE 2017: THE YEAR OF CHANGE FOR SPECIALTY TOY STORES Q&A WITH SPECIALTY RETAILERS AND MANUFACTURERS

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS | ASTRA’S INSIGHTS

FROM PODCAST TO TOY STORE: ASTRA’s Impact on a New Toy Retailer

by KIMBERLY MOSLEY, president, American Specialty Toy Retailing Association IT TAKES ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF hours to drive from from Chicago to St. Louis, Missouri Jesse Smith and his family made the trip about 14 months ago, and it forever changed their lives.

Well, perhaps it’s more accurate to say that what they listened to in the car changed their new business venture, which ultimately changed their lives. When the Smiths tuned into Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do, a popular podcast by Thom Singer—author, trainer, and expert on building business connections— they discovered the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA).

Singer advised that whatever you do as an entrepreneur, it’s crucial to get involved in your field’s trade association. The podcast featured ASTRA retailer and board member Michelle Sahr, owner of Off the Wagon in Kent, Ohio. Jesse Smith, who was in the midst of a dramatic career change from family pastor to an independent retail storeowner, listened intently.

The critical takeaway? In a few short weeks, ASTRA’s annual Marketplace & Academy would take place. Smith decided to go to Denver to check out the business of toy retailing. As they say, the rest is history.

Were toys the right products to put in the empty retail space he and his partners had secured in Mansfield, Texas? Even though it was beyond the official deadline, Smith asked Sue Warfield, ASTRA’s director of member relations, if he could be paired with a veteran retailer as part of ASTRA’s Team Up Program at Marketplace & Academy. Warfield promptly connected him with none other than Michelle Sahr.

“Marketplace & Academy was like drinking from a fire hose,” says Smith. “It was all right there: the experts, the education, and the products. I couldn’t learn fast enough.”

Smith left Marketplace & Academy with a personal commitment to become a toy retailer. He and his wife, Teri, along with Carin and Mike Janeway—all co-owners—opened Sockmonkey Junction last summer. Now,

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roughly nine months into the roller coaster first year as a toy retailer, Smith still thinks back on Singer’s entrepreneurial advice to prioritize participation in a trade association.

“That advice is totally on target, and I might not have thought of it if I hadn’t heard the podcast,” says Smith. “ASTRA has made a difference in so many ways.”

Smith highlights several important things he learned with the help of connections he made through ASTRA: ASK FOR HELP Smith’s previous career was one of counsel where he provided help to others, so he was not used to accepting help and support from others. “Whether I needed to learn how to sell a particular product, better understand what my financials are telling me, or get free samples for an event, I’ve had to get comfortable reaching out and asking,” he says.

DON’T TAKE THINGS PERSONALLY Smith explains that, “ASTRA helped me learn more about customer behavior and understand that everyone has a buying personality. My products and my consumer preferences may or may not match with any given customer who walks in the door. My role is to help customers learn what we have, and not to take offense if our types of toys and price points don’t fit their priorities.”

AVOID RUNNING YOURSELF RAGGED A big part of the Sockmonkey Junction business strategy is to get customers in the door via in-store events so they can be introduced to specialty toys. “There are so many ideas out there for events,” notes Smith.

“One thing we have had to learn is to pace ourselves. We can’t do it all in the first year.

I tend to approach my work in an analytical way, and my biggest stress has come from not yet knowing the toy business inside out.

There are two big ways ASTRA has supported our new business venture. First, it has provided an emotional safety net that gave us

Sockmonkey Junction play area

friends who we could turn to for encouragement on the bad days. Second, ASTRA has served as a creativity starter for us as we worked on promoting our store.”

It’s not particularly surprising that ASTRA’s “Mighty Together” theme struck a cord with Smith. “ASTRA connections have been mighty helpful,” says Smith, “and it’s a mighty organization, given all it accomplishments for a small association. It’s fair to say that with ASTRA’s help, I have felt personally mighty on average about every other day since we launched. I’d say that’s not too bad for our first year.” »

Kimberly Mosley, president of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, is an experienced, award-winning, results-oriented association executive with a long track record of success in managing association operations, developing innovative programs, and growing revenue.

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS

2017: THE YEAR OF CHANGE FOR SPECIALTY TOY STORES

by CHRISTINE OSBORNE, owner, Wonder Works; principal, Christine S. Osborne LLC 2017 IS THE YEAR FOR CHANGE! I always tell my staff that change is the only constant in life, so they better get used to it. How does the specialty toy industry fit into the mix of the increasing presence of Amazon and other third-party ecommerce platforms, as well as the demise of many big-box stores and the influx of discount stores? If you look at all we have to offer that other retailers simply cannot, I think it fits quite nicely.

While traveling on the plane to New York for the North American International Toy Fair this year, I spent most of my time studying white papers and articles featuring the latest shopping trends, specifically what our customers are looking for. Here are some of the things that I gathered: CREATE EXPERIENTIAL SHOPPING Provide product for shoppers to touch, feel, play, and even jump on. Yes, jump on! Wonder Works recently put a Jungle

Jungle Jumparoo

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Melissa & Doug play area

Jumparoo in two of its largest stores, and this experience attracts all ages—kids, teens, and adults. Kids run straight to it as soon as they come through the doors, and it keeps parents in our stores approximately 30 percent longer, translating to higher sales.

Similarly, we created a Melissa & Doug Play Area, featuring the Chef’s Kitchen, Snacks & Sweets Cart, and Grocery Store/Lemonade stand, along with a Learning Resources Cash Register to complete the play experience.

Play is vital in a toy store, and creating an environment that encourages hands-on play makes a store special. I overheard a mother saying, “This is my happy place!” Another customer said, “This is our favorite place on earth!” Dedicating space to creative play encourages both family interaction and social development, something Target and Amazon cannot offer.

CAPITALIZE ON BIRTHDAYS Birthdays are special for everyone. The Harvard Business Review recently conduct-

ed a study that found a family with three children attends a birthday party every other weekend. This means a store can see that family at least 26 times a year, especially if they offer complimentary gift-wrapping. A birthday registry program ensures maximum birthday party traffic.

Wonder Works has a Birthday Bin program where the birthday child is invited to load up a bin with everything he or she would like to receive as a birthday gift. We offer 10 percent off to anyone who purchases a present out of a Birthday Bin, a sure guarantee that party-goers will come into our store and purchase something they know the birthday child actually wants. We also give a free gift to the birthday kid after the party, bringing that birthday family into the store again.

Specialty stores should consider offering their own birthday parties or outsourcing them, if they have an extra space. Parties bring in 10 to 12 parents extra per party hour that drop off and come back to collect their

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS party-goer. Providing coupons to birthday party attendees encourages them to shop, as this may be their first experience in the store.

SCHEDULE EVENTS THAT PROMOTE LOCALISM Events and promotions are also extremely important for specialty toy stores to increase their local customer base and revenue. With every annual event we host, we brainstorm how to offer bigger and better attractions, including local charities, local entertainers, and local entrepreneurs, bringing more attendees every year. Some of our events draw 7,000 to 8,000 local attendees.

Don’t be afraid to go for it. Ask your city, landlord, and top toy vendors to participate and sponsor by providing tents, tables, advertisements, product activities, and giveaways. Events such as these create goodwill within your community, and remind your customers of the importance to shop locally.

JUMP HEADFIRST INTO TRENDS Trends are silent partners that invest in a business’ growth. With every trend—whether it is Beanie Babies, Webkinz, Silly Bands, Rainbow Looms, or fidget toys—capitalize on sales by making your store the headquarters for that trend. Promote it with indoor and outdoor signage, create an excellent display of the largest selection of product in your city, send emails featuring the latest versions, and host promotional trading activities with product demos. These combined will bring a store into the spotlight, creating new customers and engaging current ones.

Having customers wait at the door for a store to open and call every 15 minutes is a great thing. It means the demand for brick and mortar is alive and well. Yes, it can be time-consuming to find the trendy items, but the relationships a store develops with the vendors along the way are key to its future success. That’s because many of these companies carry other items that may be trendy in the future. Sustainability of our industry is so simple when we all embrace the trends and support each other. The big box stores cannot identify these trends as fast as specialty stores can, often carrying the product six to 10 months after a specialty toy store already established itself as the local headquarters.

Now is not the time to despair, it is the time to realize that our differences are what make us so incredible. Specialty toy stores

Fidget toy signage

that create experiential play opportunities, embrace birthdays, offer community events and promotions, and go all-in on the latest trends will be the stores that sustain and grow our industry.

EMBRACE CHANGE Embracing change is fun and it pays off. Every time I embraced change, I added another store, bought all new fixtures for my stores, upgraded my stores’ carpet to laminate flooring, gave raises to my managers, hired assistant managers, and bonused-out myself and other staff. This is the time to pump it up and increase your sales. The month of April alone provided us with a 70 percent increase in sales over last year—even disregarding Easter— thanks to riding the fidget trend, creating fun experiential play areas, and embracing change.

Remember, embrace change, capitalize on what you offer that others cannot, make birthdays magical, bring families together through play, and—most importantly—laugh and have fun. After all, we work in the only place that you can be a kid forever! »

Christine Osborne is the owner of four award-winning and industry-leading toy stores, Wonder Works, and the principal of Christine S. Osborne LLC. She brings magic to the Lowcountry through her spirit and enthusiasm, and her stores celebrate the power of a single child. Wonder Works aims to inspire creativity and wonder through hands-on play. The company’s passion lies within the growth and development of child entrepreneurs and entertainers, and children’s charities.

toybook.com | MAY/JUNE 2017 | THE TOY BOOK 29

Chatting with the Industry The Toy Book spoke with specialty retailers and manufacturers about the latest trends, what’s selling, and how they’re facing the challenges of the specialty toy market.

What challenges are you facing as a specialty toy manufacturer, and how are you addressing them?

Farrell: One of the biggest challenges we face today as a specialty toy manufacturer is the changing retail landscape. We have limited resources, and knowing how and where to focus those resources is not as easy as it used to be. There are many facets to how a changing retail landscape affects our business; one I’ll highlight is freight costs. Our average freight cost from our Chicago area-based warehouse (think: middle of the country) serving our specialty retail stores is a staggering 25 percent!

Freight costs have risen significantly over the last few years. For us, the average was about 15 percent just four years ago.

We have always focused on keeping our prices as low as possible, so this extra 10 percent was not in our budget and virtually impossible for us to cover. We’re currently evaluating a major change in carriers to try to eke out a few percent of savings. Our customers highly value freight programs, so we need to find ways to support this. We’ve always considered landing costs as part of our product design process. Now, we are realizing we may have to consider domestic freight issues in product design as well. It’s a bit puzzling, with the massive increase in online buying—we know freight companies have more business than ever before—why prices are rising. Perhaps we’re all funding Amazon’s Prime program?

Mark Carson, President & Co-Founder, Fat Brain Toys

Carson: I think the biggest challenge is simply keeping “specialty” relevant in a retail market increasingly dominated by the next hot license. We’re seeing plenty of reasons to be optimistic with trends, such as STEM, and parents who are increasingly looking for non-digital entertainment. But as specialty manufacturers, we all need to strive to find ways to be more innovative than the mass alternatives. Much of Fat Brain’s focus in this regard is on the use of quality materials and a fresh design aesthetic, which seems to appeal to a growing audience of parents and gift-givers.

Quartin: Inventory planning has become more challenging as our growth accelerates. In 2016, we capped our fourth consecutive year of mid-double-digit growth, which caused some out-of-stock issues on key items during Q4. To fix this, we analyzed and discovered all the reasons why an item might be out of stock and then implemented a five-point plan to fix it. Generally speaking, our plan included improving our forecasting accuracy, analyzing demand in real time, expanding capacity, as well as being a bit more conservative with our product development schedule. We took a very active approach to improve this for this year and we are already seeing significant progress compared to last year.

How does being an independent retailer give you the ability to react quickly to hot

Kelly & John Daly, Co-Owners, Gammy & Gumpy’s, Stillwater, Minn.

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trends, such as what we’re seeing with fidget spinners?

Saldanha: We’re able to move on a dime; we can source new products and test them out on a small scale, with very little risk exposure. We can also get the word out about new products and inventory levels through social media. The fidget spinner is a great example of how we can react quickly; we had so many calls from people who’ve never shopped specialty before, but are coming to us because they can’t find what they’re looking for through their usual channels. It is incredible to be thought of as a leader in bringing these items to our customers, and for us it has emphasized our value (and power) as an independent retailer.

Daly: We like the flexibility to add new product lines quickly by season; however, we didn’t jump on the fidget spinner trend—right or wrong. We currently have many logic or small motor skill-builder toys from great companies, such as the Ivan’s Hinge from Fat Brain, Q-Bot Perplexus from PlayMonster, Q-bits from Mindware, Animal Bead Tilts and Marble Maze from Kido, and First Friends from TOLO. With the recent news of schools and workplaces banning the spinners—and now even 10 year olds choking on loose inner bearing circles— we’ll see.

Derr: Speed is one of our biggest advantages. As soon as the fidget spinners became available, manufacturers came right

Rick Derr, Toy Consultant and Owner, Learning Express Toys, Lake Zurich, Ill.

Dee Farrell, Senior Vice President, Neat-Oh! International, LLC

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS | CHATTING WITH THE INDUSTRY to us to test as well as launch the products.

In this case we worked as a team by air freighting goods from China to New York and then next-day delivery to our store. The cycle has been cut drastically from even two to three years ago. Also, many manufacturers are pre-planning launches with us so that we can be first, respond quickly to reorders, and deliver to our customers first.

In toys, first is very important.

Are you concerned about a potential tax on goods imported from China? How would this affect your business?

Carson: I won’t pretend to be an expert in this area, I’ll leave that to more knowledgeable experts such as Rick Woldenberg of Learning Resources. But I have no question it would have a negative effect on our business, and ultimately a negative effect on the American consumer.

Tanner: Independent retailers can spin on a dime (no pun intended)! This is where the internet can become a very good friend, opening the door for contact info and what people are saying on social media. We have the ability to change our marketing and buying strategies within hours of making a decision. Our strength in catching trends also comes from being close to the consumer. Being in our store, on the floor occasionally, allows you the ability to interact with your customers. Ask them what they think, and you will hear more than you can imagine.

Quartin: I’m not overly concerned about this. Our business faces many risks, including competitive, geopolitical, economic, regulatory, credit, fluctuations in exchange rates, and others. We think about them but don’t let them consume us.

If it becomes law, I don’t see it having an outsized effect on our business. Our supply chain is geographically diverse and extends to Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and the U.S. That should help mitigate some of the risk.

Osborne: Independent retailers are the ones who get the trends started. Because they’re quick and they’re agile, they can quickly find the source of the trend—e.g. spinners—and quickly order. They talk to the vendor or the manufacturer personally, and they share with each other. The independent specialty network in the U.S. is extremely strong; there’s the ability to order with the vendor and the manufacturer and get on a first name basis with them and cut deals. And they know you’re going to share with other people in your network. Once that starts it spreads virally, quickly across the nation, then the mass finds out about it. So it always starts off with independent specialty.

Christine Osborne, Owner, Wonder Works, Charleston, S.C.

Farrell: Import taxes will result in higher prices for us, for our retailers, and for our consumers.

How/where do you learn about new products and trends?

Daly: We are blessed and very fortunate to have such great company reps who understand our business model and help guide us. Thank you Barb, Eva, Mary, Ashley, Stephanie, Joanna, and all of the other wonderful customer service representatives we place orders through.

Derr: Trends and new products are on-going—daily. We watch Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and YouTube. We research trends from trade shows, as well as listen to certain vendors who are on the leading front of

Andrew Quartin, CEO, Thames & Kosmos

identifying trends and bringing them to life through great toys. Relationships matter.

Tanner: We attend more than eight shows a year and enjoy the strength of networking at each show. We belong to the ASTRA community, the BRIXY community for our baby products, and we’re also a member of the Executive Association of Greater Phoenix. So when I leave a show and then attend a networking meeting here in Phoenix, I have the opportunity to bounce ideas and trends, and test the waters with this group. It’s amazing the reach of information one can receive from people that have no ties to your industry. Of course, we test ideas with our customers that walk in our door every day.

Osborne: Customers coming into your store, emails, magazines or subscriptions that you belong to, and word-of-mouth from networking with other retailers, manufacturers, vendors, and reps—reps are huge. The network is huge for independent specialty retailers. If they do not have a strong network of other independent retailers, they have to develop that to sustain, and ASTRA is a huge part of that. One of ASTRA’s main strengths is the network they’ve developed between all the retailers, and it sustains our industry.

Saldanha: New products and trends can be found anywhere, and we are all always looking. Our customers are a great source, and our tweens lead the pack. We talk to them about what they’re seeing and— more importantly—what and whom they’re following online. We attend the trade shows, talk to other retailers, and our reps also have their ears to the ground.

Amy Saldanha, Founder & CEO, kiddywampus, Hopkins, Minn.

Kate Tanner, Owner/CEO, Kidstop Toys & Books, Scottsdale, Ariz.

toybook.com | MAY/JUNE 2017 | THE TOY BOOK 31

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS | CHATTING WITH THE INDUSTRY How do you work with retailers to roll out new products/lines in stores?

Farrell: Neat-Oh! is doing two big new brand launches this year: Linkt Craft Kits and Zipes Speed Pipes. With both of these new brands, we’re offering in-store demo programs, videos, and video displays.

Minimum purchases are required to qualify for the programs. The minimum purchase helps win a bigger area on shelf and the demos and videos create excitement and fun in the stores. Our specialty retail customers tell us they are focusing more and more on in-store experiences. So with the Linkt Craft Kits, we’re also offering free (with minimum purchase) in-store Party Packs, which contain materials for an event of 20 or more kids to make necklaces, bracelets, and more.

Carson: Asking a retailer to make room on their store shelves for a new product is a big ask, and we want to hold up our end of the bargain by giving them the best chance of succeeding. While we have a number of techniques that we use to encourage the adoption of new products, probably our most successful is our free demo policy. Without question, when our products can be experienced first-hand by the consumer, they stand a much better chance of going home with that consumer.

So we’ve adopted a policy where we supply each retailer with a free demo version for every new product they add to their assortment. This provides the retailer with a more interactive store experience, and it gives our products the opportunity to be fully appreciated by the consumer.

Do you find it beneficial to carry popular mass-market products to help drive traffic to your store?

Derr: I don’t like terms applied to our industry anymore. “Mass retailers vs. specialty retailers” is outdated. We must sell what kids want, not by what “terms” are. If it is a great product and kids want it, I carry it and find a way to make the economics work.

Tanner: In more than 18 years, we carry very little mass-market products as we are margin-conscious. We do carry LEGO,

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because as one young man schooled me several years ago, “I thought the best toy store would carry LEGO.” I went to Toy Fair and ordered. This is the only toy that has been requested for us to carry.

Osborne: Absolutely, 100 percent, yes.

