Toy Fair: Back to Basics
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By Karen Raugust -- Publishers Weekly, 2/26/2009
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Toy Fair attendance was lighter this year (though Barbie had her usual place in the spotlight). |
Many publishers said they had a productive show, however, noting that attendees were serious about writing orders. “There are far fewer tire-kickers, so to speak,” said Sharon Winningham, v-p sales and marketing at School Zone. “We’re really impressed with the quality of the buyers,” added Barbara Lonnborg, director of Boys Town Press, a first-time exhibitor showing its initial children’s title, a hybrid book/scrapbook.
Not all publishers were happy, however. In fact, at least two leading mass market publishers are considering scaling way back next year, or not exhibiting at all. Very few of the large mass merchants—the Wal-marts, Costcos, and Family Dollars of the world—sent contingents to walk the show this year, as they usually do, according to exhibitors.
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Costumed characters were, as always, a Toy Fair fixture. |
Like many consumer products industries, the toy industry witnessed sales declines in 2008, and the tough environment certainly contributed to the quieter show. According to NPD Group figures released during Toy Fair, U.S. retail sales of toys generated $21.64 billion in 2008, a decrease of 3% from $22.3 billion in 2007. The fourth quarter, which accounts for a significant proportion of annual industry sales, experienced a drop of 5%.
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Plush offerings from Yottoy included several based on Little Golden Books titles. |
In a well-attended half-day seminar on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, Consumer Products Safety Commission acting chair Nancy Nord and John “Gib” Mullen, CPSC’s assistant executive director, Office of Compliance and Field Operations, made some of the most encouraging statements yet for publishers of “ordinary” (ink on paper or board) children’s books published after 1985. “We all agree these just consistently fall below the lead limits of the law,” said Nord. “[Publishers] don’t have to test and we won’t spend our enforcement resources on these products.”
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Mr. Men plush from Fisher-Price. |
Toy companies and publishers continue to go green. Toy makers highlighted products made from organic cotton, recycled materials and more environmentally sound packaging, for example, and displayed their green products front and center. Meanwhile, publishers featured titles with green content and those made from materials such as recycled paper and soy or vegetable inks.
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One Tree, from InnovativeKids' Green Start publishing line. |
Licensed toys—those tied to TV shows, movies, brands or books not owned by the toymaker—typically have a wide presence at the show, but that was not the case this year, when there were relatively few licensed toys in evidence. A large percentage of the licensed products on display were tied to Disney brands, but book-based properties had a high profile, too. This included not only the usual TV- and movie-supported book characters (e.g., Twilight and Curious George), but also a growing number of book-only licenses, from Frog and Toad to Five Little Monkeys.
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Madame Alexander's display showcased Eloise, Madeline and Fancy Nancy, among others. |
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Aurora's plush, based on Dragon from Scholastic. |
Few breakthrough or buzzworthy products garnered attention at Toy Fair this year; the $100 Smash-Me Bernie doll from ModelWorks, capitalizing on the Madoff scandal, probably attracted the most press. Instead, toy makers and publishers were generally sticking to the products that sell best, avoiding risky new introductions and emphasizing low price points. Paradise cited its preschool board books based on classic licenses including Sesame Street and Baby Looney Tunes as strong sellers, while Bendon has high hopes for its line of puzzle books, including licensed titles tied to American Idol and Disney properties; president Ben Ferguson predicts one million units sold within the year.
“We really want to go back to basics,” said Andrew Steinberg, president of Modern Publishing, citing formats such as color-by-number and connect-the-dot books and classic licenses such as Batman and Wonder Woman. “We’re going back to the tried-and-true activity books that work.”
