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The Toy Insider’s Sweet Suite @ Home Draws Hundreds of Attendees
More than 600 members of the press and influencers logged into the daytime portion of the Toy Insider’s Sweet Suite @ Home virtual event yesterday, including
The TODAY Show
,
The Ellen Show
, NBC News, CBS News, ABC News Radio, BuzzFeed, Yahoo Finance, Associated Press, Blooomberg,
Parents
magazine,
Good Housekeeping
, and so many more.
Read more…
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Exclusive: First Look at the Categories Driving the Toy Industry’s 16% Sales Boom
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to drive sales across the toy industry with double-digit increases in four of the 11 supercategories tracked by The NPD Group. Earlier this week, CNBC reported that the overall toy industry had a 16% sales boom in the first half of the year. Now,
the Toy Book
is exclusively revealing where the gains are coming from. According to NPD, all but three of its tracked supercategories experienced year-over-year growth from January to June.
Read more…
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Black, Minority-Owned Game Makers Call for Diversity in the Game Aisle
A group of more than 40 Black and minority-owned game companies in alliance with the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and the Black Game Makers Association has penned an open letter to big-box retailers requesting real action to accompany recent industry commitments to diversity and inclusion.
Read more…
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Kid Trax Revs Up Fall Releases
Kid Trax is revving up its engines with four new products shown at
the Toy Insider
’s Sweet Suite @ Home this week. New offerings include the Real Rigs Recycling Truck, Silly Skaters Unicorn Inflatable Ride-On, Semi-Truck & Trailer Ride-On, and the Realtree Whipsaw UTV.
Read more…
Additionally, Kid Trax’s sister company, Schwinn (both are owned by Pacific Cycle) unveiled a limited-edition
Grape Krate Sting-Ray Bike
that is available on Amazon.
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Bonkers Toys Launches Trinity and Beyond, Braille Skateboarding Toys
Fans of
Braille Skateboarding
and
Trinity and Beyond
don’t have to wait much longer to get their hands on toys based on the YouTube channels. Bonkers Toys’ newest lineup will be available at major retailers next month.
Read more…
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SDCC: Comic-Con @ Home Arrives with Must-Have Exclusives
There will be no long lines of fans cosplaying at the San Diego Convention Center this weekend, but that doesn’t mean the show won’t go on. Comic-Con@Home brings fans a piece of the Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) action right to their living rooms, and toymakers are joining in.
Read more…
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The Pokémon Co. Reveals Champion’s Path TCG Expansion
The Pokémon Co. International revealed the next expansion for the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), Champion’s Path, coming soon on September 25. With Champion’s Path, Pokémon trainers can recreate their journey through the Galar region in the Pokémon TCG by collecting various pins featuring gym logos as well as foil cards representing the partner Pokémon of each Gym Leader — similar to what they’d experience in the
Pokémon Sword
and
Pokémon Shield
video games.
Read more...
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Hasbro Deploys G.I. Joe Special Missions: Cobra Island Series to Target
The relaunched G.I. Joe brand is rapidly expanding. Following the debut of the G.I. Joe Classified Series and the G.I. Joe Retro Series, Hasbro unleashed a new sub-line called Special Missions: Cobra Island for the 6-inch scale Classified Series. The first wave of figures is being offered exclusively at Target.
Read more…
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Action-Packed Games from YULU Hit Target This Month
Summer is heating up with new games and toys from YULU, heading to Target starting this month. Diamond Heist and Break the Board were shown at Sweet Suite @ Home this week. Additionally, YULU is expanding its Pop Pops line with Pop Pops Blingz, combining confetti ooze, bubble popping, and surprise collectibles
Read more…
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Aurora World Donates Truckloads of Plush to Kids Wish Network
The maker of quality plush toys for kids and collectors is donating “truckloads of extraordinary plush toys” to Kids Wish programs that support kids with life-threatening conditions or those who are struggling with life-altering situations.
Read more…
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PlayMonster’s My Singing Monsters Head to Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr.
Beginning this week, characters from the mobile game enjoyed by more than 100 million players worldwide will be found in Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Star Pals Kids Meals. PlayMonster collaborated with CKE Restaurants on four exclusive My Singing Monsters toys, including Monster Dominoes, Stackers, a Monster Maze, and an Island Theater Set.
Read more…
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Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Crushing It!
Returns for Second Season
Live events including the Hot Wheels Legends Tour and Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live might be on hold this year, but that’s not stopping the high-octane action from Mattel and the Raycom-Legacy Content Co.
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Crushing It!
is back for a second season, in which hosts Tommy Kane (Black Lightning) and Kristen Beat (NBC Sports, Fox Sports) will bring the excitement of Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live into homes in 155 markets across the U.S.
Read more...
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Tom Hudson Talks Marvin’s Magic on the ‘Power Kid Podcast’
In this week’s episode of the “Power Kid Podcast,” host Phil Albritton of Power Kid Design speaks with Tom Hudson, managing director of Marvin’s Magic. Marvin’s Magic launched in 1987 as a pioneer in the retail entertainment and product demonstration space.
Listen here…
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eOne’s
Ricky Zoom
Races into Oz
The popular preschool series about a bright red motorcycle and his friends hit screens down under this week on Nick Jr. Episodes will air weekdays at 10 a.m. Additionally, Ricky and the crew will race over to Australia’s Channel 9 for additional exposure this November.
Read more…
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Walmart, Best Buy Adopt Mask Policies, NRF Offers De-escalation Tips for Retailers
Just as Walmart and Best Buy adopted nationwide policies requiring customers to wear masks or face coverings in their stores, the National Retail Federation (NRF) is calling upon all retailers to adopt mask mandates and has issued a de-escalation script to assist retail workers in dealing with combative customers.
Read more…
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ASTRA Reveals 2020 Excellence Award Winners
The COVID-19 pandemic put an end to plans for this year’s Market Place & Academy, but the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is continuing its yearly tradition of honoring the best in the specialty toy industry. The winners of the 2020 ASTRA Excellence Awards have been revealed, and while the in-person celebration is canceled, a virtual celebration will take place next month during the first-ever ASTRA Camp.
Read more...
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Dive into Shark Week with Fin-tastic New Toys
Everybody out of the water! As Discovery Channel’s Shark Week rapidly approaches, shark lovers can show their pride with some new toys and games hitting shelves this month.
Read more...
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Video Game Sales Surged 26% in June
According to The NPD Group, total spending on video games surged to $1.2 billion in the U.S. last month, a 26% surge when compared to last June. The increase across hardware, games, and accessories accounted for the biggest June month since 2019. Overall, the entire industry is up 19% year-to-date — an incredible feat for an industry that should be down as we approach the end of a console generation and prepare for the debut of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Sony’s Playstation 5 this holiday season.
Read more…
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Mattel Appoints Diana Ferguson to Its Board of Directors
Mattel Inc. appointed Diana S. Ferguson, CFO of Cleveland Avenue LLC, to its board of directors, effective July 21, 2020. Ferguson will serve on the board’s audit committee before assuming the role of that committee’s chair on Sept. 1.
Read more...
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From ‘Miraculous’ to Madballs, Ian Lambur Joins Cloudco Entertainment
Ian Lambur, most recently of Zag Entertainment, joins Cloudco Entertainment, where he is responsible for all content planning, strategies, and co-production relationships. Additionally, Lambur will serve as head of Cloudco’s global content sales, reporting to President, Sean Gorman.
Read more…
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