You’re cutting off your nose to spite your face if you do not. LEGO is a huge driver for almost every specialty retailer I know. And Barbie. They may come in asking for a Barbie, and they will see other specialty dolls on the way back to the Barbie section. But Mattel is No. 1 for dolls, it’s No. 1 for trains (Thomas); I think one is sold every 30 seconds in the world. It’s No. 1 for UNO games in the nation. It’s No. 1 for cars in the nation (Hot Wheels), and they are just a given. Peo-

kiddywampus, Hopkins, Minn.

ple come and absolutely get them, but will also come to your store and purchase other things and stay longer if you carry some of the key mass-market items. That’s the trick— the key ones.

Saldanha: We carry some mass items because our customers say they’d like to get them from us, and also because they drive traffic and sometimes fill in category gaps.

Daly: No; we don’t for our business model.

As a 0 to 8-focused non-battery, non-electronic toy store, we fit within an even smaller niche. Our guests tell us they love those options and the lines we carry for creative toys. We like the “kid-powered and imagination-driven” aspect of toys and we leave the mass-market companies to fight over the non-MAPP-priced online deep discount retail war.

What are the benefits of launching a new product or line at specialty?

Carson: The benefits are indispensable and often underestimated by the rest of the industry. Specialty stores and their staff are trained toy specialists. Unlike big box alternatives, the staff at specialty stores know and love the products in their stores.

They understand the key benefits of every product and how to properly demonstrate them for their highest likelihood of customer satisfaction. These stores aren’t afraid to break open a toy or game and let kids do what they do best—play!

Quartin: There is generally a shorter planning horizon and this enables us to get products to market much faster. This allows us to try new, innovative ideas with less risk to us and less competitive pressure for specialty. We can also react to customer feedback very early on and thus improve items based upon customer comments—many of which are communicated to us via our retail partners. This is very helpful.

Farrell: Neat-Oh!’s focus is “Making Playtime Even More Special” for kids and their families.

We design products for specialty retail—not just launch products there. We work very closely with our specialty retail customers to get their input on what works, what doesn’t, what they need, and how they need it. Specialty retailers talk to consumers every single day. They are in the absolute best position to teach, explain, and all-around promote products they are excited about. Almost a year before we launched our Magnutto Activity Set, we previewed the concepts with some of our key customers. They helped us turn a silly and fun magnetic play set into an award-winning product that’s leading the pack of toys that help kids develop emotion quotient. Specialty retailers have a highly curated offering.

They need to believe in the products before they’ll launch them. We learned we needed to consult with them much earlier than launch—rather during the ideation and design phase. Then, they’ll be much more receptive to launching a line.

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS | CHATTING WITH THE INDUSTRY Shopping specialty toy stores is an experience. How do you keep your store fresh and exciting for your customers?

Tanner: Be a creator of change. Funny you should ask, but we are currently finishing our fourth total remodel of Kidstop in our 17 years of existence. The renovation this year included exposing a couple of windows that had been covered up for some time, changing carpet color again, and new lighting in some areas. The response from customers has been overwhelmingly positive. Many equate renovating with doing well, and it makes them happy to know we plan to stay. Along with this type of store refresh, each season brings us the opportunity to re-invent the front of our store, our Facebook page, our homepage on our website, and our email campaigns. The most important part is having your staff current on all the newest, coolest, groovy things you have coming in. We are known for great toys, and we are loved for our great staff and how we work within the community.

Osborne: Easy. All the new products—look for ones that are fun, interactive, allow open demos, and do not be afraid to provide the experience, such as Melissa & Doug with a kitchen, a shopping cart, a lemonade stand, or a mop and sweep set. Open the Jungle Jumparoo so kids can jump on it. We have one in both of our two main stores and kids are jumping on that Jungle Jumparoo—it’s awesome. It holds 250 pounds, it’s great.

So it’s all experiential, and they stay longer so they’re purchasing more. And it creates the buzz in the store that is necessary for energy that provides the experience people want. They want a fun, energetic atmosphere that makes them feel good. It’s gotta be a happy place, a neighborhood place, a community place.

Saldanha: We are in the midst of a store remodel as we speak—new flooring, freshening up the fixtures, and tweaking the store layout and display areas. For me, it also helps to step away from the store and then pretend I’m a customer and enter through the front door, focusing on the customer

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experience rather than the daily operations.

I try to spend time in art museums and with creative people; that time always leads to new ideas we can use in the store. And, of course, the great retailer brain trust of ASTRA is an incredible resource for new and innovative customer ideas, and I love that ASTRA members are happy to share ideas and experiences.

Daly: We change our window display often as well as rotate through different promotions and features on new and existing lines.

We also have many demo opportunities, including Big Jigs Train Tables, Village Shops, and Play Kitchens; and a large assortment of push and pull toys from Plan

Kidstop Toys & Books, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Toys for the children to try out. We rotate those often as well. We also do different age-level activities in the toy store space and next door in our creative play space and birthday party center, Kids Oasis.

Derr: We work every day to provide active (human touch) and passive (special displays/ merchandising) WOWs in store so kids as well as customers want to play in our store.

If it is a treasure hunt every time you visit us, the WOW factor is there and customers and kids want to return. The key here is to deliver every day for every customer, not just periodically.

How do you maintain relationships with specialty retailers?

Quartin: We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our specialty partners,

so we strive to keep the lines of communication open in as many ways as we can. Our external team of sales reps are a big part of that. Having a knowledgeable, accessible, and supportive team on the ground is essential to our ability to connect with retailers all over the country. Their role as—among other things—advocates, translators, and interpreters help us better understand what’s working and how to fix what’s not.

Internally, our full-time internal customer service and tech support teams are equally important. When you call us, you’ll be able to speak to a live person who is well-versed in all of our product and policies. They’ve been known to go above and beyond to ensure that our customers have the best experience possible, from building models at their desks, to helping troubleshoot particularly tricky questions, to chasing down UPS trucks to accommodate a time-sensitive shipment. Outside of business hours, retailers have 24/7 access to a wealth of tools and resources, including hi-res images, video downloads, PDFs of manuals, safety information, product availability, best sellers, and much more.

Last but not least, we try to attend as many trade shows as possible in order to get direct feedback and suggestions from our partners. These conversations have contributed to the development and success of initiatives such as our demo program, in-store play days, competitive specials and programs, and product development.

Farrell: We work hard on maintaining relationships with our specialty retail customers.

We speak with them every day, we ask them for their input, and we listen to them.

We support ASTRA—I serve on the ASTRA Board—and all members of our company participate in ASTRA in some way.

Either they volunteer, take part in ASTRA Education programs, attend ASTRA Marketplace, or monitor and contribute to the ASTRA discussion boards on a daily basis.

Neat-Oh! also works closely with Learning Express and The Good Toy Group to create offerings that are unique and special for them as well.

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS | CHATTING WITH THE INDUSTRY Carson: All good relationships have to be built upon trust, and that’s one of the key tenets that we hope we’ve built with our retail partners: Say what you’re going to do, and then do what you say.

How do you compete with online retailers?

Osborne: I am one of them. I don’t compete, I join them. Shopping online is going to be a part of almost every specialty retail business in the nation. It’s going to have to be. We’re such a tech-savvy world and it’s not going to go away—it’s going to get more and more tech-savvy. We have to either create new tech that can be used for specialty, or we have to participate with our own web, or participate in third-party e-commerce.

Daly: We acknowledge and engage our guests promptly and offer “Minnesota Nice” knowledgeable service to each and every one of them, even if they tell us they are only here to browse or even just play with the demos. We have Bob the Bear for hugs, photos for the little ones, and every child gets a green logoed Gammy & Gumpy’s balloon upon leaving. We keep our restroom clean and fully stocked as well as a nursing and feeding area and changing stations with supplies. We happily gift bag and bow all purchases. We let our guests know wholeheartedly that we appreciate their business. We also have an in-house loyalty punch card. We don’t have an online web store and as old school as all of it seems, we’re building loyal repeat guests who tell us straight up that they would rather buy local and support us than buy online. It’s all about the experience we try and offer to every guest, every day. Web stores don’t smile.

Derr: Online is not us. I track it and sell a little online for those great customers that prefer to shop 24/7, but it isn’t our core competency. I focus on what we are— in-store brick-and-mortar—and do that very well. Online is important particularly during the holidays, but for most of the year the birthday business is very strong in store.

To back this up, my last four years of sales volume have been my four largest in 21 years—in spite of the online presence and growth of Amazon.

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Tanner: We don’t. We are honest with our customers, and then when we see the shift to discounting on the web, we find a replacement for that item. It is amazing to see all the new entrepreneurs entering the toy world and wanting to work with smaller brick-and-mortar stores as their entry point into the market.

Saldanha: Toy stores celebrate the wonder, surprise, and joy of being a child.

Wandering through a toy store with a child is an intoxicating experience (at least until it’s time to leave!). We lead with our product knowledge, make sure they test the new fidget spinner to ensure that it’s quiet and spins for a really long time, and help them

breakthrough innovations for our customers and consumers. This is what we did with Linkt Craft Kits and Zipes Speed Pipes. Both are huge innovations in the toy category and in their specific segments. At the same time, when our specialty stores ask us for a certain theme—a unicorn or a fairy or a troll—we do our best to deliver that as quickly as we can.

Carson: We’re a little bit averse to the red-hot trend and would rather focus on the underlying macro trends. While you can’t turn around without seeing a fidget toy these days, we’ve been building fidget elements into our products for years, for example Squigz, Coggy, and Ivan’s Hinge. Subtle elements, such as soft plastics, textures, and auditory feedback, all satisfy the same things that are fueling the current fidget craze.

Granted, it’s more difficult to capitalize at the macro level, but this is simply part of our focus on the long-term play.

Quartin: When we think about hot toy trends, we think about the science and technology that is at work. We are constantly on the lookout for new scientific discoveries and science trends to inspire our development. Over the last two decades, we’ve taught children about fuel cells, sustainable living, and renewable energy. More recently, we’ve taught about topics such as coding, robotics, and augmented reality. Staying on the cutting edge of science education helps ensure that children are learning about technologies relevant to their everyday life.

Wonder Works, Charleston, S.C.

wrap things up with a bow and a huge smile.

We also try to learn from online retailers— how to make a shopping experience easier and more convenient.

As a manufacturer, how do you capitalize on hot toy trends?

Farrell: At Neat-Oh!, we really try to stay true and focused on our mission to work with specialty retail and to make playtime even more special for children and their families. We tend not to try to chase after the hottest trends; spinners, for example, was not something we tried to get into.

What we do is look for relevant and

What is one recent change you’ve made to your store that has yielded positive results?

Derr: Social media has changed how we compete positively, and this is the single biggest change to not only survive, but also to thrive the last four to five years. I feel I have a tremendous advantage over corporations with more than 32,000 fans to talk with every day.

Tanner: Again, I would have to say the renovation and the combining of Babystop back under Kidstop’s roof. Several years ago, we opened a baby division and took all toys for kids ages 2 and under out of Kidstop. We added furniture, bedding,

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS | CHATTING WITH THE INDUSTRY gear, and baby must-haves into this mix.

We found this model to be less rewarding than we hoped due to the constant battle of the web and sales tax issues. It was a demanding job to compete and maintain costs for two storefronts, two websites, two of everything, so now under Kidstop’s roof we have the ability to compete online and spoil our customers with our fabulous brickand-mortar experience. We have picked the best of the best from our baby division and built a home for furniture and custom bedding within Kidstop’s walls. Along with the baby items, we have grown into a few gift items that sell very well for us, especially during the holidays.

Osborne: Adding birthday party rooms and expanding on the experience, which is the birthday party room or the Jungle Jumparoo. But it’s really embracing that and embracing birthdays because everybody celebrates birthdays. An average family of three has 26 parties to attend a year according to Harvard Business Review. So, you embrace birthdays, do birthday bins, do birthday parties, do special things for the birthday child that comes in, and do special birthday wrap.

The mass cannot do that.

Saldanha: We have a drop-in art studio our customers use for $8 per hour. Late last year we decided to donate that $8 to a specific charity of the month. Our customers love it. They love learning about new charities and let us know about ones they’re passionate about. And the intention of the room is very different—it’s more of a community space where people can meet each other and hang out while giving back.

Daly: We are fortunate to have a couple of dedicated part-time staff and have recently empowered them to make decisions without us to capture additional add-on sales in certain product lines, even if a slight discount is needed, to drive sales. They have the ability to throw an extra punch on our loyalty card as they see fit for guests based on total purchase amounts also.

What role does social media play in your marketing efforts?

Carson: Social media plays a big role in telling the story of who we are and what we’re all about, but it also allows us to communicate in ways that suit each individual taste. The days of talking “at” your customer are largely gone and have been replaced by conversations with customers on their own unique terms.

Quartin: Social media is a consistent and important presence in all of our marketing efforts and plans. It’s through our social media channels that we are able to spread the word faster and most cost effectively, so a social post schedule is something that is always included in our marketing campaigns. Through our Facebook and

Learning Express Toys, Lake Zurich, Ill.

Twitter followers in particular, we’ve built a community of customers, retailers, and press who are loyal to our brand, genuinely want to hear about our new products and promotions, and have come to rely on social media to keep up with what we’re doing. Social media campaigns allow us to reach this core group of supporters—and in turn their personal followers and audiences—quickly and efficiently.

Farrell: Our marketing efforts are very focused on social media—Facebook, Instagram, YouTube—and working with bloggers and reviewers. We connect with and follow our specialty retail customers so we can see best how to support their needs. We learn so much from seeing their posts and likes,

and by paying attention to what they’re talking about. We don’t do TV advertising.

How do you build and maintain visibility within your community?

Saldanha: kiddywampus is extremely involved in the community, from helping our schools fundraise through our donations to their events to serving on the boards of local non-profits to supporting our veterans, police, and fire departments.

We actively look for ways to support, give back, and amplify the positive energy in our community.

Daly: We work closely with our Mainstreet Stillwater Independent Business Alliance as well as our Greater Stillwater Area Chamber of Commerce and our Convention and Visitors Bureau on many year-round programs and community events that are both local- and visitor-focused. We join in sponsoring many of the family events throughout the year and are especially active in volunteering our time for the IBA Hometown for the Holidays program, which runs mid-November through Christmas. We also do our own in-store events, including photos with Santa and our Easter Egg Hunt, with an additional night for exceptional kids who may need more time.

Derr: Reputation is everything— and if you give back to schools, libraries, and fundraisers, and participate in kids’ lives positively, the return mojo is pretty amazing. We are the toy store in the northwest suburbs of Chicagoland where moms and grandparents trust us, have a good customer experience, receive fair pricing for value, and get the latest and greatest toys for their child—and it’s all done by making memories together.

Tanner: Working with different organizations and helping our customers with their favorite organizations has introduced Kidstop to hundreds of new customers every year.

One learns the most by getting involved.

We are a strong supporter and member of our Local First AZ organization (the largest local association in the country). One of

toybook.com | MAY/JUNE 2017 | THE TOY BOOK 37

SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS | CHATTING WITH THE INDUSTRY the biggest win-wins for us was joining our networking group, which meets weekly.

Members in this group have introduced us to many other organizations that want us to work with kids and ask for our assistance for events, education, etc. One memory that puts a smile on my face still today is a group of golfers that wanted to do something for kids and slow down the slip of tongue (cursing) on the golf course. So, we came up with the idea that every time they slipped with a bad word on the golf course, they had to put a dollar in their cuss box. Kidstop matched dollar for dollar. We raised thousands. Another group we have come to partner with has been the Visitors Board of Phoenix, which is the sponsor of the Care Card Event every year. To date we have helped raise thousands of dollars for nonprofits, such as Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and our new recipient this year will be the School for the Blind.

Farrell: We share samples with a few key bloggers who review and promote our products. This is an area where we plan to increase focus over the next few years.

Carson: Whether it’s organically or a paid sponsorship, our approach is really the same; it has to be authentic. If the influencer isn’t passionate about our product and our mission, the consumer will sniff that out in a hurry. No question, our best successes in this realm have been from influencers who were able to convey the joy and wonderment that our products brought to their own children.

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Tanner: Well, that crystal ball may become brighter after the ASTRA show, but I do feel that outdoor/active will remain strong as families reach for that experience factor. Of course, toys with the most advanced tech core should be strong, as many youngsters are as knowledgeable about the latest coding, tech, and modular pieces available to interface with toys as we were about rotary phones. The beauty of the fourth quarter is the higher price point that we are all willing to spend on our children during the holidays. Unless the tainting of the brand begins with that nasty emblem: “On Sale Now for..”

Saldanha: Plush is continuing to grow for us and I predict it will be an even stronger seller this holiday season. Funny games and group activities (such as puzzles) are also up, as multi-generational families look for ways to connect with each other. In this fastpaced, schedule-filled world, we find that customers are looking to be delighted and amused, so whimsical and silly items will do well. And, of course, anything having to do with mermaids, slime, and fidgets will also be big.

Osborne: Expand our promotions to get larger and larger every year and involve more and more key vendors in the industry.

I have two events now—Wonderfest and Elfstravaganza—and they both pull in about 7,000 individuals from the community who participate, and they’re free. Every child gets a free toy, and the vendors are just waiting to participate.

How do you work with digital influencers to promote your products and brands?

Quartin: Just as social media plays an important role in our marketing efforts, digital influencers are essential to the promotion of our products and our brand as a whole. We have a core group of influencers who have proven to be proficient in providing honest, helpful feedback about our products and in championing our brands. These digital influencers have become customer ambassadors of sorts: they have their own unique and loyal following who trust their opinions and recommendations, so by sharing their experiences with our products and brands, we’re able to reach a new audience that we may not have had access to alone. In turn, this provides us with an authentic and organic way to grow our personal database of Thames & Kosmos supporters.

variations); and a relaunch of Speks 512 Magnet Sets.

Gammy & Gumpy’s, Stillwater, Minn.

What products/categories do you predict will drive holiday sales?

Daly: As we are still very new to this (two years as of May 22), we will once again rely heavily on our wonderful reps, utilize our two grandchildren (ages 4 and 1) as toy testers, and, of course, read the ASTRA Connect Digest posts every day as we head into fourth quarter ordering.

Derr: Here is a snapshot of products we think will help drive holiday sales in 2017: Build Bonanza (LEGO Tape); Hatchimals CollEGGtibles by Spin Master; fidget toys; tween products (pillows, bath bombs, nail accessories); slime products (many

Osborne: One of the items is Neat-Oh!'s Zipes Speed Pipes, which is a remote-controlled car that runs inside a tube—it’s a building construction product. Also tech-oriented products that teach coding—Play Visions has a Smart Bot Robot this year. Kids can program it, and it’s really pretty awesome. The gadgets and the fidget spinners are still going to be huge; that is not going to go away. Gadgets is one of the top areas in our store. You always find a third of the customers in front of the gadget wall. Virtual reality items are going to be big this year, too.

Also License 2 Play, their interactive items, and Spin Master has an interactive doll. Spin Master’s Hatchimals CollEGGtibles are still going to be huge. The problem is you had to order them at the end of last year or in January and they don’t even have enough right now. Hatchimals will still be there, and the Little Live Pets—all that stuff is tech-oriented. People have to realize they’re not getting away from that. »

ASTRA’S and

WINNING MOVES USA Winning Moves USA brings back Monopoly Advance to Boardwalk, Monopoly’s first spin-off, which was originally published in 1985. In this version designed for players ages 8 and up, players compete to build the most valuable multi-level high-rise hotels along the historic seaside boardwalk.

