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The Toy Association Awards 2021 TOTY Winners
The Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards are often considered to be the Oscars of the toy industry, and The Toy Association named this year’s winners! Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 TOTY Awards were presented virtually during a special online presentation. The biggest winners this year were The Mandalorian and The LEGO Group. Read more…
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Hasbro’s eOne Cuts Staff; Reveals Plans for My Little Pony Movie, Clue TV Series, and More
Just days after reporting fourth quarter and full-year earnings, Hasbro made staffing cuts in its Entertainment One (eOne) division in a streamlining effort. eOne also revealed plans to send its new My Little Pony movie to Netflix, in addition to starting development on an animated series based on Clue. Read more...
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Spin Master Unveils 2021 Toy Lineup
Spin Master is tapping into some of this year’s biggest toy trends with a fresh lineup of new toys, games, and activities for 2021. The company pulled back the curtain on its 2021 lineup as the toy industry celebrates #ToyFairLife in the absence of Toy Fair New York this week. Spin Master’s new products run the gamut from top licenses such as DC, the Wizarding World, and Monster Jam to updates on PAW Patrol, Rubik’s and more. Read more…
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Jakks Pacific, SEGA Partner for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Toys and Costumes
SEGA bestowed global toy rights to Jakks Pacific to design, manufacture, create, market, and sell Sonic the Hedgehog 2-branded toys, including action figures, playsets, vehicles, plush, and collectibles. Additionally, Disguise — the costume division of Jakks Pacific — will be developing a full line of costumes and accessories based on characters from the film. Read more…
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MGA Entertainment Introduces L.O.L. Surprise! Dance Dance Dance! Series
MGA Entertainment just launched preorders for its latest brand extension: L.O.L. Surprise! Dance Dance Dance! The new collection introduces new characters, fashions, and dance moves for kids to unbox, collect, learn, and remix. Read more…
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Mattel, Universal Partner with Target for Jurassic World Collectibles Program
Mattel and Universal have partnered with Target for a Jurassic World-themed shopping page on target.com. The retail hub is called “Beyond the Gates,” and it will feature new collectible figures from Mattel. This collaboration will feature fan content and with a companion web series — also called “Beyond the Gates” — from Jurassic Outpost, a leading fan site for all things Jurassic World. Read more…
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Jazwares Introduces GlamCrush Makeup Collectible Line
Kids can become makeup artists for their Crush-It Girls with Jazwares’ latest glitzy collection, GlamCrush. This line features an interactive unboxing experience full of accessories and doll-specific beauty products. Read more...
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Exclusive: Disney, Marvel Characters Join PlayMonster’s Face Paintoos
Following a strong debut in the UK market through the recently rebranded Interplay, PlayMonster’s Face Paintoos are expanding in North America with a new assortment of licensed packs featuring Disney and Marvel characters. The latest additions to the popular brand of no-mess face painting kits for kids ages 4 and up include Marvel Avengers, Marvel Spider-Man, Disney Princess, and Disney Frozen 2. Read more…
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Far Out Toys Expands with Far Out Studios, Far Out FunLab
Far Out Toys — the maker of NASCAR Crash Racers, Ryan’s World Games, and a recently launched line of Love, Diana collectibles — is expanding its marketing capabilities to better connect with families around the world. Following the recent opening of its new product showroom, the toymaker is unleashing a host of original content through its new Far Out Studios operation and increasing investment in its Far Out FunLab consumer insights platform. Read more…
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Asmodee Acquires Board Game Arena
Asmodee is continuing to expand with its acquisition of the digital multiplayer board game platform Board Game Arena (BGA). BGA offers players access to the official online versions of more than 250 games in more than 40 languages to more than 5 million members worldwide. Asmodee titles, including Carcassonne, Jaipur, and 7 Wonders, are already available on the service. Read more…
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Baby Alive Goes Prehistoric with Dino Cuties Launch
Dinosaur babies never go extinct — at least not these ones! Hasbro is expanding its Baby Alive collection with Dino Cuties, dinosaur-themed dolls that kids can feed and care for. Like the original Baby Alive dolls, kids can feed the Dino Cuties water from the included bottle, then change their diapers after they “pee.” Read more...
