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Retailers: Don’t Miss Toy Book’s First-Ever Sweet Suite Retailer Day!
In just a few short months, the world as we know it has changed. Along with it, the business of play has been faced with the necessity of rapid evolution. The Toy Book is here to support the industry as we look ahead with optimism toward what can still be a successful holiday season.
With that in mind, we’re proud to present the first-ever Sweet Suite @ Home: Retailer Day — the best way to see the hottest toys of the year … from your couch!
Read more…
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Global Sales of Licensed Merchandise Surge
The global licensing industry entered this year coming off of a year of growth. According to Licensing International’s sixth annual Global Licensing Survey, sales of licensed merchandise and services grew 4.5% to $292.8 billion last year. The survey, conducted by Brandar Consulting on behalf of Licensing International, shows steady year-over-year growth with a 19% sales boom over the past six years.
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Here’s Your First Look at Cutetitos Taste Budditos
Everybody has taste buds — and now they can have Taste Budditos, too! Taste Budditos are the newest Babitos joining the Cutetitos family. Yes, that is quite the tongue twister, so we’re going to break it down for you — and give you a first look at the newest plush friends from Basic Fun!
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New Data from China Reflects Path to Retail Recovery, Consumer Toy Spend
While much attention is being paid to the reopening of businesses in the U.S., newly released NPD data out of China could offer an indicator as to how consumer preferences and spending could play out in the remainder of the year.
Read more…
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U.S. Retail Imports Remain Low, but Not as Low as Previously Forecast
The latest Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates shows that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail imports may not be as bad as previously expected.
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Buffalo Games Resumes Production Following COVID-19 Shutdown, Sales Boom
Following the one-two punch of a manufacturing shutdown and an unprecedented sales boom, Buffalo Games has restarted manufacturing at its facility in Buffalo, NY. The company paused production in mid-March and is now working to restore inventory levels for its popular range of puzzles.
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Dr. Mary Mason Talks Little Medical School on the ‘Power Kid Podcast’
In this week’s episode of the “Power Kid Podcast,” host Phil Albritton of Power Kid Design speaks with Dr. Mary Mason, founder of Little Medical School. Little Medical School is dedicated to the mission of inspiring and shaping tomorrow’s health care professionals through after-school programs, summer camps, birthday parties, and an award-winning line of educational toys.
Listen here…
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Target Reveals Plans to Commit $10 Million, Ongoing Resources for ‘Rebuilding Efforts and Advancing Social Justice’
Amid continuing protests following the death of George Floyd in its hometown, Target has detailed plans for its commitment to “rebuilding efforts and advancing social justice.” The retailer quickly joined the center of the fray as protests turned to riots and looting in Minneapolis, with several Target stores being destroyed in the process.
Read more…
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The Surprises Keep Coming with Mandalorian Blind Bags
Fans on the hunt for a large bounty in a small package can look no further. Monogram International debuted 11 possible bag clips that fans can get in its new blind bag collection featuring the best (and the worst) of
The Mandalorian
. Best of all? There are two different versions of Baby Yoda.
Read more…
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Neopets Gets a Mobile-Friendly Website Update
If you’ve been feeding your Neopets and collecting your daily bank interest for the past 23 years, you may have already noticed that neopets.com has gotten a modern-day revamp over the weekend. If you haven’t logged in since the ’90s, then your Neopet is probably on the brink of death and you need to go figure out your password ASAP.
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The Op Teams Up with Asmodee for Licensed Spot It! Games
The Op has signed a licensing agreement with Asmodee to launch a new version of Spot It! with a pop culture twist. The game, which was also known as Dobble, first debuted in 2010 with an illustrated deck of 55 circular cards, each featuring eight different symbols.
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Fun with Spot Celebrates 40 Years with New Plush from Commonwealth Toy & Novelty
Licensing Works! brokered a new deal under which Commonwealth Toy & Novelty takes the reigns as the master plush licensee for Fun with Spot in the U.S. and Canada. A new collection of plush, feature plush, wooden toys, and puzzles based on the popular
Fun with Spot
books was previewed at Toy Fair New York and will begin hitting stores this fall.
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Licensing Street Signs on to Rep ‘Pikwik Pack’ in the U.S.
Guru Studio inked a deal with New York-based Licensing Street to serve as the exclusive licensing agent for
Pikwik Pack
. The studio behind Spin Master’s
PAW Patrol
and its own
Justin Time
and
True and the Rainbow Kingdom
will debut
Pikwik Pack
on Disney Junior in the U.S. next year.
Read more…
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PlayMonster: Resilience and Opportunity During Uncertainty
Bob Wann of Wisconsin-based PlayMonster shares insight on how the company has weathered the COVID-19 storm and how it plans to charge forward into the future. “We were forced into an accelerated learning curve that nobody could have predicted, but in fact, it’s changing the way we do business for the better,” he says.
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GameStop Digital Sales Spike 519% During COVID-19 Pandemic
During the company’s first-quarter earnings report, GameStop reported that comparable same-store sales fell 17% for stores that were able to remain open in some capacity this year. When factoring in the stores that closed, total sales for the first quarter declined more than 30% but as gaming boomed, the company gained ground in e-commerce and digital sales which grew more than 500%.
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COVID-19 Claims Jobs as Funko Reduces Workforce by 25%
One major fear for businesses has been the potential for temporary furloughs due to coronavirus-related closures to become permanent layoffs. That’s just what has happened for 25% of the workforce at Washington-based Funko. In its latest Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the “purveyors of pop culture” collectibles, toys, apparel, and accessories revealed that it expects to incur approximately $1 million in charges related to certain termination benefits.
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Janet Hsu Takes the Helm as CEO, Horizon Group USA
An industry vet who has worked with the Power Rangers, Hello Kitty, and Barbie is stepping into a new role. Janet Hsu has been appointed CEO of Horizon Group USA, a privately held leader in the creative craft toy DIY space. The New Jersey-based company designs, manufactures, and distributes a wide variety of kits across several categories, including DIY, STEM/STEAM, outdoors, and tween.
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Stephen Woldenberg Named Vice President of Sales at Learning Resources, Educational Insights
Illinois-based Learning Resources Inc. and its Educational Insights division have a new vice president of sales. Stephen Woldenberg will lead and manage the internal sales team, sales representatives, and distributors for both brands. Woldenberg, who served as Learning Resources’ director of e-commerce sales for the past three years, will continue to drive digital sales in addition to building retail partnerships at physical retail for both specialty and mass.
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