In Clue Suspect Card Game, players use their cards to determine the suspect, weapon, and location of the crime. This game is designed for three to four players ages 8 and up.

Pictureka! Card Game challenges players to “find it fast, find it first!” There are four different ways to play: the high-energy “Alphabetti,” the calmer “Matchureka,” the cunning “Cow’s Creative Combo,” and the frenzied “8-Away.” Designed for two or more players ages 6 and up, this game features an illustrated deck of cards.

Nibbled, designed for kids ages 4 and up, is a fast-paced, easy-to-learn game that starts with kids clipping four plastic fish onto themselves. Then, they guess a color and flip a card. If they guess correctly, kids unclip one of their fish and clip it onto an opponent. The winner is the first player to unclip all their fish.

Designed for kids ages 10 and up, Sunk is a unique social, skill, and action game in which players add water—one drop at a time—to the cup floating in the water-filled Sunk tank without causing it to sink.

KAHOOTZ TOYS Kahootz Toys introduces Plasticine, the reusable, non-drying modeling compound originally invented in 1895. Plasticine never dries out or shrinks, doesn’t stick to kids’ hands, and always stays soft and pliable. Often used in stop-motion Claymation movies, Plasticine gives kids the creative expression to mold and sculpt whatever they imagine. The line features a 6-Color Play Pack, a 9-Color Play Pack, a 24-Color Rainbow Play Pack, and a Tool Kit with seven colors, five cutters, a sculpting tool, a roller, and an idea guide.

Kids can stretch their imaginations with Popoids, the classic bend and pop building toy. The latest addition to the Romper Room collection, the Popoids 60-piece building set let kids make endless wacky contraptions and crazy creatures. Pop together the colorful tubes and connectors, then bend, twist, stretch, and squish to change your creation over and over again.

Fashion Press by Fashion Plates—the Press & Punch Fashion Maker is an easy-to-use roller tool that lets kids press and punch out combinations from almost any kind of paper without tracing or cutting. They can start with the included paper sheets, then add to their collection with magazine pages, wrapping paper, construction paper, or even their drawings to create one-of-a-kind designs. Kids place the paper into one of the eight Fashion Press punch plates and roll through the roller tool to easily punch out tops, bottoms, boots, and more, then layer, embellish, and glue to the included model sheets to display in their portfolio.

LatchKits Craft Kits let kids loop, hook, and pull to create their own soft and fuzzy design to hang on the wall or use as a mini rug. Kids can create their own projects with the latch hook tool, pre-cut yarn, and color-coded, sturdy canvas, which features fabric-lined edges and hanging loops.

The Spirograph Jr. design set has jumbo-sized pieces that make creating Spirograph art easy for little hands, and an easy-to-carry drawing tablet doubles as a workstation and handy storage case to keep everything neat. The set includes easy-to-use gears, washable markers, design paper, and a handy instruction guide.

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ASTRA’S and

PILLOW PETS Pillow Pets introduces the Jumboz Sweet Scented Cotton Candy Unicorn. This Pillow Pet opens into a pillow and features a cotton candy scent. When kids close the hook and loop the strap, it turns back into a Pillow Pet. Pillow Pets also adds new Sweet Scented Pillow Pets to its collection. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pillow Pets smell like pepperoni pizza. Raphael is the newest character in the line and turns into a comfy pillow for bedtime. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, Raphael will be available this holiday season.

Jumboz Sweet Scented Cotton Candy Unicorn

CARRERA Carrera introduces the Mario Kart Mario Race Kart featuring sound effects. This 2.4 Ghz 1:16-scale R/C has authentic racing sounds and a stylish new design. Rolling out in the third quarter, the R/C’s controller will play random sounds when kids push the button. The vehicle can go up to 13 mph, and can run for up to 40 minutes on a single charge. The kart comes with everything kids need to play right out of the box, including a controller, a battery, and a charger, so no additional purchase is necessary.

MAGFORMERS Magformers LLC expands into new categories this year and introduces a new line of Dolce plush toys that encourage baby to develop sensory skills with a wide variety of sensory fabrics; observe colors and explore the world with soft mirrors; understand cause and effect through various activities; and enjoy fun and educational role play. The large Dolce Activity Zebra soothes an active child at bedtime. It is equipped with rattles, rings, mirrors, ribbons, and more, and kids can pull the zebra’s tail to hear songs. Bright, contrasting colors in unique fabrics will mesmerize and soothe kids. Activity Zebra also comes with a signature Dolce teether and its own dragonfly friend.

Dolce My First Owl Clock is an activity clock that introduces kids to the concept of telling time. With easyto-move hands, a knitted body, a squeaker, and a Dolce teether, this product is designed for kids of all ages.

Designed for kids ages 3 and up, Magformers My First Pastel 30 Set comes with new pastel-tone triangles and squares. Kids can build and create with 2-D puzzle cards and 1:1 figure cards, and follow along a variety of activities. They can lay their Magformers flat and match them to animals, then learn to build in 3-D when they pull them into Magformers structures. When playtime is over, use magnetic power to simply stack and store.

Clicformers use four different connection methods to click, stack, fold, and roll. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, the Clicformers Basic 50-piece Set lets kids build vehicles, airplanes, and animals.

Kids can go on a forest adventure with Magformers Log Cabin 48-piece Set. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, this set lets builders use Magformers building techniques—including wall, combine, and transform—to create cabins, tree houses, and more.

Kids can design and build organic structures with curved 3-D magnetic shapes with the Magformers Curve 20-piece Set. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the set encourages builders to use arches, sectors, and sphere sectors to build towers. Kids can also combine their design with all Magformers shapes.

Dolce Activity Zebra

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THAMES & KOSMOS Designed for kids ages 6 and up, Thames & Kosmos’ Monster Trap challenges players to catch all the monsters and hide them from Grandma Frieda before she sees them. Players use the sliders to push the monster as quickly as possible to the middle of the mansion and into the monster trap. Kids will have to work together in teams to do this. The player who pushes the most monsters into the trap by the end of the game wins. Monster Trap helps kids practice their gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and verbal communication skills.

The Magic Hat features a rabbit puppet and more than 40 other magic props so that kids can learn and perform 35 magic tricks. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, the set’s manual teaches most of the tricks in three easy steps accompanied by color instructions. Kids can pull a rabbit from a seemingly empty hat, make cards grow and shrink, make their magic wand float, bend, and grow, and more.

Thames & Kosmos adds Construction Vehicles to its Remote-Control Machines line. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, this set lets kids build eight remote-controlled construction vehicles and use a wireless remote to move the models around. Kids can also control the models’ construction apparatuses—such as diggers, shovels, and more—to move play construction materials. There are also instructions for two additional models available online.

K'NEX The K’NEX Thrill Rides Web Weaver Roller Coaster Building Set includes 399 K’NEX parts and pieces, including glow-in-the dark track and an air-propelled, spider-themed coaster car. This coaster can go from horizontal to vertical instantly. Designed for kids ages 7 and up, the set has full-color building instructions, and kids can also download building instructions for a second coaster on knex.com.

Fans of the TV series My Little Pony can build their favorite cuties with the My Little Pony Tinkertoy Building Sets. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, each set features a buildable pony and a buildable scene related to that character. Characters include Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. The Tinkertoy Deluxe 100-piece Wood Set includes 100 real wood, nostalgic Tinkertoy parts and pieces. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the set includes 15 building ideas and is packaged in an iconic tube.

Often referred to as the classic K’NEX “suitcase,” the 25th Anniversary Ultimate Builder Case has 750 classic, made-in-the-U.S. K’NEX parts packaged in a sturdy, portable storage case. Designed for kids ages 7 and up, the set also includes full-color instructions for 50 different models—most of which can be built one at a time.

The RotoKontrol 10-in-1 Model Remote Control Building System introduces a new way to control K’NEX. With this rotor-powered system designed for kids ages 8 and up, kids can build 10 different models and then make them move with the included remote control. A newly designed motor includes four rotor blades that allow kids to build a tank, a ship, a car, and a quadcopter that really flies.

Specially designed for builders ages 5 and up, the Creation Zone Building Tub comes with 50 unique building ideas. Kids can use the included full-color instructions to construct cars, planes, boats, and more, or use their imaginations to create their own model. More than 400 made-in-the-U.S. pieces come in a handy plastic RotoKontrol 10-in-1 Model storage tub.

Remote Control Building System

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ODYSSEY TOYS Odyssey Toys introduces ARIA's Adventures, an augmented reality interactive app that combines physical playing cards with a cell phone-compatible virtual reality headset to teach memory skills and facts about different animals. Kids will journey through the jungle with Aria as they learn about jungles, forests, animals, and other areas in the natural world. The 60 different animal cards come to life and each features specific facts. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, ARIA’s Adventures will be available in July.

Bumper Drone The Bumper Drone features a crash-proof protective airbag. The drone is equipped with hi-tech gear found in professional drones, including altitude hold, auto takeoff, and auto landing. Designed for kids ages 8 and up, the Bumper Drone will be available in August.

The Build-A-Drone lets kids construct their own drone. Kids use the building block pieces to make their own drone and then insert the motors to fly it. Build-A-Drone can be made with an 8- or 12-inch body and is designed for kids ages 12 and up.

PLAYMONSTER Wonder Crew, from PlayMonster, combines the adventure of an action figure with the emotional connection of a stuffed animal. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, each Wonder Crew Buddy is an awesome sidekick and confidante. The 15-inch buddy has a smooth vinyl head, arms, and legs, and a soft, huggable body. He comes with a superhero outfit, a cape, and a mask, plus a matching cape and mask for the child, promoting “adventure through friendship.”

Shellby, from PlayMonster’s Mirari line, is an adorable snail that is full of fun. Kids can drop the balls into the shell and watch them pop out of Shellby’s mouth when they tap the tail or when they roll Shellby along the floor. Designed for kids ages 1 and up, Shellby includes four 2-inch balls.

Mirari Juballees are a colorful, magical set of toy balls that kids can play with in lots of ways: mix, match, click, stack, and roll. The six halves easily click in place and can be mixed and matched to make new color combinations, and they can all click together to roll, or roll one by one.

Kids can shake the 2.75-inch balls for fun sounds. Designed for kids ages 6 months and up, this set helps to develop kids’ fine motor skills, cognitive learning, and sensory development.

Automoblox is a high-quality line of buildable and mixable vehicles that inspires imaginative play, creativity, and collectibility. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, each vehicle includes multiple interchangeable components and sports a body made of European beech wood. Kids can play with and collect sedans, trucks, vans, and more. The more they collect, the more customizing they can do.

Tinkineer’s Marbleocity introduces kids to engineering principles and physics concepts with dynamic hands-on model kits featuring precision-cut, made-in-the-U.S. wooden parts. Designed for kids ages 9 and up, the kit requires only household white glue and includes assembly instructions that read like a graphic novel.

Wonder Crew

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MUKIKIM Rock And Roll It—Drum Live!, from Mukikim, is a completely portable and flexible drum that features multiple instrumental tracks, demos, and sound styles; record and playback features; audio input and output; the ability to connect to MP3; and headphones. Kids can power it using batteries or the included USB. Voice N Go Racers are voice-controlled cars available in three styles and colors. Kids can wear the included sport watch on their wrist and speak commands such as “Go Forward,” “Go Back,” “Car Break,” and more. Kids can charge everything with the included USB, so no batteries are required.

Construct A Trucks are back with a new twist. The new City Builder and On The Job sets still include the two-in-one friction truck with the tools to take it completely apart and put it back together, but now they can also choose from role-play or pretend play collections for hours of fun.

Maze Craze will test kids’ reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and motor skills by challenging them to use the joystick to position the ball and move it through the maze the fastest. Maze Craze comes in two styles with an assortment available.

Mukikim’s SpyX line will introduce the Lite Hand and the Coin Safe this year, making 27 SKUs in total.

USAOPOLY Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle—The Monster Box of Monsters Expansion is an expansion pack for USAopoly’s Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle game, which lets players venture into the Forbidden Forest. Players can play as Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, or Luna Lovegood as they face frightening creatures and challenging encounters and avoid detention. Designed for two to four players ages 11 and up, this game challenges players to work together to defeat the evil forces, protect iconic locations, and make the wizarding world safe.

In the Super Mario Level Up! Board Game, players join Mario and his pals as they advance them up the Mushroom Kingdom, while challenging other players to gather the most coins and reach the castle at the top. In this game designed for three to six players ages 8 and up, kids can unlock Mushrooms, Super Stars, and Flowers hidden under “?” Blocks to help their team level up, but must beware of Goombas, Koopa Shells, Bullet Bill, and other players that try to sabotage their chance to become the kingdom’s top player.

Designed for two to six players ages 8 and up, Rollers Deluxe is a press-your-luck dice game in which players race to “open” and “close” numbers to complete their game boards. Once they close a number, their opponents have to pay up. Wild Stars help players make their sets, but the dreaded Zap cancels their roll.

In Clue: The Legend of Zelda edition, the Dark Lord Ganondorf has stolen the Triforce and is threatening Hyrule with his evil plans to rule the world. In order to fulfill the prophecy and defeat Ganondorf, players must find out who possesses the power to defeat Ganondorf, what item is required to defeat him, and where he has established his hidden lair. This game is designed for three to six players ages 8 and up.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Gear Up and Rock Out! An Awesome Mix Card Game offers new gameplay with the ragtag team from the movie franchise. Players can play as their favorite intergalactic hero as they do whatever it takes to avoid ending up with the worst gear. Custom Event cards add a new twist to every round and all bets are off when Ego comes into play. Designed for three to eight players ages 8 and up, this game challenges players to bluff, trade, and steal their way to victory.

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ORB Fluffables Scooterz, from ORB, are characters that kids can create and play with. Kids can pull back and release Ice Cream to watch him wiggle on the floor. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, each Fluffables is customizable and includes a mystery accessory for kids to open and reveal.

Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the Morph Prehistoric Play Pack includes the transformable, morphable shape-shifting fluff. This play pack comes with eight molds and four colors. Kids can shape characters and build scenes, then use the Morph Maker Tool to add fluffy textures.

ALEX BRANDS Alex Brands introduces more than 200 toys this year in multiple categories, including Sweetlings, crafts and DIY, tween spa, preschool, and more.

The new Sweetlings line features food-decorating crafts. Kids can make their Sweetlings characters come alive as they customize them with whipped clay and accessories. Sweetlings come in two different sizes and feature cupcakes, cake pops, donuts, and more.

Characters include HER MAJESTling, CHIRPling, and ROCK N ROLling.

The Alex Toys Happy Little Loom is a portable handheld loom that lets kids weave in multiple widths to make belts, bracelets, scarves, headbands, purses, phone cases, and more. The easy-to-use tool snaps into the back base when not in use for easy travel. The set includes multiple colors of soft yarn and beads.

Alex Toys introduces new items in the spa category, including Alex Spa Glitzy Locks. Kids can make their hair sparkle when they add colorful metallic designs, including hearts, stars, and butterflies. A special tool lets kids add sequin shapes to their hair, which remove easily with a comb.

Alex Brands’ Magic Kits Collection has a new look this year, including two new science-themed kits. The Magic Science Spectacular provides kids with more than 40 science-based tricks to help them learn physics, chemistry, and psychology. Experiments include the Swimming Squid, Hydrostatic Barrel, Refilling Cola, Disappearing Water, Clinging Beaker, Bizarrely Balancing Wand, and more. The set comes with a cellphone trick that is compatible with all smartphones.

Alex Future Coders is a collection of STEM-based toys and games that foster computing skills such as sequencing, problem-solving, estimation, and directional language. The line includes Robot Race, Cube Stackers, and Bunny Bot. The Janod line for preschoolers features The Spicy Cooker Kitchen, Mademoiselle’s Dollhouse, and Green Market Grocery Cart. Each is made of sturdy wood, features modern illustrations, and contains working parts and coordinating accessories to promote imaginative play and social development.

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EDGE INNOVATIONS Edge Innovations introduces Bottle Flip the Board Game, a fun and challenging board game based on the bottle-flipping social media sensation. Players battle to see who can earn the most bottle flip points and move along the board. Kids earn points from face-to-face “Flip Offs” and group “All Out Flip Outs,” or they can create their own challenges.

FAT BRAIN TOY CO. Bamboo Builder Marble Runs, from Fat Brain Toy Co., are eco-friendly sets that feature handcrafted carbonized tracks, colorful bamboo cylinders, and sustainable wood power spirals for kids to build up a variety of possible designs. The marble run sets are available in different sizes. The 78- and 119-piece sets each feature the basic towers, tracks, and a spiraling vortex. The 127-piece set also includes chimes that make music as the marbles roll; and the 168-piece set comes with two vortexes and more track. All of the sets are compatible so that kids can combine them to build bigger designs.

Rollobie is a gliding, rolling, rattling, sensory-building friend. With a soft, tactile fringe, colorful polka dots, and an enclosed rattle, Rollobie is great for teething and on-the-go play. Kids can turn her silicone horns to change her eyes from awake to sleep. Rollobie encourages gross and fine motor skills, tactile development, imaginative play, and auditory development. Rollobie is available in blue and green.

Quack Stack provides buildable, stackable, puzzle fun for the bathtub. Kids can fit the colorful, uniquely shaped duck pieces together on top of the wobbly suction-cup feet, and then pour water over the bright green spinner to see the wings flap. They can then take it apart and put it back together, let the duck float freely, or use the whole thing as a scoop to pour water. Quack Stack is designed for kids ages 1 and up.

Farm Alarm is a new memory game designed for two or more players ages 5 and up. Kids learn animal sounds as they repeat them in order of the cards: the cow says “moo,” the chicken says “bawk.” Kids are challenged to remember who said what last and repeat the sequence of sounds. Three wild cards—a parrot, a fish, and a seal—add to the auditory fun as kids are asked to repeat certain sounds, make silly faces, or clap. If players make the wrong noise or action and break the sequence, the other players can grab the soft pig and “squeal” on them.

Combining familiar parts, cutting-edge design, and collaboration, The Offbits system brings a new twist to classic construction toys. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, the character kits and vehicle kits come in four color schemes and include detailed instructions, a SuperTool, and a unique registration code so that kids can share their creation online with other creators. Each kit lets kids create at least three different models, in addition to the ones that they create on their own. The included five-in-one SuperTool is custom-designed to match the standard hardware sizes in every Offbits kit.

Animal Crackers are bright and friendly animals that kids can bend back and forth to hear different sounds. The hippo snaps, the lion cracks, and the elephant click-clacks. Kids can link animals together into a chain. Great for sensory development and teething, this baby toy is sized for little hands and easy travel.

Kids can get their brains cranking with Crankity. The object of the game is to build a puzzle solution between the red gear and the yellow wheel. When the gear teeth interlock, kids can turn the wheel and the contraption spins. The puzzles come in four different levels of difficulty, so the whole family can play. Each puzzle card shows gears in different colors and sizes, and how many of each players need to successfully complete the puzzle.

