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Fuel Your Fandom with the Pop Insider’s Spring 2021 Issue
The Toy Book‘s sister publication, the Pop Insider, is blasting into spring with its feature-packed ninth issue!
While members of the toy, game, licensing, and entertainment industries are still missing the thrill of conventions, the Pop Insider serves up a sneak peek at tons of must-have merch that fans and collectors can still get online this year, while also providing insight on how the geek industry is faring through COVID-19.
The latest issue features in-depth features, company and cosplayer profiles, new product showcases, and so much more. Read more...
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Introducing: The Toy Book's Job Board!
Hiring? Need to fill an industry-related position? When you want to hire within the toy, family entertainment, or licensing industries, any old job board just won't do. Enter: The Toy Book's brand new job board! Click here to get started!
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Mattel Teams up with ‘Hollywood Game Night’ Producers for Barbie Fashion Battle
Barbie Roberts is getting into the reality TV game. Mattel Inc. and Mission Control Media (Hollywood Game Night, Face Off, The Soup) have teamed up to develop a fashion design reality competition series that will focus on creating high-fashion collections for Barbie dolls. Barbie Fashion Battle features a dozen designers who will face off on teams assigned between two separate fashion houses, each run by a celebrity fashion icon. Read more…
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Moose Toys Introduces an All-star Space Jam: A New Legacy Toy Collection
In honor of the highly anticipated Space Jam: A New Legacy film coming out this summer, Moose Toys and Warner Bros. Consumer Products have collaborated to release a range of licensed toy products. This toy line features Tune Squad characters such as Lola and Bugs Bunny, as well as the movie’s new NBA protagonist LeBron James. Its collections include action figures, collectibles, plush, playsets, and even Goo Heroes from the hit Heroes of Goo Jit Zu brand. Read more...
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FAO Schwarz Heads to Italy; Milan Flagship Store to Open This Fall
The international expansion of the FAO Schwarz brand is kicking back into high gear. ThreeSixty Group partnered with Prénatal Retail Group — one of Europe’s largest toy retailers — to launch FAO Schwarz in Italy as the first move in an effort to extend its reach into Spain, France, Portugal, and Benelux. Prénatal, which operates the Toys Center and King Jouet chains, is working with ThreeSixty to create an FAO Schwarz flagship store in the heart of Milan. Read more…
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Universal Brand Development Debuts Spirit Untamed Toy and Consumer Products Program
Following the March 1 debut of Mattel’s new range of toys inspired by DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed, Universal Brand Development has dropped the curtain on its entire cross-category consumer products licensing program. The collection includes new products from Playmobil, Just Play, Ravensburger, Tara Toy, Crayola, and Innovative Designs. Read more…
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Stop Baby Yoda from Getting Hangry with Hasbro’s Snackin’ Grogu
Hasbro is giving the baby what he wants with the Star Wars Galactic Snackin’ Grogu this fall. Designed for kids ages 4 and up, the animatronic toy includes four interactive accessories (a bowl full of tentacles, a blue macaron, a shifter knob, and a spoon) and features sound effects and moving parts, such as blinking eyes, to make Grogu as life-like as possible. Read more…
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Wham-O Taps Anjar Co. and Becker Associates as Global Licensing Agency
The company behind Frisbee, Slip ’N Slide, Hula Hoop, Hacky Sack, Super Ball, Trac-Ball, and Boogie Board appointed Anjar Co. and Becker Associates as its exclusive global licensing agency. Anjar and Becker Associates will develop, license, and commercialize Wham-O and its brands across all product categories. Read more…
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Crayola’s Warren Schorr Appears on the ‘Power Kid Podcast’
In this week’s episode of the “Power Kid Podcast,” host Phil Albritton of Power Kid Design welcomes Warren Schorr, vice president of business development and global licensing for Crayola. Prior to joining Crayola in 2010, Schorr held executive roles at Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and MGM. Now he works to grow and extend a brand that has become a true “household name,” with brand recognition in 99% of U.S. homes. Listen here...