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The Loyal Subjects Introduces WWE x Garbage Pail Kids Figures
This spring, The Loyal Subjects is launching a line of WWE x Garbage Pail Kids (GPK) mashup collectibles. Made of ABS and PVC, these figures feature four famous wrestlers from the ’80s, reimagined in the style of GPK, with gross-ified names to match. Read more…
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Racing Just Got a Major Glow up with Sunny Days’ Glow Racers Hyper Bass
Glow Racers Hyper Bass is a high-functioning racing car geared toward kids ages 3 and up. Kids can direct the durable, 10-inch motorized car to go forward or backward using a button on the top. The two buttons on the side will set off realistic sounds. Read more…
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Schleich USA Reveals Double-digit Growth, 2021 Product Launches
Schleich USA says that 2020 was its strongest year of growth. Following the overall 16% increase in U.S. toy sales, according to The NPD Group, Schleich reported double-digit growth in the U.S. as global sales spiked 5% during the company’s 85th anniversary year. Read more…
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Diverse Marketing’s Jeff Garb Appears on the “Power Kid Podcast”
In this week’s episode of the “Power Kid Podcast,” host Phil Albritton of Power Kid Design welcomes Jeff Garb, regional sales manager for the northeast at Diverse Marketing. For more than 30 years, Garb led his own company — Jeff Garb & Associates — gaining acclaim for servicing the toy and gift industries throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic States. Garb joined Diverse Marketing last fall. Listen here...
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What Do You Meme Opens Platform for Creating Custom Card Decks
What Do You Meme?, the company behind the popular adult party game of the same name, launched a new platform this month that consumers can use to add a personal touch to the game: personalized cards. In What Do You Meme?, players each provide a meme-formatted caption — via a hand of cards — to the same, random photo. Read more…
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Little Tikes’ Foamo Foam Machine Brings the Party Anywhere
Foamo is a portable foam machine that is easy to use, pack up, transport, and store. Foamo uses water and a Foamo solution pack to get the party started and get kids diving into mountains of foam within minutes. Parents can fill a 15-by-15-foot space in just five minutes, and the solution provided can entertain families for up to two hours. Read more…
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Super Impulse Doubles up with Wacky Packages Minis Series Two
Super Impulse is expanding its successful line of miniature product parodies with Wacky Packages Minis Series 2. The collectibles continue to spoof favorite household brands with new toys and stickers in fun blind boxes. Read more…
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Blue Orange Games Inks Pact with Alliance Game Distributors
Blue Orange Games has a new path to retail. The company inked a new distribution deal with Alliance Game Distributors, the largest hobby-game distributor servicing North America. Read more…
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Mezco Toyz Schedules “Mezco Toyz Fair” Virtual Preview Event
Without an in-person Toy Fair New York (TFNY) to preview its slate of upcoming licensed figures, Mezco Toyz is the latest pop culture collectibles manufacturer — following others such as Funko and Super7 — to schedule a virtual preview event. Mezco Toyz Fair will take place Feb. 20-22. Read more…
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Asda x The Entertainer Open Collaborative Toy Shops in the UK
UK grocer Asda opened prototype toy departments at five of its stores as part of a “test and learn” partnership with The Entertainer. The partnership — first revealed in October — feature store-within-a-store concepts that showcase a curated selection of toys and games from major makers, including Hasbro, LEGO, Mattel, WowWee, ZURU, and others. Read more…
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The Toy Association’s Trends Briefing Provides Outlook on this Year’s Toy and Play Landscape
From toys that encourage family bonding and playthings that enrich learning about STEAM subjects, to emotional wellness and cultural diversity, The Toy Association’s trends team unveiled the hottest toy and play trends of the year during its annual Toy Trends Briefing. Normally presented at Toy Fair New York, this year’s briefing was held virtually and released on YouTube. Read more…
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Holiday Momentum, Economic Stimulus Fuels January Retail Sales Growth
According to the latest data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the U.S. Census Bureau, the momentum of a record holiday season carried over into January to boost retail sales. The U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly retail survey indicates that January sales spiked 7.4% over the same period last year. NRF calculations, which use a different methodology, show a 10.7% increase. Read more…
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Hand2mind Promotes Elana Woldenberg to Senior Director of Product Development
Hand2mind announced the promotion of Elana Woldenberg to senior director of product development. In addition to leading the editorial department, Woldenberg’s responsibilities include developing new products and initiatives to continue to expand the company’s range of toys, manipulatives, and other resources for subjects like math, literacy, and STEM. Read more…
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