Bamboo Builder Marble Run

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NORTH STAR GAMES North Star Games introduces the new Happy Salmon Blue Edition. With six new card colors in the Happy Salmon blue fish pouch, up to 12 players can now join in the fun. Players flip their cards to match mini-celebrations in the group, act out the celebration if they get a match, and then discard. The first player to run out of cards wins.

Blurble is a new party game where players are challenged to be the first to say a word that starts with the same letter as the image on the card. The concept is simple, but leaves players tongue-tied as they try to get the word out.

ZING Blast Box from Zing is a balloon explosion game that combines suspense and strategy for an unpredictable burst. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, the game begins with each player inflating a balloon and tucking it under the blast box. Players then take turns using the spinner to determine how many pins to hammer into the box, choosing their pin placement carefully so as not to pop one of the balloons. Whoever successfully avoids popping a balloon is the winner.

Ghostbusters Firehouse

PLAYMOBIL Kids can get ready to work on the farm with the Playmobil 1.2.3 My Take Along Farm. Designed for kids ages 18 months and up, the set includes animals, a farmer, tools, and other accessories. The farmhouse doubles as a storage container when kids are done playing, as all the pieces fit inside and it has a carrying handle.

Playmobil also introduces a line based on the classic Ghostbusters film. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, the line includes the Ghostbusters Firehouse, and a buildable set that features Spengler, Stantz, and Janine figures. There is a detachable proton pack and proton laser, a ghost trap, a PKE meter, silicone slime splatters, and more to help kids on their imaginary ghost hunt. The Ghostbusters Ecto-1 will allow kids to speed through their ghostly adventures. The action vehicle set has functioning lights and sound effects, and includes Winston and Janine figures in their official uniforms, as well as other accessories. The line also includes Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Slimer with Hot Dog Stand, Venkman and Terror Dogs, and Spengler and Ghost sets.

Pharaoh’s Pyramid has treasures hidden in five chambers that are protected by puzzles and traps. Kids can discover the room filled with jewels and golden riches, or climb the stairs to enter the tomb chamber with a mummy. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, the set is equipped with a revolving door and a hidden booby trap.

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ROSEART RoseArt’s Sidewalk Chalk Stamper + Stencil & Sticks lets kids create powdered patterns on the sidewalk. The set includes a Chalk Stamper, three powder packs, three stencils, and two jumbo chalk sticks.

Sidewalk Chalk Paint Jumbo Paint Brushes features three Jumbo Paint Brushes in primary colors. Kids mix the colors with water, stir, and paint.

Also new to the line, the Sidewalk Chalk Paint Shake It Up Color Mixing Set features a color-mixing tray, a color-mixing chart, three powder buckets, three powder packs, a mixing bucket, three brushes, and a scoop.

All products are designed for kids ages 3 and up and wash away with water.

RUBIE’S COSTUME CO. Rubie’s Costume Co. expands its line of Imagine by Rubies’s year-round dress up sets with the Batman Muscle Chest Shirt Box Set. This ensemble includes a muscle chest shirt with a Velcro closure for easy wear, along with a matching black cape and a mask. Kids can also dress up as Batman’s sidekick with the Robin Muscle Chest Shirt Box Set, which includes a deluxe costume top and an EVA eye mask.

The Captain America Muscle Chest Shirt Box Set includes a muscle chest shirt Spider-Man Deluxe Costume Top Set with a light-up star icon, attached gauntlets, and a mask. The Minion Costume and Wonder Woman Box Set features the loveable henchman’s yellow and blue printed jumpsuit, a Deluxe Dress Up Set headpiece, and molded goggles.

Based on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Groot Dress Up Set includes a printed jumpsuit and an EVA foam mask. The Rocket Raccoon Dress Up Set features a costume top, a stuffed Groot that attaches to Rocket’s shoulder with Velcro, and a plastic half mask. The Star Lord Muscle Chest Shirt Set includes a foam-backed costume top and plastic half mask.

The Spider-Man Deluxe Costume Top Set, based on Marvel’s Spider-Man Homecoming, includes a muscle chest top and a matching fabric mask. Available in child size small, this superhero webslinger is neatly packaged in a window box.

The Wonder Woman Deluxe Dress Up Set, inspired by the Wonder Woman film, includes a dress, a gold lasso, a fabric tiara, and gauntlets. This warrior princess is perfect for everyday dress up. Available in child size small, Wonder Woman is packaged on a header card for easy display.

The Death Trooper Deluxe Costume Top Set, based on Star Wars: Rogue One, includes a top and a mask, available in child size small.

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DGL TOYS DGL Toys introduces Inflate-A-Mals, stuffed animals that kids can inflate. The Inflate-A-Mals Loveable Buddies come in large sizes, but once deflated, they can be easily stored and make for easy travel. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, Inflate-A-Mals are machine washable and hypo-allergenic.

SMART TOYS & GAMES GeoSmart UFO, from Smart Toys & Games, is a 25-piece set that lets kids build a UFO with magnetic construction pieces. Designed for kids ages 5 and up, this kit also includes a six-color LED light. The GeoSmart Moon Lander, designed for kids ages 5 and up, is a 31-piece set that lets kids build a moon vehicle that can roll via wireless remote control. GeoSmart sets feature a patented double-lock safety system, with each magnet encased twice so little ones can’t see or touch the magnets.

Mars Explorer allows kids to think about potential life on Mars and discover new paths to explore. Kids are able to build moving vehicles with lights that add to the thrill of maneuvering the Explorer in the dark. Designed for kids 5 and up, this 51-piece set includes lights, track wheels, a motor, and a remote control.

Kids can use squares and triangles to build their own solar creation and watch it spin with the Solar Spinner. The kit includes 23 strong, bright geometric pieces and a spinner.

The GeoSphere uses magnetic squares and triangles for kids to create their own geosphere and other original structures. GeoSphere includes 31 strong, bright geometric pieces. Once it is completed, kids can make it rotate by attaching the spinner.

In Snow White from SmartGames, players use logic to place the game characters in a vertical 3-D house according to increasingly challenging rules. Familiar characters, including dwarves, a witch, and Snow White, are all huddled around a forest cottage. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, it also includes a family-friendly picture book.

IQ Focus has 120 challenges that are tucked into this solo player puzzle for kids ages 6 and up. Players must focus on the central area of the game board to solve the puzzles in this IQ puzzle game. Fill the grid with 10 3-D, multicolor pieces to match what is shown in the challenge.

In Jump’In, players help rabbits jump and slide the foxes around the game board until all rabbits are safe in their holes. Early challenges require just a few moves, but increases as the game progresses. For kids 7 and up, it features 60 challenges plus a portable carrying case.

In Temple Connection, players find their way up and over bridges and down around the low roads to create paths that connect the temples. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, Temples feature ground and second floors in 80 different challenges.

My First Safari from SmartMax helps toddlers discover a crocodile, a lion, an elephant, a giraffe, a hippo, and a rhino. Creative kids can mix and match parts to make crazy animal combos. The chunky animal parts are made from soft material and easily click on the SmartMax bars, making them ideal for kids ages 1 and up.

Preschoolers can engineer the train with a conductor at the helm with My First Circus Train. Kids can mix and match the train’s vehicles to bring all the circus animals aboard. The animal parts are made from soft material and the parts of the train simply click on the bars.

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ART’S IDEAS Art’s Ideas adds Jenga Throw ‘n Go, which includes more block colors and new package graphics. The classic Jenga game features a colorful twist, with 54 hardwood blocks in new colors and a game die. Designed for kids ages 8 and up, the game is made to the exact manufacturing specifications as classic Jenga.

Jenga Giants JS7 comes with 54 oversized hardwood blocks that are 14 times the volume of a classic block. The game starts at more than 2 feet high and stacks to more than 5 feet high during play. Designed for kids ages 12 and up, Jenga Giants JS7 also includes a carry bag for easy travel and storage.

Jenga Ocean is made from more than 25 square feet of recycled ocean fishing nets, which are a harmful form of plastic pollution for ocean creatures. Designed for ages 6 and up, kids will protect the ecosystem while they play.

WECOOL WeCool introduces its patented Compound Kings line.

Compound Kings Fluffy is squishy like slime and comes ready-made, with no glue needed. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, it’s available in a range of colors, and is super stretchy.

With Compound Kings Powder, kids add water to make more than a pound of squishy slime. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, the slime is easy to make and ready in about 10 minutes. The packaging doubles as a storage container to keep the slime fresh.

Designed for kids ages 4 and up, Compound Kings Make Your Own is a DIY kit with 13 packets of powder to make slime-like custom-color compounds. It includes glitter and neon accessories, as well as mixing and measuring tools, and storage containers.

Kids just add water.

Designed for kids ages 4 and up, Compound Kings Neon lets kids brighten up their play with squishy slime in a rainbow of colors. This product is super stretchy and ready-made with no glue needed.

Compound Kings Bobble Bitz 3-pack features three containers of crunchy molding compound, designed for kids ages 5 and up. Kids can mold and shape it into creations to wear or display, such as window clings, rings, bracelets, and more.

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WHIFFER SNIFFERS Whiffer Sniffers expands its collectible scented plush line with new characters in Series 5. Kids can collect the new series of characters and add them to their collection of Whiffer Sniffers scented backpack clips, Super Sniffers, and Scratch ‘n Sniff Stickers. Each character has its own unique scent and quirky personality.

The first part of Series 5 will debut in July with Birthday Cake Jake, Strawberry Twirl, Rudy B. Floats, Mr. Fudgetop, Hal O. Ween, and the Mr. Gooeytop Gold Bag edition.

Debuting in September, the second wave of Series 5 will feature Cheri Cherry, Perry, Marty McPie, Ben Toasted, Ed Ng, and Berry Toasted Gold Bag edition. For Valentine’s Day 2018, Whiffer Sniffers will introduce Shirley Sweet and Larry Lovett.

Mr. Gooeytop Gold Bag

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GREAT PRETENDERS Great Pretenders adds the Deluxe Belle Gown to its dress-up line. The movie-inspired gown includes glitter, layered tulle, and organza details, which spill over the printed skirt. The bodice features glitter and trim details, and the gown is machine-washable.

The Reversible Snow White and Belle Capes feature reversible fairytale capes to match the Tea Party Dress collection.

The Classic Belle Gown features gathered organza over a yellow, satin material. The off-theshoulder dress features the iconic red rose. The bodice is made from crushed panne and includes glitter straps.

The My First Zoo! set features a giraffe, a lion, an elephant, a crocodile, a hippo, and a zebra. The set is made of all-natural material and is a safe teething toy.

Great Pretenders also adds new dolls that are made with all-natural rubber faces. Dressed in printed jumpers, the new Precious Set line of dolls is available in three different styles, and each set includes two dolls.

Deluxe Belle Gown

CIRCUIT SCRIBE Circuit Scribe introduces a pen that writes with conductive silver ink to create a working circuit. Kids of all ages can experiment with circuitry and electronics in a new way, using a piece of paper and a Circuit Scribe pen.

The Basic Kit includes a Circuit Scribe pen, six modules, a 9V battery, and other accessories. The accompanying workbook guides little scientists through topics including resistance, elements in parallel and series, and open and short circuits. Using the separate Basic Kit with Workbook, kids can explore circuit concepts such as conductivity as they work to create a touch-sensitive circuit using an NPN transistor.

The Maker Kit comes with a pen, 11 modules, a 9V battery, and other accessories to allow users to explore all the concepts that the basic kit presents, while building on the understanding of inputs, outputs, and signal processing in circuits. Additional topics that kids can explore include light sensing, timed circuits, piezoelectric materials, and more.

The Ultimate Kit supplies everything kids need to create dynamic paper circuits, featuring 10 magnetic connection cables that allow kids to hook up paper circuits to programmable platforms such as Arduino. With the Ultimate Kit, young scientists can make complex circuits. It comes with a blinker, a buzzer, a light sensor, an NPN transistor, two DPDT switches, and more.

The flagship conductive ink pen, the Circuit Scribe Pen, is now available to purchase separately from the kit. Kids can replace an empty pen from their kit, or use the pen with their own electrical components. Use it on any surface a rollerball pen will write on.

The Mini Kit is about the size of an old-fashioned Band-Aid tin and serves as an introduction to a simple circuitry lesson. The kit comes with a coin cell battery holder—which boosts the voltage to 5V—a slide potentiometer, and an LED light. Kids can explore basic circuit concepts by drawing conductive doodles, creating paper-based switches, and fading the LED light on and off with the slider.

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BEARS FOR HUMANITY Bears for Humanity’s mission is to, “Pay it forward, give back.” All of the company’s plush are fully compliant with Global Fair Trade requirements, are 100-percent Global Organic Textile Standard certified organic cotton, and do not feature any GMOs, harmful chemicals, or dyes.

The plush are hand made in the U.S. and studded and sewn by at-risk mothers and caregivers seeking to expand their opportunities through the Welfare to Work program, Cal-works. Bears for Humanity hires, trains, and pays a fair wage, offering employment to struggling members in the community.

Bears for Humanity also donates a Sherpa Bear to kids in need for every one bought, or makes a financial donation for each bear sold depending on the specific charity program.

There are several sizes and price points to choose from, including a selection of Animal Pals, Zoo, Farm, and Aquatic styles. Customization and personalization are also available.

EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS The GeoSafari Jr. Talking Microscope, from Educational Insights, introduces preschoolers to animals and plants with the updated version of the Talking Microscope, featuring the voice of wildlife conservationist Bindi Irwin.

The solar-powered and kid-controlled GeoSafari Solar Rover uses no chargers or batteries, and no assembly is required. Kids can harness the power of the sun and shadows cast with their hands can turn and move the Rover. Alternating sunlight and shadows on the solar cells powers the rear Rover wheels, and GeoSafari Solar turns the vehicle left or right. Blocking the Rover sun makes it fully stop. Once kids master these maneuvers, they can use the activity guide and three training course cones to create a custom Rover challenge course.

Wiggle Waggle Whiskers is a two-player strategy and spatial reasoning game for preschoolers.

To win, kids have to build the most fences for their cat or dog.

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Orca

GORILLA GYM The Gorilla Gym Kids Deluxe Package, from Gorilla Gym, is a full-scale exercise set designed for kids ages 3 and up. Each Gorilla Gym Kids Deluxe package includes the core doorway unit plus an indoor swing, rings, a ladder, rope, and a trapeze. This lightweight and portable set easily adjusts to the desired height. Kids can swing, climb, and play to bring the fun of the outdoors inside the home.

ASTRA’S and

GUND My Magical Sound & Lights Unicorn, from Gund, is a 17-inch animated plush. When kids pet the back of the stuffed animal, its wings light up and it makes sounds. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the plush also features a rainbow-colored mane and tail and sparkly accents on the harness, horn, and Pusheen and Stormy wings.

Sunglasses Collector Set Pusheen and Stormy Sunglasses Collector Set is part of a collectible series of box sets that feature Pusheen, the internet sensation, and her sister, Stormy. The 8.5-inch Pusheen and Stormy dolls wear matching sunglasses. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the set is packaged in a gift box with a window-style display.

Gund also introduces plush toys based on the Cartoon Network series We Bare Bears. Designed for kids ages 1 and up, We Bare Bears Grizz is a 12-inch plush that features accurate details. All three of Gund’s We Bare Bears characters stack for display.

Curious George Teach Me Fisherman is a 16-inch plush that features Curious George’s signature fishing hat and a functional vest that helps kids practice buttoning and snapping buttons and tying laces. Both pockets are fully functional, and a crinkle worm and a fish squeaker are also attached to help strengthen early skills. This plush is designed for kids ages 1 and up.

All of the plush are surface-washable for easy cleaning.

NEAT-OH! Linkt Craft Kits, from Neat-Oh!, make it easy for kids to create real metal jewelry in 30 minutes or less. Designed for kids ages 8 and up, each kit has everything kids need to make several creations. The metal rings are soft enough that kids can bend them by hand, but strong enough to make lasting, real jewelry. Kits also include a patent-pending layout tool that is lightweight and soft with slots that hold rings while kids work.

Kids can try to defy gravity with Zipes Speed Pipes. Designed for kids ages 5 and up, Zipes Speed Pipes allow kids to build mazes as vehicles speed through pipes instead of on top of tracks. The vehicle is remote controlled and the included cosmic strobe ball flashes different colors.

The Unity Doll Set is part of Neat-Oh!’s line of Everyday Princess products.

Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the Everyday Princess Unity Doll set includes three beautiful posable dolls—Ava, Lisa, and Haley. This set encourages imaginative play and empowers young girls to design and control their own creative realm.

Dino Duels are hand-painted figurines that bring out the colorful prehistoric world of long ago. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, each set include two dinosaurs that stand in fierce poses and are available in three styles: Dino Duel Triceratops & Brachiosaurus, Dino Duel Spinosaurus & Velociraptor, and Dino Duel T-Rex & Stegosaurus.

Slime! is a non-toxic gooey slime designed for kids ages 3 and up. It comes in an eight-pack assortment, with four different colors for kids to play with: green (swamp slime), blue (water slime), red (lava slime), and black (tar slime).

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Croco Jungle Research Station

SCHLEICH Large Red Barn with Animals & Accessories, from Schleich, is a new addition to the Farm World line. The modular set features a detachable roof and movable doors, and the included accessories allow for tons of play possibilities. Designed for kids ages 3 to 8, the set comes with a farmer, a cow and a calf, a fence, a a wheelbarrow, feed, and several other barn accessories.

Kids can grow their Farm World collection with the Farm World Starter Set, designed for kids ages 3 to 8. This playful set features classic animal figurines—a donkey, a rooster, a Holstein cow, and a sheep.

Kids can go on a wild adventure with the Croco Jungle Research Station. Designed for kids ages 3 to 8, this set features 27 accessories, four animals—a croc, a baby elephant, an orangutan, and a black panther—and a huge Croco skull with an upper jaw that can be opened and closed for a secret hiding place.

Kids can experience the new Horse Club adventure with the Mobile Vet. This on-the-go play set features a vet setup complete with a vet with moveable arms, a foal, Horse Club bandages, a prescription tablet, and other accessories. Designed for kids ages 5 to 12, the vehicle’s roof and side wall can be folded open, and for added play scenarios, the Mobile Vet can also attach the existing Horse Club trailer.

Designed for kids ages 3 to 8, the Wild Life Starter Set features classic animal figurines—a lion, a zebra, a chimpanzee, and a baby elephant, introducing kids to the world of wild animals.

Designed for kids ages 5 to 12, four new Bayala Mermaid Figurines expand the existing range.

DOUGLAS CO.

Dreamyfins Mermaid Tails

Dreamy Dress Ups, designed by NOA-POA in Europe and distributed by Douglas Co., adds Dreamyfins Mermaid Tails to its line. Each Dreamyfin is designed with vibrant colors, shimmering textures, and eye-catching details. They are available in mid-July in pink, aqua, and sea blue. The tails can be worn using an adjustable velcro closure at the waist. One size fits most kids ages 3 to 6.