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Minecraft’s Cutest Characters Get the Plush Treatment
Kids can level-up their Minecraft addictions with a new collection of plush toys from Jinx, featuring some seriously cute characters. The plush toys are perfect for kids to play with or display, with designs featuring the pixel-style details that the Minecraft video game is known for. Read more...
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LEGO Blasts off with NASA Discovery Set
On April 12, 1981, the first NASA Space Shuttle launched and changed space exploration forever. Now, almost exactly 40 years later, space enthusiasts can celebrate that historic space mission with a colossal new LEGO set. Astronaut Dr. Kathy Sullivan, who was part of the original NASA STS-31 mission, helped reveal this new LEGO set for adult builders, which recreates the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery. Read more...
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McFarlane Toys Introduces Zack Snyder's Justice League Action Figures
McFarlane Toys, which offers a wide variety of characters in its DC Multiverse line, has added a selection of figures to the collection that take inspiration directly from the Snyder Cut. Available to preorder now, the figures include versions of Batman, Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman, Superman, Darkseid, and Steppenwolf. Read more...
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Breyer — a division of Reeves International Inc. — has been named master toy partner for Piper’s Pony Tales, a new short-form series from Epic Story Media Inc and Milkcow Media.
The preschool series from Milkcow Media’s Alexander Bar (Ricky Zoom, Mike the Knight) tells the story of Piper, a young girl who dreams of having a pony of her own as she plays with her toy horse, Spark, and her stable playset. Read more…
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Licensing International Plans Licensing Essentials Course
Licensing International is preparing to launch a new virtual event that will serve as a crash course for those interested in the growing business of licensing. The Licensing Essentials Course will be open to all brand licensing professionals — with a focus on retail executives — as well as other professionals looking to break into or expand their profile in the licensing community. The course will cover 10 major topics and will feature guest appearances by a dozen top licensing executives. Read more…
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Talkin' Toys: Schleich USA Continues Momentum into 2021
Schleich USA is coming off of a strong year — reporting double-digit growth in the U.S. and a 5% increase globally. The company also celebrated its 85th anniversary last year and got creative during the pandemic, incorporating its fan base into its marketing initiatives. The Toy Book caught up with Schleich USA's Managing Director Annie Laurie Zomermaand about how the company's plans were shifted upside-down during a challenging time, its direct-to-consumer strategy, and what the company has in store for 2021. Read more…
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Iconic Toys Through Time
Every year, new and innovative toys make their debut, tapping into current trends in hopes of topping holiday gift guides and wish lists by the fall. Yet, there are some toys that are far from new, but still remain playtime favorites decades after they first appeared on toy store shelves or made their first appearance at a major toy fair. The Toy Book takes a look at some of the most popular classic toy brands and how they have evolved through the years. Read more…
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Toys in Easter Baskets? U.S. Easter Spending Headed for Record High
According to the latest data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, 79% of U.S. families will celebrate Easter and spend a collective $21.6 billion on related products. The average spend comes out to an average of $179.90 per basket. Read more…
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The GameStop Saga Continues with Executive Appointments and Q4, Full-Year Earnings
Two months into the historic — and strange — Reddit-fueled stock boom, GameStop reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings for 2020. The Texas-based retailer fell short of expectations with sales sliding more than 3% in Q4 while comparable store sales increased 6.5%. On the flip side, the company experienced a 175% spike in digital sales for the quarter amid a 21.1% decline in gross margin due to the notoriously thin margins on new console hardware. Read more...
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ZAG Opens Miami Office, Taps Former Viacom Exec to Head Consumer Products Expansion in Latin America
Angela Cortez, a longtime licensing executive with experience at Viacom and Warner Bros. will serve as ZAG’s first vice president, consumer products, Latin America. Cortez will be based in Brazil but will also work out of the Miami office. In her new role, Cortez will work to build licensing and new business for the ZAG Heroez portfolio, including Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir and the upcoming Ghostforce. Read more…
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