This month, US retailer Rick Derr updates Toy World readers on his trip to the Toymaster May Show in Harrogate.

“I knew the show would be fun and located in a beautiful part of the country, but I’m taking away far more information than I expected, which will be a huge benefit to me and my business,” writes Rick. “Everyone has been so willing to speak to me and learn about the US marketplace. As I’ve discussed before, there are some differences between the American and UK & Ireland markets, but far more in the way of similarities.”

He compares the trade show to ones he’s been to across the pond and says that US indie trade shows tend to be larger but many of those companies are small start-ups, unlike here where we have access to “all the major players”.

“In the US we’re not generally able to deal directly with these guys,” Rick explains. “We have to go through distributors. I’m also struck by the importance of the big brands over here, where the market skews heavily towards the largest players. We obviously do have the big brands In America, but shelf-space is much more equally proportioned across suppliers.”

Rick reveals his standout product of the show, thanks the friends he met and has some takeaways from the show that he hopes will help him to improve how things are done in the US.

Finally, he talks about how his relationship with the UK side of the industry will aid his goal in becoming a Certified Play Expert. He writes: “My goal is for Learning Express and the ASTRA US community to raise the level of service we offer to new heights, supporting the changing needs of kids and parents in the face of new and emerging challenges with the MESH (Mental, Emotional, Social Health) framework. Working with Toymaster on this will be critical to our success.”

To find out more about Rick’s takeaways, star product and some of his favourite moments from his trip, read his full column, which was published in the June issue of Toy World, by clicking here.