Dreamy Dress Ups also adds Dreamycorns, a wearable unicorn headpiece. There are four styles to choose from, including pink with a pink mane, silver with a purple mane, turquoise with a multi-colored mane, and pink with a rainbow mane. Dreamycorns are worn using an elastic chin strap to keep them in place.

Douglas Co. introduces two new Princess Mermaids with long, multicolored hair that kids can brush and style. Arissa Rainbow Mermaid and Ciara Aqua Mermaid are available in three sizes.

Douglas Co. also brings magic to fashion with its latest Believe Sak Paks. At 10 inches wide and 12 inches tall, these backpack-style bags are available in two colors: soft pink and aqua blue. Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the bags are set to ship in early September.

Douglas Co. brings faux fur to its Crossbody Bag collection for older girls. There are four bags in the initial collection—Midnite Fur Crossbody, Moonbeam Fur Crossbody, Sunrise Fur Crossbody, and Twilight Fur Crossbody. Each has an over-the-shoulder faux leather strap mixed with chain.

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ASTRA’S and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

FOLKMANIS Folkmanis introduces the Hen Puppet, featuring a feathery red and brown plush body and a movable beak. Sweet and gentle, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Puppet is the ideal lap dog. Kids can animate its mouth and forelegs to bring this chestnut- and pearl-colored pooch to life. The Albert’s Squirrel Puppet is gray and white with tufted ears and movable mouth and legs.

In retro style, the Mickey Mouse Puppet dons his signature red shorts, large yellow-gold shoes, and white gloves. Kids can animate Mickey’s mouth and hands through the access point in the back. Additionally, there are pockets in the gloves to wave, clap, and blow kisses.

ASTRA’s Marketplace attendees will be the first to preview the newest puppet introductions from Folkmanis. Highlights include a Narwhal with spiral tusk and mottle-printed fabric, a brilliantly colored Mini Red Octopus Finger Puppet, an internet-inspired Screaming Goat with a sound feature, and Goofy, another addition to the Disney Classic Character Puppet line.

IDENTITY GAMES Identity Games will launch new licensed editions of its Find It Games this year.

Where’s Waldo requires readers to find a character named Waldo hidden on a busily illustrated page. Waldo’s distinctive redand-white-striped shirt, knit cap, and glasses make him slightly easier to find. That same focus and concentration is needed in the Where’s Waldo Find It Game.

Another children’s books series, Captain Underpants, returns as a Find It Game filled with characters from the whimsical storyline.

Sesame Street Jr. features characters, including Big Bird, Elmo, and Ernie, in a Find It container with larger-than-usual pieces designed for younger players.

In the Crystal edition, designed for older kids and adults, every pellet and each findable item is transparent—or “crystal clear.”

This Find It Game might be the most challenging edition ever.

The Animal Jam edition, based on the National Geographic online game, features Monkey, Panda, Penguin, and Koala, among dozens of two- and four-legged pals.

In Miffy Hide & Seek, one player hides Miffy, who chirps out little hints when hidden. The other players use the enclosed clue cards to find her in a secret hiding place. This game is designed for kids ages 1 and up and lasts about 10 minutes.

In Elmo Hide & Seek, preschoolers try to uncover Elmo as he hides. This game requires no reading.

In the Poopyhead Card Game, designed for players ages 6 and up, players lay cards on the pile in the right colors and sequence: toilet, poo, wipe, and wash hands. As soon as a player is unable to play a card, they squeeze the whoopie cushion to end the round. The player with the most cards left must place a pile of poop headband on his or her hair. After five rounds, the player with the most piles loses the game.

Crozzit features twists from step one to step 18 as two players try to connect their color across the board. One player tries to connect the two blue sides, while the other tries to connect the yellow sides. This strategy game is designed for kids ages 8 and up.

In Who’s The Dude?, for kids ages 16 and up, players play charades with a fullsize blow up doll named Dude. Players pick up a card and then get friends to guess what they are doing with help from the Dude.

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SOPHIA’S Sophia’s introduces the Picnic Lunch Play Set, a 12-piece set designed for 18-inch dolls. The set includes play food, such as pink lemonade, sandwiches, and cupcakes, and accessories that can all be stored in the floral “thermal” cooler. It also coordinates with other Play Food Sets from Sophia’s.

PACIFIC PLAY TENTS The Balloon Adventure Mesh Dome Tent, from Pacific Play Tents, features brightly colored balloon designs to send kids’ imaginations soaring. This tent includes colored fiberglass poles and a tunnel port with hook-and-loop fasteners. The door curtain with polyester hook and loop ties gives kids privacy while the mesh roof allows adults to keep an eye on them.

The Farm Animal Chairs each feature a sturdy steel frame, durable cross-woven fabric, and ABS plastic textured feet. There’s also a safety lock mechanism to prevent accidental closing on kids’ fingers, and a padded back for extra comfort. The playful chairs fold up into a carry bag and have a designated space where kids can write their names.

Kids can welcome others to their Food Truck Play Tent, which comes complete with an order window and menu. Big enough to fit kids and their friends, the food truck comes fully equipped with mesh windows, inside pockets, and an order window with a roll up flap so kids can serve their customers. When the food truck is not open, kids can roll down the window.

The Santa Fe Teepee Play House, made of durable polyester taffeta, is an easy-to-set-up teepee that kids can use indoors or outside.

The teepee is large enough for friends and family and has brightly colored walls featuring different designs. There is an easy access opening and a tunnel hole with a roll-away flap, which fits all standard Pacific Play Tents tunnels. The Santa Fe Teepee Play House features a polyester taffeta floor for easy cleanups and color-coded poles for easy assembly and extra durability. The tent folds and stores in the included carry bag.

Kids can take their tree house indoors or outside with the Tree House Dream House. Featuring sturdy, wood poles, this hideaway is spacious and features graphics that encourage kids to use their imagination. There is no floor attached, so kids can place their favorite blanket beneath it. There are mesh windows for added air ventilation as well as a roll-up door.

Farm Animal Chairs

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THE HAYWIRE GROUP In Beekeeper, The Haywire Group’s new sequencing card game, players handle the hives as the swarms of drones and queens flip and rearrange. The first player to create two hives by placing his or her cards in consecutive order becomes the Queen Bee. Hey! Those Are My Glasses is a simple game of shapes, designed for kids ages 4 and up. Kids match the shapes of the glasses with the shapes on the die, and collect every match they make.

In Mars Needs Heroes, the peaceful Martian colony is under siege from galactic invaders. Players must use their team of allies to outplay the other teams and capture the most invaders to win the game.

Slow Poke is a take on the classic game of Old Maid, featuring a colorful collection of nature’s most laid-back creatures, including the sloth. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, the card game features animals such as turtles, koalas, basset hounds, and garden snails.

Mixxie Mermaid

ADORA

Adora, a division of Charisma Brands LLC, introduces Zippity Hug ‘N Hide Celeste. Celeste the unicorn features a light blue, soft plush body with pink ears. She has big lavender embroidered eyes, a purple yarn mane, and playful patterns.

The Zig Zag Medium Shade Umbrella Stroller fits up to a 20-inch doll and encourages kids to nurture and care for their baby dolls on the go. It features a storage compartment and a convertible shade, and folds up for easy storage. Made for kids ages 3 and up, this stroller features a vibrant teal and zig zig design.

Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the TravelTime Fairy Play Set includes a retro travel trailer with an opening and closing door, a pass-through window, and a zipper closure. Kids can unzip the travel trailer to reveal the room’s interior. Two removable wheels become seating for the included 5.5-inch plush fairy doll. This play set is designed for easy transport and features a carry handle.

Mixxie Mermaid includes nine interchangeable pieces and encourages little ones to learn and enhance their motor skills. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, the mermaid features vibrant colors, fun patterns with large colorful buttons, and yarn hair that kids can style. Mixxie Mermaid is part of the Mixxie Mopsie collection, which includes Mixxie Mopsie Jazzy Sparkles, Hugsy Daisy, Mixxie Pony, and Mixxie Kitty.

The ToddlerTime Baby Bubba Bear is a brown-eyed doll that wears an oatmeal-hued sweater with a bear appliqué on the chest, white and black cross-patterned pants, black sneakers, and a brown cap. Bubba Bear is 20 inches tall and is made of baby powder-scented, high-quality vinyl. This toddler doll with moveable head, arms, and legs has a weighted body complete with a diaper for realistic play and allows kids to develop social skills while engaging in nurturing fun. ToddlerTime Baby Bubba Bear is designed for kids ages 6 and up.

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DUNCAN Duncan’s new Splash Attack Action Net opens up an array of games with balls that skip across the water’s surface. Kids can simply inflate them, place them in the water, and let the competition begin.

SNAPTOYS Snaptoys launched a range of toys based on The Jim Henson Co.’s Netflix original preschool series, Word Party. The show follows four baby animals—Bailey the Elephant, Franny the Cheetah, Kip the Wallaby, and Lulu the Panda—as they sing, dance, and play. The show invites young viewers to help teach the baby animals new words, practice these new words themselves, and celebrate these achievements with a Word Party! The series made its debut last June and season three is currently in the works. The line features 7-inch Small Babies plush assorted in a PDQ display and 10-inch Snuggle and Play Babies plush. The Snuggle and Play Bailey and Kip are holding a blankie for sleep time, and Franny and Lulu are holding a bottle for snack time.

Snaptoys also presents its fall line, Party-Jammies. Every day is a slumber party with this line of four 12-inch soft dolls: Penny, Bonnie, Terry, and Bree. Each doll comes with stylish hair, a matching comb with hair clips, and trendy, animal-themed onesies with removable hoods. For kids ages 3 and up, these huggable plush make perfect slumber party companions. The line also includes a pop-up tent.

Snaptoys’ spring 2018 line will include wood toys and electronic preschool toys, made for kids ages 18 months and older.

EPOCH EVERLASTING PLAY LLC Epoch Everlasting Play LLC, formerly known as International Playthings, introduces its newest brand, Whipple. Designed for kids ages 7 and up and available this August, the Whipple line is designed to foster creativity and let kids create objects they can wear, share, and collect.

With Whipple’s signature craft crème, kids can design and decorate a full line of fashionable, inedible treats, including two-tier cakes, pastries, macarons, sparkle cookies, creamy doughnuts, and more.

Whipple’s Starter Set includes everything kids need to begin a collection. Kids can craft nine unique decorative pastries using Whipple’s white crème, fruit, rhinestones, beads, and other included accessories.

Epoch Everlasting Play will also showcase Aquabeads and Calico Critters at ASTRA.

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Wheelie

CUDDLE BARN Cuddle Barn introduces Preston the Storytelling Pig, which recites the full story of the Three Little Pigs with synchronized head and mouth movement. The set also includes four finger puppets.

The new Wheelie plush lights up and sways to the “Wheels on the Bus.” The mouth moves to the beat of the classic song.

Dalton the Storytelling Dragon is also new to the Cuddle Barn line and recites five classic fairytales.

The purple and green dragon features soft lights that change color as it recites the stories. The dragon’s feet feature pause and play buttons, so that kids can pause or skip to the next story, and each story ends with a critical thinking question about the story. The book features Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, The Ugly Duckling, and Sleeping Beauty. Twinkles is a mint-colored owl that flaps its wings and sways gently to “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Hush Little Baby.” The soft plush also features soft, color-changing lights. Twinkles comes packaged in a box.

La Calaveras—Jose is a celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The colorful skeleton dances and moves his arms to the festive song, “Chumbala Cachumbala.”

MINDWARE Mindware’s Conduct Dough uses science to turn soft dough designs into glowing works of art. Kids choose one of 16 design options and use the squishy dough to complete the picture. Then they’ll learn about basic circuitry and currents as they properly position custom-engineered LEDs onto their creations and plug in the wires to watch them light up. Designed for kids ages 5 and up, this unique kit is a safe and creative way to introduce kids to STEM concepts.

In Invisible Think, players take turns racing against time to get their teammates to guess the word instructed on one of the drawing cards. Designed for four to eight players ages 10 and up, this game features two twists: Not only is there a forbidden word that the team is not allowed to guess, but players or the entire team also wear special red-lensed glasses that make the red-ink drawing appear invisible. Players spin the spinner before each turn to determine if the drawer, guessers, or the entire team have to wear the glasses.

Q-Ba-Maze has a unique design that lets kids ramp up their marble runs and allow for a limitless range of configuration options. The 7.5-inch straight-away rails connect easily to any cube or to each other to create tracks that send marbles zigzagging through the maze of colorful cubes. Plus, the double exit cubes keep kids wondering which way the marbles will go. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, Q-BaMaze Extreme Rails includes single cubes, double-exit cubes, bottom-exit cubes, quad-exit cubes, coaster tubes, marble catches, straight-away rails, and marbles.

With Paint Your Own Porcelain Expressions, kids can paint high-quality porcelain letters using the included color guide or choose their favorite palette. The expressions Love, Wish, and Peace are ready to paint right out of the box. Designed for kids ages 8 and up, this set includes full-color instructions to show kids how to create the artistic effect they want with color mixing, brushing, sponging, and more. Then, kids can oven bake the painted expression for a glossy, permanent finished product.

In support of ASTRA’s Neighborhood Toy Store Day on Nov. 11, MindWare created kits that include everything toy stores need to host a playdate.

In addition to T-shirts, balloons, and posters, product options include Dig It Up! Dinosaur Eggs, Minerals and Fossils, and Big Bugs, each with a chisel and an excavation guide; Paint Your Own Ornaments, each with paints and a paint brush; and Paint Your Own Picture Frames, each with paints and a paint brush.

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GREEN TOYS Green Toys’ House Playset is a multi-level house with a staircase, a bed, a bathtub, a table, and two chairs. Designed for kids ages 2 and up, it also includes a yellow convertible and two mouse characters. Kids can place the moveable stairs anywhere along the second level, and the fully open balcony on the back of the play set allows them to arrange the accessories in different ways. The accessories all fit inside the house, which makes for easy clean-up and storage. The set is made in the U.S. from 100-percent recycled plastic with no BPA, Cake Maker Dough Set phthalates, or PVC. Green Toys’ Dough Sets include several tubs of non-toxic dough, made in the U.S. from simple ingredients such as organic flour. Each set is bundled with quality tools and accessories that are made in the U.S. from 100-percent recycled plastic. Designed for kids ages 2 and up, sets include Race Car Maker, Cake Maker, Meal Maker, and Flower Maker.

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Classic Builder Fire Engine Kit

BBTOO BBtoo introduces Math Blast, an educational learning activity that reinforces the concept of counting and number recognition. Math Blast requires the repetition of counting, which is key to early learning, and includes 10 number cards; plus, minus, and equal sign cards; and assorted colorful pom poms.

Using colorful shapes, children create their own unique mandala, or use the cards to follow suggested patterns with the Classic World Mandala Blocks. The blocks help develop movement, coordination, and concentration skills.

With the Classic Builder Fire Engine Kit, kids can follow instructions and build the set model, or be creative and construct their own unique model. The kit encourages building and engineering skills, while developing fine motor and problem-solving skills.

Bebe Folie Cooling Gel Mat is waterproof and cools babies for three to four hours with no need for refrigeration. This cooling stroller mat is suitable for all kinds of baby strollers on the market. The U-shaped bottom and three pairs of notches at the shoulder are adjustable for babies and toddlers.

ZUBIIX Kids is a new approach to building room dĂŠcor. No tools are needed to build these whimsical animal-themed designs because the interchangeable joints and panels are durable, strong, and easy to assemble.

Kids can assist in the building process of their own piece of furniture, or be creative and add a back panel, a door, or a locker function. The cubes can be arranged in any pattern for a unique look.

DIGGIN Diggin will expand its Slimeball line with the Slimeball Gobzooka blaster, which shoots Slimeballs more than 25 feet.

The Gobzooka is the only air-powered blaster that can launch slimeballs, which are soft and leave no marks on any surface.

Designed for kids ages 6 and up, the set includes a Gobzooka blaster and two Slimeballs.

Also new to the Slimeball line, the Slimeball Bow features a built-in recoil launch mechanism, contoured grip, and an easy-to-use aiming system. Kids can pull back the Flinger Ball and launch. The specially designed viewfinder helps line up shots for accuracy. Flinger Balls stick only to the poster and leave no marks on any surface. Designed for kids ages 8 and up, the Slimeball Bow includes an 18-inch target poster, a bow, and two flinger balls.

Diggin will also add the Spinos magnetospheres to its collection. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, Spinos is a force field ball that is controlled with a power ring. Kids spin the Spinos to create a magnetic force field around the ball, and use the power ring to remotely control the magnetosphere.

Requiring no batteries or electricity, players can feel the power between the ball and the ring.

The Spinos Battle Game is a force field battling game.

Each player spins their Spinos on their side of the arena and tries to knock their opponent off the arena. The set includes two Spinos, two power rings, and a battle arena. When kids use pieces from other trax series, they can create maze challenges that lead up to the final battle.

Spinos Mega Trax Challenge is a magnetospheres game in which kids can set up a course and race with friends. The set includes one Spinos, one power ring, and a 20-piece trax system that comes with a tunnel, a tight rope, a see-saw, ramps, swerve trax, and a launch pad.

All of the sets are compatible and let kids build and expand their trax systems.

Slimeball Gobzooka

ROBOTS REIGN SUPREME One Click Retail Examines the Rise of Robotic Toys in the Marketplace

by NATHAN RIGBY, vice president, sales and marketing, One Click Retail IN 2016, GADGETS WERE THE STAR of the show on Amazon. Fitbit and DJ Roomba, two “intelligent” devices, were among the most purchased items. When it comes to toys, this trend was even more pronounced, with the ultimate gadget­­— robots—leaving all other toys in the dust.

With the recent release of Amazon Lex, the company has proven its commitment to having a major role in robotics.

The unchallenged toy of the year on Amazon was Cozmo, the intelligent robot for kids from San Francisco-based artificial intelligence start-up Anki. The cute, palmsized robotic pet currently sells for $172.99 on Amazon and brought in $15 million in 2016—and Anki has more than just Cozmo to celebrate about. Anki Overdrive, the follow-up to its first product Anki Drive (the

most successful toy on Amazon in 2015), held on to second place last year. The Anki Overdrive Starter Kit, a toy car set with a customizable racetrack upon which robotic cars can be raced with one or more of them controlled by the player via an app on their mobile device, generated $10 million in sales, just behind the same company’s Cozmo robot.

“...they’ve identified and addressed a market trend that incumbents have failed to capitalize on.”

When new market entrants experience this kind of runaway success, it’s a sign that

they’ve identified and addressed a market trend that incumbents have failed to capitalize on.

But Anki’s robotic toys were not the first to market. LEGO, historically one of Amazon’s most successful first-party vendors, has been developing its Mindstorms series of intelligent toys for years, with its latest robot, EV3, generating $6 million in sales, to secure a place as the fourth best-selling toy of 2016 (down from second place in 2015).

Overall, robotic toys grew 40 percent to climb into the top 25 toy categories on Amazon last year, with total sales in excess of $25 million. The category spans a variety of toy sub-categories, including vehicles, boys’ role-play, learning and explorations, and the broader drone category.

