Toy and play professionals descended on New York City for The Toy Association’s 116th North American International Toy Fair.
In all, more than 26,000 professionals from 98 countries attended the show, where they got a sneak peek at hundreds of thousands of toys and games across 447,30 sq. feet of exhibition space.
“Buyers from around the world, and toy, play, and licensing professionals came to unleash their outer business executive and inner child at this year’s Toy Fair New York,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “With a sold-out, energetic show, every square inch of the Javits Centre was used for order-writing, networking, trend-spotting, professional development opportunities, in-booth demos and reveals, and much more. Toy Fair New York is the gateway to toy aisles this holiday season, and drives the $28b US toy market and influences markets around the world.”
From veteran brands to first-time exhibitors in the Launch Pad section of the show, Toy Fair’s 1,038 exhibiting companies unveiled new product lines and showcased key drivers in front of 8,300+ mass and specialty buyers, including delegations from more than 3,000 unique retail outlets and 22 of the nation’s top 25 toy sellers, such as Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Costco, Best Buy, Walgreens, Disney Store, A.C. Moore and Michaels Stores.
In addition, licensing executives from NBCUniversal Brand Development, Netflix, Nickelodeon Consumer Products, Marvel Entertainment, Sesame Workshop, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and others were also on-site to scout the hottest trends and forge licensing agreements with toymakers.
Overall, more than 10,600 retailers, wholesalers, entertainment executives, importers and buying groups attended Toy Fair. The top five countries represented at the show, not including the US and Canada, were China, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Mexico and Japan.
Participants enjoyed more than 30 educational sessions, covering global safety standards, new toy trends, licensing, global trade and market expansion and more. In addition, thousands of Toy Fair registrants participated in roundtables, presentations, and workshops focused on helping the creative community succeed through an expanded Creative Factor educational series, guided by a Creative Factor Advisory Board.
“More than ever, Toy Fair New York is a must-stop destination for global play professionals who consider it the place to find the most cutting-edge toys, games, and youth entertainment products coming to market,” added Marian Bossard, executive vice president of global market events at The Toy Association. “We are extremely proud of the platform we have built for buyers, sellers, and in fact, the entire toy industry ecosystem, to come together, forge new connections and learn actionable insights on how they can grow their businesses, both here in the U.S. and across the world.”
The 117th North American International Toy Fair will take place one week later than usual, running from Saturday 22nd February to Tuesday 25th February at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Toy Fair Dallas, The Toy Association’s long-lead marketplace, takes place October 2nd to 4th, 2019, in Dallas, Texas.