Not all of these toys are equipped with artificial intelligence (AI). The common qualifier is that these tech toys have features that react to external human commands or help kids build programming skills (this is the reason that some non-robotic gadgets, such as remote-control vehicles, get lumped into the robotic toys umbrella). Despite the broadness of the category, genuine AI drives the most sales on Amazon. For example, in addition to Anki’s claim on the top two best-selling toy spots and LEGO’s place in the top five, the sixth best-selling toy last year was the Osmo Genius Kit, an AI-enabled education gaming platform, earning $5 million in sales.

AMAZON LEX OPENING MORE DOORS Outside of toys, AI was no less successful. The top selling item overall on Amazon during the 2016 holiday season was Amazon Echo, the voice-activated speaker

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TOP-SELLING

Cozmo, from Anki CHiP, from WowWee

ROBOTIC TOYS VEHICLES

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ANKI OVERDRIVE STARTER KIT

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HOT WHEELS AI

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MAISTO TECH ROCK CRAWLER 3XL

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AIR HOGS THUNDER TRAX

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TYCO TERRA CLIMBER

ANKI

MATTEL

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BOYS’ ROLE PLAY

that connects to Amazon’s intelligent Alexa Voice Service.

In April, Amazon made Lex, the technology that powers the Alexa virtual assistant, available to developers (previously available in a “preview” edition). In the company’s own words: “You can use Amazon Lex to build chatbots and other types of web & mobile applications that support engaging, lifelike interactions. Your bots can provide information, power your application, streamline work activities, or provide a control mechanism for robots, drones, and toys.”

This openness is part of Amazon’s larger strategy, as we can see in its promise to make the technology powering Amazon Echo, including the microphone that listens to Alexa commands and the software that decodes them, available to third-party manufacturers. This suggests that Amazon is very intent on playing a major role in the development of AI, robotics, drones, and toys. Even if new developers make use of this technology to improve on Amazon’s 84 THE TOY BOOK | MAY/JUNE 2017 | toybook.com

designs and manage to outcompete their products, Amazon still owns the core software. This is classic vertical integration: Amazon owns both the underlying technologies and amazon.com, a retail platform that is a proven destination for shoppers seeking out robotic toys.

Ultimately, Amazon Lex, a proven AI technology, will create more opportunities for new and existing toy companies to bring more robotic toys to market. Consumer trends are already shifting toward robotics and AI, and it’s clear that Amazon means to shepherd that trend. »

Nathan Rigby is vice president of sales and marketing at One Click Retail. One Click Retail delivers sales data to its brand manufacturer clients selling on the world’s top e-commerce platforms. For more insights, follow One Click Retail at www.oneclickretail.com.

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ANKI

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MATTEL

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MATTEL

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MATTEL

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MATTEL

COZMO BLOXELS MINECRAFT STOP-MOTION MOVIE CREATOR

VIEW-MASTER VR STARTER PACK THINGMAKER 3-D PRINTER

LEARNING & EXPLORATION

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WOWWEE

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ELENCO

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WONDER WORKSHOP

4

OZOBOT

5

THAMES & KOSMOS

CHIP

SNAP CIRCUITS JR. DISCOVERY KIT DASH

OZOBOT STARTER PACK REMOTE-CONTROL MACHINES

DRONES DJI PHANTOM

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DJI

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AUTEL ROBOTICS

3

YUNEEC

4

3DR

5

AIRDOG

X-STAR QUADCOPTER TYPHOON H 3DR SOLO DRONE AIRDOG

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM

CODING TOYS

What concepts do these toys really teach, and is this category here to stay?

by SEAN MCGOWAN, managing director, Liolios Group STEM HAS BEEN A HOT TOPIC FOR years—especially in the toy industry, with rising interest among toy manufacturers, educators, investors, journalists, and consumers. The rise in popularity of STEM programs, toys, and more could be the result of a series of failures that have sparked anxiety about how our kids are learning. For example, our schools have failed to teach our children the basics of math and science, our economy has failed to provide decent employment opportunities if candidates lack technical backgrounds, and leading tech companies have failed to hire more women. I’m not saying these failures are the only reason that STEM toys have been brought to market, but these

failures have fostered the anxiety among parents that helps drive demand.

The fact is we have a burning need not only to teach STEM skills, but also to make the very idea of STEM more appealing to a broader segment of our young citizens. The goal of getting kids more interested in and capable of tackling subjects such as science and math is a very noble one, but we need to be honest with ourselves about what we can achieve. Recently, a specific segment of the STEM trend—coding—took center stage.

Toys that teach coding are a subset of the larger group of toys that are connected to science, technology, engineering, and math. These toys provide kids with practical applications of the concepts learned in an educational setting.

This burgeoning segment reminds me of another market for learning toys that soared high and then crashed hard.

The market for “electronic learning aids” saw explosive growth a generation ago with companies such as VTech and LeapFrog pushing technology that promised, ostensibly, to make kids smarter and more successful in school. Billions of investment dollars flowed into the sector, with major toy companies beefing up their product offerings to tap into this newly found demand. But alas, consumer

demand didn't match the intense interest on the part of investors and educators. What some companies were “selling” was a system of pedagogically robust, carefully curated content designed to help kids learn, but what many parents were really “buying” was a babysitting tool that made them feel good about their parenting.

When it comes to coding toys, we should be realistic about the goals we want to achieve and manage our expectations of how these toys will further kids’ development.

Despite the omnipresence of electronics, we don’t necessarily need to know how to code any more than we need to know how to grow corn, milk or butcher a cow, or build a car or a plane. We can enjoy the benefits of technological progress without needing to know exactly how it all works.

I bought my first car in 1979. I could do all the basic maintenance myself—change the oil, belts, and spark plugs; replace the battery and tires; etc. Today, I wouldn’t even dare attempt this stuff because of how computer-driven everything is, but that doesn’t make my car any less useful.

So, the big question remains: Do coding toys really teach coding? Some of the underlying play patterns we see in these toys—such as programming a vehicle to follow a pattern of movement that a child makes up—are not new. I had a toy car more than 40 years ago that came with a set of cards

Debuting this fall, SPIN MASTER’s Meccano line expands with M.A.X., the most interactive Meccano robot to date. M.A.X. combines artificial intelligence and customizable programming to create a one-of-a-kind personal companion for kids ages 10 and up. Features such as infrared navigation and customizable apps provide almost limitless potential for personalization and interactivity. M.A.X. also includes a built-in gaming platform for added fun.

With Robotics Workshop, from THAMES & KOSMOS, kids ages 10 and up can build and program robots using sensors, motors, a core controller, and hundreds of snap-together building pieces. Kids can assemble 10 different robots using the included instructions, or they can create their own robot designs. Kids can also program their robots to perform a series of commands using an app for iOS or Android tablets and Windows PCs.

that could be cut along certain dotted lines, inserted into a mechanism in the car, and cause the car to follow a driving pattern that I created. Was I learning coding? Today’s coding toys come with chips and buttons­—not cards that need to be cut—but is pushing a sequence of buttons on a toy really the same as learning how to code?

Maybe the best example of a kids’ product that teaches coding is Minecraft. While Minecraft is not technically a “coding toy,” it is one of the most successful video games of all time, and a big part of its success has been the fact that users can write modifications (“mods”) for the game for a completely customized experience. The fact that users can create these mods makes the game more appealing, but I think it is unlikely that the mods are the main reason kids liked the game in the first place.

We can all agree that good is coming from this onslaught of toys that teach coding.

At the most basic level, the best STEM toys encourage open-ended play, which child-development experts agree is better than toys where a kid pushes a button and watches a toy do its thing. Plus, if kids are introduced to the basics of coding at an early age, they are less likely to be intimidated by technology at a later age, and perhaps will want to learn more about advanced programming.

Of course, technology being the ever-progressing creature that it is, coding itself will likely get easier. Just as devices such as TVs and phones become smart enough to be programmed by everyday consumers (no more big black boxes in your living room flashing “12:00” over and over), operating systems such as Unity make it relatively easy for gamers with virtually no coding expertise to create a video game from scratch. So, the coding concepts we hope toys can teach kids today may not be the coding they “need” when they get older.

Some of the coding toys on the market really focus on helping kids understand the

importance of two things: logic and process flow. It’s clearly beneficial to learn how “if/then” logic works: If you do specific tasks in a certain order, you will get a desired outcome. Though advances in artificial intelligence may give our creations the ability to correct the programming errors of their creators, we can all benefit from kids learning the rudiments of programming.

Many coding toys currently on the market are presented in a fairly gender-neutral way, allowing girls to be less intimated about pursuing interests that are all too often assumed to be the domain of boys. LEGO’s Mindstorms and Spin Master’s Mecanno Meccanoid are terrific toys that combine classic construction with modern coding and programming. There is no good reason why the ranks of professional coders at the nation’s top tech companies are so disproportionately male, and maybe it’s a good idea to let all kids feel the thrill that comes with designing a successful programming sequence, even if it’s just getting a caterpillar to move around the floor on a path that they design. And it works for boys, too: Coding toys can build confidence, which is beneficial for learning across many subjects.

Another benefit of the coding toy movement is that many of the companies that have innovative products in this segment are newer, smaller companies. LEGO, Mattel, Hasbro, Spin Master, and others have excellent product offerings, but I think the whole industry benefits when smaller companies get more exposure.

But while we’re on the subject of making STEM-oriented play patterns more “inclusive,” let’s address the issue of price point when it comes to coding toys. Some of these toys are so expensive that they are likely to be purchased primarily by the very consumer who already has access to other ways of learning coding. So many of the coding toys retail for well in excess of $100. I suspect that

if the U.S. has a problem with the rankings of our students compared to other countries, the problem is probably less pronounced among students whose parents spend $150 on a programmable toy robot. If learning coding is a good thing, it’s a good thing for everyone, including lower income families.

It remains to be seen how sustainable the consumer market will be for STEM toys, and, in particular, toys that teach coding. I’d like to think it will remain strong, but it was not that long ago that tablet-based educational systems were all the rage. Perhaps if coding toys become standard in the classroom and teachers can use them to stimulate interest among students, that alone would be a win for us all. And even if the toys don’t rack up billions in sales dollars, it is certainly heartwarming to hear stories about kids using a STEM or coding toy to create something special, such as the kid who invented a device to help his friend communicate after a lightning strike rendered the friend unable to speak.

Let’s hope the surge in toys that teach coding leads to more such stories. »

Sean McGowan is a managing director on the consumer team of the Liolios Group, which provides capital market navigation and advisory services. He has been closely following the toy industry for 30 years, analyzing product trends, cost changes, marketing practices, and other aspects of how products and companies succeed (or don't). He also follows digital gaming, sporting goods, and juvenile products. In addition, he is on the Board of Advisors of the Toy Industry Foundation.

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CODING TOYS A SNEAK PEEK AT NEW TOYS THAT TEACH KIDS THE BASICS OF CODING & PROGRAMMING

ALEX TOYS’ new Future Coders line features STEM-based products for preschoolers. Future Coders Bunny Trails challenges kids to build bunny’s world with crafty elements, and then try to solve each challenge. Kids can learn how to program bunny’s trail to the carrot patch as they solve each challenge card. The robotic bunny follows the path that kids create with tiles. Kids can try to open the gate, dodge the badger, go through the tunnel, and more. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, the game includes Bunny Bot Robot, a game board with a plastic grid, cardboard tiles, plastic interactive pieces, a sticker sheet, puzzle cards, craft elements, and instructions.

ELMOJI (Coding with Elmo and friends Emojis), from WOWWEE, is a new coding robot pal for preschoolers.

STEM concepts come together to teach children basic programming skills using the language of visual emojis featuring Elmo and his friends. Early readers and pre-readers can test their problem-solving skills and play games with this bot using a free corresponding app on a smartphone or tablet to control ELMOJI'S actions. ELMOJI also reacts to physical stimulation such as tilting and shaking, with dynamic sounds and thousands of animations on his LCD screen.

HASBRO’s Disney Princess: Dance Code Belle Doll lets kids ages 5 and up choreograph Belle’s dance moves using an interactive, story-driven app. Kids can learn simple coding techniques, such as block coding and connect-the-dots, to create and choreograph unique dance sequences for their Belle doll. The doll also features three standalone modes of play, independent from the app: Belle can instruct kids to dance, kids can hold Belle’s arm to lead her in a dance, or they can press Belle’s necklace to watch the doll dance to choreographed dance routines. Launching in the fall, the doll features more than 100 phrases and seven different songs.

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With UBTECH ROBOTICS’ new Jimu Robot AstroBot Kit, kids can create three different builds: humanoid, anthropomorphic wheeled vehicle, and treaded mobile robot with grab and lift action. In addition to its real robotics features, including five servo motors, tank treads, and an IR sensor, the AstroBot Kit also has traditional toy features, such as two 16-color LEDs and a speaker for light and sound effects. Kids can use a smart device to program and code their creations to move, enhancing their STEM skills.

Mover Kit, from TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE US, combines building, coding, and active play. Kids ages 8 and up can learn the fundamentals of electronics, programming, and problem solving by building a wearable wristband. Kids can program their Mover Kit to respond any way they want. Kids can use the visual coding interface on a computer to program their Mover Kit to use it as a lightsaber, a wizard’s wand, a police car light, and more.

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Created by PRIMO TOYS, Cubetto is a screen-free programming system powered by a unique coding language made of colorful blocks that lets kids ages 3 and up write their own basic computer programs. The set consists of a wooden robot, a physical programming console, a set of expandable coding blocks, a collection of illustrated maps, and an activity book. By placing the blocks in different patterns on the control panel, kids can create sequences of instructions that program the robot’s movements. In the process, they develop computational thinking skills that help them understand the basic principles of coding. The maps and activity books challenge kids to navigate Cubetto through stories and challenges. Cubetto provides gender-neutral play that boosts a child’s creativity, critical thinking, spatial awareness, and communication skills. By combining movement, touch, and sound, Cubetto also helps children with disabilities strengthen their sequencing and communication skills.

LEGO Boost, from LEGO SYSTEMS, allows kids to combine classic building with advanced technology to amplify their creativity. Using a free tablet app, kids can follow step-by-step instructions to build and code any of the five multifunctional LEGO Boost models. Experience Vernie the Robot, a moving and talking robot; the M.T.R.4 (Multi-Tooled Rover 4), a robust, versatile rover with four different tool attachments including a spring-loaded shooter; the Guitar4000, a musical instrument with pitch bend and sound effects; Frankie the Cat, an interactive pet that plays, purrs, and expresses its mood; or the AutoBuilder, an automated production line that builds miniature LEGO models. Kids ages 7 and up can bring their creations to life with the app’s intuitive, icon-based coding interface and complete an array of activities designed for each model. This set includes more than 840 LEGO pieces, plus a LEGO Move Hub, an interactive motor, and a color and distance sensor.

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

HEALTH AND WELLNESS TREND SPURS FAMILY INTEREST IN ACTIVE TOYS

by KRISTIN MORENCY GOLDMAN, communications specialist, The Toy Association INTEREST IN OUTDOOR, SPORTS, AND active toys is on the rise, thanks to a larger health and wellness trend and an innovative crop of active toys that encourage families to play together, whether indoors or outside.

“The toy industry has really expanded the idea of ‘up and active’ toys, creating engaging products that are not just about physical activity, but also integrated into other types of play,” says Adrienne Appell, toy trend expert at The Toy Association.

“We are seeing tech toys with active components, and traditional toys with unique twists on physical activity. The best part is that all these toys are getting kids and parents moving as they build lifelong memories through play!”

for an afternoon,” says Tanner. “I think we will see a move toward encompassing the entire family. Games have brought families together for years, and I think this will spill over into [outdoor play].”

Tanner adds that technology is pushing the boundaries of “what an outdoor toy can do,” including new twists on scorekeeping and interacting with other players. Challenging outdoor toys, such as the Ninja Line from B4 Adventure, keep kids engaged by encouraging them to “achieve more,” which is appealing to both kids and parents. “[Parents] want a toy to stay with the child for awhile and have the child grow into it, master it, revel in that feeling of accomplishment,” says Tanner.

THE FAMILY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER Kate Tanner, owner of Kidstop Toys & Books in Scottsdale, Arizona, says that she is noticing more participation from moms and dads when it comes to active play.

“Families are playing together, scooting together… We have a program that if you buy your kids’ scooters at [our store], you can borrow our ‘Mom & Dad’ scooters

ACTIVE TREND FUELED BY SALES GROWTH Last year, the Outdoor & Sports Toys supercategory grew 10 percent, posting the biggest dollar gain of any category at $328 million, according to The NPD Group. Experts say that strong growth is likely to continue as toys that encourage kids to move are part of a wider societal trend.

“We see consumers making healthy

Slimeball Dodge Tag (Diggin Active) This two-player game lets players throw soft, squishy balls at their opponents’ sticky target vests. The balls only stick to the center of the vest.

As senior communications specialist at The Toy Association, Kristin Morency Goldman stays abreast of the latest industry economic data, safety updates, and cutting-edge trends driving the business of toys and play.

4-in-1 Stroll & Grow Tek Trike (VTech) This stroller turned trike transforms from a classic stroller to training mode, trike mode, and drifting mode. There is also an electronic panel with an LED screen and content that teaches directions, road safety, and offers role-play while evolving as kids grow.

Think & Learn Teach ’n Tag Movi (Fisher-Price) Digital meets physical with this robot friend that gets kids moving. Movi includes three different modes of play and six interactive games that ask kids to act like animals, have a dance party, or follow directions. This toy gets preschoolers up and moving while developing gross motor and listening skills.

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lifestyle choices, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, athleisure, wearable devices, and natural-looking beauty options, so I believe the outdoor and sports toys trend will continue into the near future as well,” says Juli Lennett, senior vice president and industry analyst for NPD’s U.S. Toys division.

Trend experts at The Toy Association identified “Up & Active” as one of the biggest toy trends for 2017. At this year’s North American International Toy Fair, the Association’s trends team previewed hundreds of new toys that motivate kids to move, from classic outdoor toys and exciting new rideons to tech toys and traditional games that require kids to move as they play.

The following is a sampling of this year’s hottest “Up & Active” toys—many of which are expected to fuel industry growth through the end of this year:

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES Razzle Dazzle and Lunar Tide Mermaid Tails (Fin Fun) These swimmable mermaid tales are a strong motivator for aspiring swimmers. While they’re made for kids ages 6 and up, being a competent swimmer is a must.

Mighty Runner (Jakks Pacific) This treadmill for kids combines favorite games and technology with physical activity. Kids run and jump, grabbing coins while dodging obstacles in three different worlds in the gaming system: Amazon Adventure, Zombie Dash, and Track and Field.

Piki Piki Bike Toddler Ride On (Gallo Spence Toys) This lightweight, durable, pedal-free bike has three wheels for extra help with balance for younger riders and can hold up to 70 pounds. It is made for the outdoors, but can be used indoors as well.

Kite-A-Pult (Tucker Toys) This self-launching kite-flying system allows kids to fly a kite themselves. The portable handlauncher makes it easy to pull back and launch the kite into the air. It doubles as a glider, and is available in three colors.

SoundMoovz (Cra-Z-Art) This wearable lets users make music by moving.

Each wristband, which can also be worn on an ankle, has an accelerometer and is connected via Bluetooth to an app that has more than 400 sounds. Users can also record their own sounds.

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SPIN MASTER

Hailing from Glittering Garden, Hatchimals Glitter are nestled inside speckled eggs that shimmer. Designed for kids ages 5 and up, Hatichimals Glitter feature twinkling wings and soft, sparkling fur. Sparkly Pengualas and Shimmering Draggles will be available this summer.

Spin Master also expands Hatchimals to the collectibles category with Hatchimals Colleggtibles, which come inside small, speckled eggs and need a child’s touch to hatch. Designed for kids ages 5 and up, kids rub the heart until it changes from purple to pink, signaling that it’s ready to hatch. Once kids gently crack the egg, they will discover a new series of Hatchimals, which feature glittery wings. Season one includes more than 70 Hatchimals Colleggtibles for kids to collect. A collectors’ map introduces kids to the creatures’ home with landmarks including Giggle Grove, Lilac Lake, Fabula Forest, and more.

Penguin Random House Children’s divisions in North America and the UK partnered with Spin Master to develop a new line of books based on Hatchimals. The publishing series will create the magical world of Hatchimals in formats including paperback fiction, handbooks, collectors’ guides, activity and sticker books, picture books, and 8-by-8-inch storybooks.

The initial line will be available at retail this summer, with a fiction title and activity book that will launch in the U.K., followed by an activity book in North America. Additional activity books and a comprehensive collectors’ guide will release globally, as well as paperback storybooks in the U.S. and Canada this fall.

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles

SESAME WORKSHOP

Sesame Street and HBO, in partnership with local public TV stations, launched the Sesame Street: K is for Kindness Tour, a free experiential tour in 10 cities to support Sesame Street’s 47th season.

The tour’s 18,000 attendees enjoyed hands-on digital learning fun, bilingual English and Spanish activities, and a 15-minute interactive live stage show starring Elmo and Abby Cadabby.

Sesame Workshop partnered with Feld Entertainment to develop new touring Sesame Street live shows, with the first production to launch in October. Hasbro’s Tickle Me Elmo will also return in the fall.

Sesame Workshop also recently finalized renewals with three of its longest partnerships, including American Greetings, Hain Celestial, and Procter and Gamble. Additionally, the company partnered with Build-a-Bear Workshop, Globe International, Land of Nod, and Lauren Moshi, and renewed a three-year global deal with H&M. The Sesame x Puma global apparel, accessories, and footwear collaboration was supported by in-store points of sale and marketing and social media campaigns.

New toy licensees include Headstart in Australia and New Zealand; Sambro across European territories; Sungup in Korea; and Nici Toys in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

In Latin America, Sesame Street is now called Sésamo and focuses on early childhood learning, including breakfast and bath time. Beyond the flagship TV series, the Listos a Jugar—focusing on healthy habits—and the digital Pequeñas Aventureras—teaching girls empowerment and STEM—also launched. The region is supported with new licensing agents in Mexico, Brazil, and ROLA (Resistencia Organizada por la Liberación de América, which translates to Organized Resistance for Liberation of America).

In the digital world, more than 1 million Cookie Monster stickers were downloaded from the app store and were featured in Apple’s TV campaign, and also premiered e-books and video content on Hoopla. Sesame Workshop, in partnership with Corus Entertainment, will also build its portfolio with the new series Esme and Roy, which is set to air on HBO in 2018. The series is a co-venture with leading Canadian media company Corus Entertainment.

Sesame Workshop prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2019, and seeks category collaborations for its core demographic, as well as for adult fans.

The company will also explore key categories of business for its new preschool property.

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Kids’ Deluxe Muscle Chest Rocket Costume

Kids’ Dave Minion Costume

RUBIE’S COSTUME CO.

Rubie’s Costume Co. Inc. is the world’s largest designer, manufacturer, and distributor of Halloween costumes and accessories. A family-owned-and-operated business celebrating 66 years in the industry, Rubie’s offers a selection of products that extends well beyond Halloween. With costumes and accessories from the hottest licensed properties, Rubie’s offers something for everyone in the family, including pets.

With its finger on the pulse of pop culture, Rubie’s 2017 license portfolio includes collections from movies such as Wonder Woman; Spider-Man Homecoming; Star Wars: Rogue One; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; Thor Ragnarok; Kong: Skull Island; Despicable Me 3; Smurfs: The Lost Village; and IT; as well as top toy lines such as Hatchimals and Monster High.

Looking forward to next year, Rubie’s will introduce new collections for DC Justice League; Aquaman; Marvel’s Black Panther; Deadpool 2; Avengers: Infinity War; Star Wars: The Last Jedi; and Han Solo: A Star Wars Story, along with multiple other new movies and TV shows, including Stranger Things from Netflix.

Kids’ Deluxe Imagine by Rubie’s, the year-round dress-up division of RuWonder bie’s, has several new offerings this year. The Batman Muscle Woman Costume Chest Shirt Box Set includes a muscle chest shirt with a Velcro closure and a black cape and mask. The Rocket Raccoon Dress Up Set includes a costume top, a stuffed Groot that is attached to Rocket’s shoulder with Velcro, and a plastic half-mask. The Minion Costume Box Set includes a yellow- and blue-printed jumpsuit, a headpiece, and molded goggles. The Groot Dress Up Set includes a printed jumpsuit and an EVA foam mask. The Robin Muscle Chest Shirt Box Set includes a costume top with an EVA eye mask.

ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

Mega Bloks offers collectible Call of Duty construction sets.

Urban Assault Copter is a buildable helicopter that comes ready for action with a machine gun and working missile launcher. Fans can sit their pilot in the cockpit and deploy on a combat mission.

Arctic Recon Armory is used to transport military equipment. This buildable shipping container has a double-duty feature when users open it to reveal a Mega Bloks Call of Duty Arctic Recon Armory polar outpost and an armory loaded with climbing and combat gear.

Good Smile adds Mei, the second Nendoroid figure to its line of figures based on the globally popular multiplayer game Overwatch.

The Nendoroid comes complete with two different face plates as well as various effects for her abilities so that fans can re-create poses from the game.

The Call of Duty franchise T-shirt, which features a crew neck collar for easy wear, is available now from Bioworld. The garment lets fans of the popular video game represent their fandom.

Crash Bandicoot is back as an 8-inch vinyl figure, which will be available from First 4 Figures this summer.

The initial wave of Destiny toys, from McFarlane Toys, will include fully articulated figures that depict the Guardian classes, including the Titan, Hunter, and Warlock. These figures will debut in new window box collector packaging and will come with a Destiny-branded detailed base. They will be available at major retailers this July.

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9 STORY MEDIA GROUP

9 Story Media Group adds new product lines for the PBS Kids preschool series Peg + Cat. Imports Dragon, which was appointed as master toy partner last year, will launch a toy line at specialty retailers and online this fall, with a larger launch across North America next spring. Imports Dragon will introduce a range of plush, games, and wooden puzzles, which will also be available for international territories.

Peg + Cat’s publishing program will add new formats this year. The Lemonade Problem, the fourth book from Candlewick Press, hit shelves in March, with The Big Dog Problem and The Pirate Problem set to launch in September.

Peg + Cat follows Peg and her sidekick Cat as they embark on hilarious musical adventures, learning basic math concepts along the way. In each episode, Peg and Cat encounter a problem that requires them to use math and problem-solving skills. Music is a teaching tool throughout the show, and each episode features an original song.

9 Story Media Group distributes the series and manages licensing for the brand globally, and has secured distribution in 180 countries.

UYOUNG ENTERTAINMENT

MGA ENTERTAINMENT

MGA Entertainment (MGAE)’s Num Noms is now in full distribution in the U.S. and Canada with product available across mass retailers, as well as mid-tier and specialty retailers. MGAE is in development on series four and five, bringing more characters and combinations to market this summer.

MGAE’s global licensing program partnering has more than 80 manufacturers worldwide across all major categories of softlines, hardlines, publishing, apparel L.O.L. Surprise! Series 1 and accessories, toys, crafts, activity and party goods, electronics, home décor and furnishings, back-to-school, stationery, sporting goods, confections, and seasonal.

The first Num Noms licensed products hit retail in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2016 with key categories launching this spring and the full program available this fall.The toy is currently growing in European markets, including the UK, Spain, France, Benelux, and Italy.

MGAE seeks new partners in the ancillary categories, and plans to expand the brand in key international territories throughout Asia Pacific including Australia, New Zealand, Korea, the Philippines, and throughout Latin America including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Colombia.

MGAE unwraps the global licensing program for L.O.L. Surprise!, which launched last December and sold out within a week. L.O.L. Surprise! is currently available at major retailers. MGAE is creating a range of licensed products for the L.O.L. Surprise! toy line, which is slated to hit retail next year. MGAE will launch an expansion of the licensing program, featuring advertising, public relations and influencer campaigns, national promotional partnerships, and retail promotions.

MGAE continues to expand Little Tikes product offerings globally and has secured more than 35 licensees worldwide across categories including toys, crafts and activity, sporting goods and outdoor, home goods, infant accessories, publishing, and more. At Licensing Expo, MGAE launched Little Tikes Kids, a lifestyle brand to non-toy categories for fall 2018.

Chinese entertainment company UYoung Entertainment International Inc. builds its licensing program for P. King Duckling.

P. King Duckling targets kids ages 2 to 7 and premiered on Disney Junior in the U.S. in November. The property has been picked up by broadcasters worldwide, including Disney Junior for Latin America, India, Korea, South East Asia, SVT Sweden, and YLE Finland.

P. King Duckling follows the adventures of an extremely intrepid—but slightly hapless—young duck and his two best friends, Chumpkins and Wombat. Together the friends embark on a series of hilarious adventures.

Whether they are in Hilly Hole or flying to the moon, the trio always finds ways to overcome the challenges they face.

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PENGUIN YOUNG READERS

This summer, Looney Labs will team up with Penguin Young Readers to launch Adult Mad Libs: The Game through its adult imprint, Fully Baked Ideas. The adultsonly version of the classic party game will be available on June 22. The Mad Libs app continues to fill in the blanks with more than 11 million downloads to date. The app partnered with brands such as Hello Kitty, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and American Girl, and can now be found on Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Kik. Additionally, there are more than 125 million Mad Libs books in print.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Don Freeman’s Corduroy. Penguin Young Readers prepares for a year of celebrations, including new publishing titles.

GREEN BAMBINO

Green Bambino launches Go Tiger!

Fitness, Food & Fun, a healthy brand for young kids. The brand already received recognition for its Early Learning Series of books that feature two cubs: Tiger and Teena. The cubs cheerfully guide kids into a world of fitness, food, and fun, with the mission to provide them with tips on how to live a healthy and productive lifestyle.

Every page inspires little ones as they journey with the Go Tiger! cubs. For added fun, the official website, gotiger.org, offers a variety of activities involving ways for kids to live an active and healthy lifestyle.

Go Tiger! is now available for licensing, while the company plans to bring awareness to the brand with ongoing marketing and advertising on all social media platforms, including the development of the animation on the brand’s YouTube channel. Green Bambino’s goal is to help stop childhood obesity and other chronic illnesses.

CARTOON NETWORK

Cartoon Network’s Ben 10 remains the network’s top property with a lifetime revenue of more than $4.5 billion globally. In 2015, Playmates Toys was appointed global master toy partner, with a new toy line available this fall. Additional partners include Rubie’s Costume Co. for dress-up and costumes; Toy Factory for amusement plush; and Penguin for four new titles, which will launch in October.

The consumer products offering for the new The Powerpuff Girls series launched last year, with global master toy partner Spin Master releasing its initial launch last fall. The brand has more than 35 licensing partners in North America, including McDonald’s for a Happy Meal promotion that ran last summer, and the Moschino x Powerpuff Girls collection, which debuted at the Milan Fashion Show in 2015 and had an in-store launch last February. Fydor Golan will launch a girls’ apparel and accessories collection this spring.

Cartoon Network Studios’ original series Steven Universe was recently greenlit for a fifth season. The brand currently has 30 licensing partners across North America. This year it will expand into young men, teen/tween girls at midtier and specialty, and mass products for kids.

Adventure Time appears on all Cartoon Network feeds worldworld, across 27 feeds in 26 languages, covering 192 countries and 370 million homes. The brand has more than 100 licensees globally, with product in all categories and all channels of distribution. Existing partners include Minecraft, Lego Dimensions, DC Shoes, Dr. Martens, H&M, Kidrobot, and Daylight Curfew.

The third season of Rick and Morty is currently in production. Funko was recently named master toy partner, securing the consumer products program and pushing the property into mass retail.

Categories include comics, apparel, accessories, home décor, toys, games and puzzles, and electronics. Additional partners include Daylight Curfew for limited-edition apparel and accessories and ONI Press Comics Volume 1. Cartoon Network looks to expand with secondary category opportunities and partner collaborations.

Ben 10 Rustbucket Vehicle and Playset

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THE ALPHA GROUP

The Alpha Group looks to expand the Super Wings preschool property in categories including publishing, party goods, sleepwear, footwear, backto-school, headwear, hosiery, home, and sporting goods.

Super Wings is a 3-D, CGI-animated series that follows a plane named Jett who travels the world delivering packages to kids. On every delivery, Jett encounters a new problem that he and his friends must work together to solve. The show focuses on creative problem solving and cultural diversity, and the characters visit 52 cities in 45 countries over the course of the series.

The second season launched on Sprout in April and introduces new characters, adventures, and destinations. Super Wings is also available to watch on YouTube and Amazon Prime.

THE JIM HENSON CO.

JAZWARES

Jazwares lets creators upload their ideas for the chance to make them real with Jazwings. For more information, visit jazwings.com.

MeBears Panda-a-Panda is a quirky lifestyle brand from Hong Kong that celebrates different moods and attitudes, known to fans as #pandatude.

MeBears is a collectible and imaginative brand created by kids that celebrates uniqueness, differences, and friendship.

CryptoTrucks is an animated series that features a motley crew of four-wheeled warriors who defend the world from the destructive power of the evil Carnage Crew. Jazwares will also highlight Blue Rabbit, Deviled Eggz, Battle Bites!, Bunnyvale, and Go! Go! Sports Girls.

The second season of Jim Henson’s Word Party debuted on Netflix last October in the U.S. and territories worldwide. The series follows four baby animals as they sing, dance, and play, and invites young viewers to help teach the baby animals new words, practice these new words themselves, and celebrate these achievements with a “Word Party!” Snaptoys Inc. is the global master toy partner (excluding China) for the brand, with a range of product categories, including plush—which is available now—figures, play sets, and electronics to debut next year. Henson seeks new partners in publishing, sleepwear, promotions, health, arts and crafts, party, home décor, and seasonal play for Word Party.

Created by Jim Henson, Fraggle Rock is newly remastered in HD and premiered in December on HBO. New products debuted at retail in March, including toy and novelty items from Super Impulse, such as vinyl figurines, and 4-, 7-, and 10-inch plush. Products to debut this fall include prize redemption toys from Toy Factory and collectibles from Funko Pop! that include the five main Fraggle characters, each packaged with a Mini Pop! Doozer figure. Henson seeks new partners in apparel, promotions, stationery, and home for Fraggle Rock.

New products for Dinosaur Train from global master toy partner Jazwares offer a range including figures, play sets, and plush.

Licensing programs for the company’s newest series, Dot. and Splash and Bubbles, are anticipated to launch next year.

Dot. follows the tech-savvy Dot as she embarks on adventures to satisfy her imagination, curiosity, and latest passion. The series is based on Randi Zuckerberg’s debut picture book of the same name. Henson seeks partners in toys, back-to-school, stickers, stationery, home décor, promotions, and apparel for Dot. Splash and Bubbles is a new animated series that debuted last fall on PBS Kids in the U.S. and other platforms worldwide. The series introduces kids to strange new marine species and ocean phenomena. Co-production partner Herschend Enterprises will support the series with broad-reaching location-based entertainment events.

An app for kids will debut this summer and two new HTML5 games are available on the PBS Kids website and the PBS Kids Games app.

Henson seeks partners in toys, T-shirts, accessories, promotions, health, arts and crafts, and outdoor play.

Recent product launches for Labyrinth include stylized figures from Funko; Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: The Board Game from River Horse; and the Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History hardcover book from Insight Editions, which provides a definitive exploration of the classic.

With a roster of licensees in place, Henson seeks partners to further expand its product offering.

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PROPERTY PROFILE

Licensor: BBC Worldwide

ABOUT THE SHOW

BAFTA and International Emmy Award-winning Hey Duggee, a Studio AKA production with BBC Worldwide, airs on Nick Jr. in the U.S. and Treehouse and BBC Kids in Canada. This beautifully animated series unleashes a child’s imagination and sense of fun as they explore their world. Each episode of this colorful, entertaining, and occasionally surreal animated series starts with Duggee welcoming the squirrels, a group of curious little characters who are dropped off at the Squirrel Club by their caregivers. That marks the start of laughter and learning as they discover new things about the world around them, all under the patient guidance of Duggee.

“

The Hey Duggee series, which airs on Nick Jr., has now grown to be a significant and special brand for the BBC. The characters and stories which have been entertaining children while encouraging them to explore, discover, and play in a safe and happy environment are now coming to life with new partnerships.”

—Carla Peyton, senior vice president, licensing, BBC Worldwide North America

LICENSED PRODUCTS JAY FRANCO

BBC Worldwide North America announced a new partnership with Jay Franco for Hey Duggee-branded bedding, bath goods, beach products, and storage products in the U.S. and Canada.

CHILDREN’S APPAREL NETWORK

BBC Worldwide North America signed with Children’s Apparel Network for Hey Duggee-themed girls’ and boys’ apparel, swimwear, layettes, and outerwear in the U.S. and Canada.

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JAZWARES

BBC Worldwide North America announced Jazwares as master toy licensee for Hey Duggee in the U.S. and Canada, in a deal that includes plush, play sets, figures, and vehicles. Jazwares will translate the fun and humorous plots of this series into a new line of playful toys reflecting the adventures of the Hey Duggee brand.

The product launch will consist of collectible figures of all of the main characters—Duggee, Happy, Norrie, Roly, Tag, and Betty—as well as vehicles, small plush, and a 12-inch feature plush Duggee with sounds. Also available at launch is the Squirrel Club play set. Kids can open the secret door, slide down the slide, or go up the elevator. The set offers enough room to store all of their Hey Duggee badges. The play set features three floors and closes for convenience with a handle to carry it anywhere, and includes Duggee and Enid the Cat figures.

PROPERTY PROFILE

DUGGEE

Duggee is a lovable, cuddly, big dog. He is the leader of the Squirrel Club, an adventure group for small children. Duggee is in charge of everything.

He makes sure the squirrels are having fun, making friends, learning things, playing games, and going on adventures. He is mostly very sensible, and always kind. Duggee never says anything. He sometimes woofs, which might sound like a “yes,” a “no,” or a “be careful,” and the squirrels have no problems understanding his woofs.

MEET THE CHARACTERS NORRIE

Norrie is a mouse. She is rather thoughtful, and just as clever as Betty, but not so show-offy about it. Norrie is sensible, inquisitive, and especially kind.

TAG

Tag is a small, sweet-natured, and considerate rhino.

He is a follower rather than a leader and has a gentle soul. He has a tendency to bump into things, and if there’s something to trip over, it’s usually Tag who does the tripping.

HAPPY

Happy is a small, happy, uncomplicated crocodile of few words. He loves anything that involves water, even if it’s just watering the plants. If there’s a puddle he’ll splash in it; if there’s a pool to paddle in, Happy is so happy. Any opportunity to get wet, he’ll take it.

BETTY

Betty is a jolly little octopus who would really like to be in charge, but it’s not that kind of group. She is very intelligent and loves to read. Betty is very competitive, and being the first is quite important to her. She’ll be first to put up her hand (tentacle) to answer any questions. Sometimes, that means she can get a bit grumpy or

ROLY

Roly is a round hyperactive hippo. He is wildly enthusiastic about everything.

Roly’s prime feature is that he’s a terrible interrupter, calling out when he should be listening. He’s not very good at listening, but he is very good at being loud—very loud.

sulky if somebody else gets there first.

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PROPERTY PROFILE

The Toy Book spoke with Jamie Stevens, executive vice president, worldwide consumer products at Sony Pictures Entertainment, about what’s next for Sony’s Hotel Transylvania franchise.

Hotel Transylvania 3 hits theaters July 13, 2018. How will the launch of the third film in the franchise be different than the first two?

The Hotel Transylvania universe expands with every film with new characters, locations, storylines, and—of course—the evolving character arcs of the main monster characters we know and love. With our renewed focus on consumer products, it allows us to draw from a bigger and broader narrative. With strong opportunity for growth, we have developed plans to keep the momentum going across various content platforms, including TV, digital, and virtual reality.

That content strategy aligns perfectly with our consumer products strategy; i.e., to make Hotel Transylvania a 365-day-a-year business, which is now feasible given the upcoming launch of Hotel Transylvania The Series. The TV series premieres this summer on Disney Channel domestically and rolls out worldwide starting this fall.

Who is the core audience for the film franchise and consumer products line?

Hotel Transylvania is an endearing franchise with witty humor and fun characters that appeal to the whole family.

The quirky and loveable characters from the Hotel Transylvania franchise appeal to kids of all ages, and the property is gender-neutral, which makes it ideal for licensing opportunities.

Hotel Transylvania was originally launched as a Halloween-based franchise. How are you transforming the franchise to a yearround consumer experience?

It used to be that monsters were tied to Halloween, but now they’re very much a part of pop culture and relevant year-round. We have big plans to continue the monster momentum and grow the franchise throughout the year. For the upcoming film we have decided to release it in summer outside of its traditional release date, which has been in the fall.

Additionally, we have a content strategy that builds on the franchise outside of the traditional Halloween window. For example, we will release a Hotel Transylvania short film called Puppy, which is set to debut in theaters worldwide this summer with The Emoji Movie. In this short, the residents of Hotel Transylvania find their world turned upside-down when youngster Dennis gets a surprise

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monster-sized pet. This is from the same award-winning director, Genndy Tartakovsky, and producer Michelle Murdocca.

Lastly and most importantly, we are launching an animated TV series for Hotel Transylvania in summer 2017 on Disney Channel worldwide.

Tell us about the new TV series. Will it be a similar storyline and style as the films?

The new animated TV series will be focused on the teenage years of Mavis and her friends at Hotel Transylvania. We will meet many new characters that will be original to the TV series and we will have cross-over characters as the TV series and film grow together over the course of our longterm plan. The animated small screen series is 2-D animation. That stylized look, the younger characters, and the adventures that frame the narrative of the TV series will differentiate it from the feature films.

How much growth has Hotel Transylvania seen over the course of the first two films rollouts?

Hotel Transylvania has been a massive success for Sony Pictures Animation since it launched in 2012. Hotel Transylvania broke the record for the biggest September opening at the box office of all time, only to be beat by Hotel Transylvania 2 three years later. The film has generated more than $1 billion in box office and home-entertainment revenue.

We have tremendous growth opportunity and look forward to continuing to grow the franchise internationally. »

PROPERTY PROFILE

Hotel Transylvania 3

Release date: July 13, 2018

Hotel Transylvania The Series Release date: Summer 2017

Synopsis: Sony will launch an animated TV series for Hotel Transylvania this summer on Disney Channel worldwide. The new animated TV series will focus on the teenage years of Mavis and her friends at Hotel Transylvania.

Synopsis: In Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 3, Mavis surprises Dracula with a family voyage on a luxury Monster Cruise Ship so that he can take a vacation from providing everyone else’s vacation at the hotel. The rest of Drac’s Pack cannot resist going along and once they leave port, romance zings Drac when he meets the mysterious ship captain, Ericka.

Now it’s Mavis’ turn to play the overprotective parent, keeping her dad and Ericka apart. Little do they know that his “too good to be true” love interest is actually a descendent of Van Helsing, arch nemesis to Dracula and all the monsters.

ALSO COMING SOON FROM SONY PICTURES Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Release date: Dec. 20, 2017

Synopsis: In the new adventure Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the tables are turned as four teenagers are sucked into the world of Jumanji. When the teens discover an old video game console with a game they’ve never heard of—Jumanji—they are immediately drawn into the game’s jungle setting, becoming the avatars they chose: gamer Spencer becomes a brawny adventurer (Dwayne Johnson); football jock Fridge loses, in his words, “the top two feet of his body” and becomes an Einstein (Kevin Hart); popular girl Bethany becomes a middle-aged male professor (Jack Black); and wallflower Martha becomes a warrior (Karen Gillan). They discover that you don’t just play Jumanji—you must survive it or be stuck in the game forever.

Currently seeking licensees & promotional partners

Peter Rabbit

Release date: March 23, 2018

Synopsis: Peter Rabbit, the new live-action/CG-animated motion picture is based on the internationally beloved series of books written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. Peter Rabbit will be directed by Will Gluck with a cast including James Corden (Peter), Rose Byrne, Daisy Ridley, Elizabeth Debicki, Margot Robbie, and Domhnall Gleeson.

Currently seeking licensees & promotional partners

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PROPERTY PROFILE

Joan Grasso, vice president of licensing, North America at eOne Family, discusses the hit series Peppa Pig. Peppa Pig now has more than 70 licensees in North America. To what do you attribute this success?

First, we created great content, and we continue to invest in new episodes to keep our audience engaged. We have a strong marketing program that enhances exposure outside of the TV show to connect with our fans and their families in meaningful ways. We have a presence on digital platforms, social media, and even grassroots experiential events, which allow us to connect with kids and their parents on a local level. We have been careful to build the program organically. We have not been overtly commercial in any of our brand efforts and have taken great care to manage the product rollout so we are meeting consumer demand,

but not over-proliferating the market with too much of our product.

As Peppa expands into new licensed categories this year, what are the strongest growth areas for the property?

We added 20 new licensees in 2016 in categories such as sporting and wheeled goods. This additional merchandise should provide incremental growth for us outside of the core categories. We also expanded our retail distribution both with existing partners that have added new categories to their assortments, as well as through expanded shelf space within existing aisles. We also added new retailer outlets last year, including the value channel, warehouse clubs, regional mid-tier stores, and more. This year, we are looking to build our consumer packaged goods and food categories, while also looking for new retail opportunities.

Peppa has two live stage shows in North America this year. Why are entertainment-based, live events important to the property?

The stage shows allow us to extend the entertainment value of the Peppa Pig brand beyond the TV and digital spaces and engage in a very personal way with our audience. Our Peppa Pig Live! stage show has been incredibly successful. Our fans are obsessed with Peppa and they want to connect with her and the entire cast as often as possible. We will launch an all-new production this fall, and we are excited to continue to offer our audience new ways to engage in our brand.

Will there be new Peppa Pig episodes this year?

Yes! We are in the process of delivering a full new season of 52 episodes, which will continue to premiere on Nick Jr. through 2018. These episodes will introduce new experiences, friends, and environments to the Peppa Pig world and will allow us to also add fresh ideas to our marketing and digital platforms, as well as provide inspiration for new product lines and categories.

Is Peppa following the same growth trajectory in North America as we’ve seen overseas?

The trajectory for Peppa Pig in the U.S. is similar to what we have seen in the UK. The difference, of course, is that the U.S. market is much larger and our program has not been in the country for as many years as it has been in the UK. We’ve only just begun to build this brand in the U.S. and Canada. By year-end, we should have one of the largest Peppa Pig consumer products programs in the world—if not the largest! »

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PROPERTY PROFILE

New from JAZWARES is the Peppa Pig Lights and Sound Family Home, a three-story play set filled with everything a preschooler needs to imagine new Peppa adventures. The set includes Peppa Pig, George, and Zoe Zebra figures, and 13 accessories. It also features lights and sound effects.

Kids can strike up the band with the Peppa Pig Musical Set from KIDZ TOYZ. The collection includes a xylophone and striker, a tambourine, a clacker in the shape of Peppa Pig’s head, and a slide whistle. The instruments are all wood-based and feature Peppa graphics. Kidz Toyz also offers other Peppa Pig musical instruments, including the Peppa Pig Acoustic Guitar, Peppa Pig Fun Stuff Guitar, and Peppa Pig 25 Key Keyboard.

CANDLEWICK ENTERTAINMENT will launch a collection of new titles, including Peppa Pig’s Pop-Up Princess Castle. The pop-up book features press-out characters including Princess Peppa, and a mini storybook about Peppa’s day at the castle.

Peppa Pig fans will be on the move with a Peppa-themed battery-operated ride-on from GOODBABY. The little red car goes up to 2.5 mph in forward and reverse, and features a bright yellow steering wheel and a seat back adorned with Peppa Pig decals. It has working LED headlights, makes realistic car sounds, and is equipped with side mirrors and rubber traction strips on the wheels.

KENT’s new 12-inch Peppa Pig Pink Bicycle features a two-tone glitter paint finish and playful Peppa graphics. Outfitted with a decorated seat for the rider and one for a child’s favorite Peppa plush, the bike also has pearlescent streamers, a padded handlebar, and a zip-up bag in the front.

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PROPERTY PROFILE

“

Licensor: Sunrights Inc.

Since bursting back into the western markets in the fall of 2016, Beyblade Burst is continuing the craze the brand has historically proven to be. With Hasbro’s innovative line of tops flying off the shelf and a solid group of global agents in place, Sunrights Inc. has been rapidly vamping up our licensing program with a roster of top licensees. We anticipate great success for this exciting new generation of the legendary Beyblade franchise!”

— Kaz Soeda, managing director, Sunrights Inc.

Meet the Bladers

Valt is a cheerful, energetic boy who is very passionate about Beyblade. He has a strong bond with his Bey Valtryek, and this relationship motivates him to become a better Blader. Even though he can be a little over-enthusiastic at times, he manages to become friends with anyone as if he has known them for years.

Valt’s best friend, Shu, is a member of the Supreme Four and considered to be a Beyblade prodigy. Cool, calm, and collected, Shu works extremely hard to be the best Blader he can be. His relationship with Valt—a unique combination of friendship and rivalry—motivates them to continuously improve and grow together.

Trained in martial arts from a young age by his family, Alexander “Xander” Shakadera is an extremely strong Blader with an incredible discipline. He is the generous and kind leader of the Swordflames Beyblade Club, and also a member of the Supreme Four. He is a respected competitor, confident in his abilities as both a Blader and a leader.

Lui is an aloof genius, whose overwhelming power has led him to win four consecutive National Tournament championships. His disregard for the feelings of other Bladers creates friction with even his own teammates. As the strongest of the Supreme Four, he only battles opponents he thinks are worthy. If a battle isn’t a challenge, Lui wants no part in it.

UnBEYlievable Facts • Beyblade is more than just a toy; it is also a sport.

• The Beyblade franchise created by TOMY Co. Ltd., was first inspired by traditional Japanese battling tops called “Bei-Goma.”

• There are four types of Beys, each with different strengths and weaknesses: o Attack Types are fast and attack with extreme power; their strength overwhelms Stamina Types. o Stamina Types last longer than most other Beys; they outlive the slower Defense Types. o Defense Types tend to be heavier than other Beys; they’re particularly good at deflecting and countering Attack Types. o Balance Types have no obvious strengths or weaknesses, so they use a combination of Attack, Defense, and Stamina to win. It takes a talented Blader to master a Balance Type Bey. • There are three ways to win a Beyblade battle: a player can knock an opponent’s Bey out of the stadium for a Ring Out Finish worth one point; a player is the last Bey spinning with a Survivor Finish worth one point; or a player makes his or her opponent’s Bey burst for a Burst Finish worth two points.

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PROPERTY PROFILE

HASBRO’s new Beyblade Burst product line is available at all major retailers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The line introduces a new “burst” feature designed to bring more excitement to the battling play pattern. A battle can trigger the spinning tops to burst into pieces, creating suspenseful competitions. Each burst rate varies.

The initial line will consist of customizable Beyblade Burst tops with interchangeable components along with a Beyblade Burst BeyStadium and Beyblade Burst Epic Rivals Battle Set for fans to engage in head-to-head competitions.

Beyblade fans can also train for battle digitally with the Beyblade Burst app available in the App Store and on Google Play for supported iOS and Android devices. Players can scan their Beyblade Burst tops into the app and interchange the top components to create a customized virtual top that they can use to battle with a friend. The Beyblade Burst app also includes a tournament mode and multi-player mode.

BIOWORLD signed as an apparel partner and features a range of Beyblade T-Shirts. The T-shirts feature the brand’s graphics and are available in blue, black, green, red, and navy styles. The blue shirt includes high-density ink; the black shirt features the theme of head-to-head competition between the two main characters; the green shirt includes an action shot; the red shirt features the phrase, “Let It Rip;” and the navy shirt has a metallic ink treatment over a group shot of the characters.

BJORNA signed as a home and textile partner for Beyblade. The collection includes the Beyblade Burst 2-Piece Bedding Set, which features a pillowcase and a duvet cover with the two main characters, Valt and Shu, in epic battle poses.

The duvet cover is reversible, so kids can flip it over for a different duvet with a design of their favorite Beys. Additionally, the Beyblade-branded towel features Valt in an epic battle pose, along with the battle cry, “Let It Rip.”

SUPER IMPULSE will offer Beyblade Burst Action Keychains, which bring more fiery excitement to the Beyblade brand. Set to the same scale as the new core toys, the key chains feature a pump-activated spin mechanism that creates a flywheel-activated shower of sparks, all safely contained within the transparent shell.

Series one includes three models: Spryzen, Roktavor, and Valtryek.

SUN CITY will offer products in the swimwear and headwear categories. The licensed bathrobe features dual-sided visuals and a hood. Additionally, a blue cap and a red cap are available. The blue cap has graphics on the front, while the red cap has details on both the front and the back.

Beyblade Burst 2-Piece Bedding Set

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INDUSTRY MARKETPLACE

Playtime Sales & Marketing Co. LLC A Toy Manufacturers Sales Representative Corporate Office: 331 Piermont Road, Norwood, New Jersey 07648 TEL: 201-784-7727 FAX: 201-784-1912 E-MAIL: murraybass@playtimesales.com lensoyka@playtimesales.com carolleeman@playtimesales.com The Playtime Sales & Marketing Company, LLC. is a Toy and Electronics Manufacturers sales representative organization. Our prime focus is to represent Toy and Electronics Manufacturers to the Mass Market Retailers.

The principals of our Company are Len Soyka and Murray Bass. Our only vocation has been in the Toy Industry. We are dedicated toy professionals.

Our geographical areas of sales coverage and accounts include: • NEW ENGLAND…Connecticut North to Maine and Upstate N.Y. Accounts… CVS Drug, BJ’s Whle Club, Benny’s and TJ Maxx, • NY METRO​ NY City and New Jersey. Accounts...Toys R Us and their DOTCOM and aGlobal divisions, TRU Express, dd’s Stores, Macy’s Backstage, Cititrends, Burlington Stores, Quidsi’s, Xmas Tree Shops, Shepher Distributors, Buy Buy Baby, Party City, National Whle., Bed Bath and Beyond, Stevens Intl., and NY area Supermarket chains.

• MID-LANTIC…Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Northern Virginia and Western Ohio. Accounts…Rite Aid Drug, Group Sales, Boscov’s, Omni Global, 5 Below, Dollar Tree, Variety Wholesale and Big Lots.

• K mart USA // JC Penney Catalog // Universal Studios Orlando // Gordman’s // Target and Walmart • CANADA…Walmart, Toys R Us, Canadian Tire and Costco • CHINA…We maintain a full time Hong Kong sourcing Office We employ a staff of 5 toy sales specialists. Our contact information is listed on our above shown letterhead. We welcome your inquiries. ®

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To place a classified ad, please contact Bill Reese at 212-575-4510 x2322 or breese@adventurepub.com

FLASHBAC

MAY/JUNE 1997

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TOYING WITH THE WEB: ADVENTURES OF GALOOB TOYS ONLINE

Surge Licensing Inc., exclusive worldwide licensor of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, continues to build on this property. A live-action TV series will debut this fall, and a new feature film is currently in the works. Both will feature a new character, Venus DeMilo.

The property has approximately 600 licensees worldwide, including master toy licensee Playmates Toys. The company plans to license in various categories, including toys, video games, publishing, and novelties.

In Galoob Toys’ two years of experience with its website, Galoob.com, the company has found that the overall cost of running a website is low compared to traditional advertising. A website’s actual impact on sales and profits is less certain and may be difficult to assess, and the work involved in creating, maintaining, and freshening the site may distract from essential tasks.

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MATTEL RESTRUCTURES TYCO AND FISHER-PRICE AFTER MERGER Changes are afoot as part of the merger between Mattel and Tyco Toys. Mattel announced in March that the merger would ultimately result in approximately 2,700 total layoffs worldwide.

NICKELODEON SEEKS TO EXPAND BRAND IN CHILDREN’S MARKET Nickelodeon will work to expand its brand to all corners of the children’s market through Nickelodeon magazine, Nickelodeon Online, and its on-screen properties, including Blues Clues.

Blues Clues, a play-along TV show for preschool kids, invites its audience to step inside the world of host Steve and his animated puppy Blue. Using games and puzzles, kids at home help Steve solve problems with clues from Blue.

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»

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K’NEX introduces Solar Power for kids with solar-powered building sets.

Builders can now construct their own models and make them move with power from the sun or a light bulb.

Sony Signa» tures’ property lineup at Licensing Show includes a mixture of new films and TV shows, including Men in Black, which hits theaters in early July, and Men in Black: The Series. The movie, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, focuses on the individuals who monitor alien activity on Earth. Licensees include Scholastic, Marvel Entertainment Group, Craft House, Tiger Electronics, and Inkworks. Galoob Toys is master toy licensee.