Amid the swirl of war toys, rescue heroes, dueling tops, robotic creatures and karaoke machines that are helping drive the $25 billion toy industry this year, nearly 70 companies--including many of the leading juvenile mass market and trade publishers--exhibited children's books at the 2002 American International Toy Fair, held February 10-14 in New York City.
According to preliminary figures from the Toy Industry Association, 1,487 exhibitors (down 23% from 1,942 in 2001) displayed their products at the Toy Center showrooms and at booths at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Final attendance figures weren't available at press time for this security-heavy, first post-September 11 Toy Fair, but publishers agreed that traffic was exceptionally light. Many noted, however, that they wrote more orders this year and that all the key people from their important accounts were there.
Most publishers that exhibit at Toy Fair focus on titles that appeal to mass market chains and independent gift and toy retailers, including licensed lines, novelty and book-plus titles, higher-end gift-giving ideas, coloring and activity series, and books featuring classic franchises or characters.
McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing showed its Mercer Mayer First Readers Skills and Practice books, of which 12 were released in 2001 (more than 250,000 copies sold), with 12 more being released this year. It also highlighted its Parent & Child Read Together line, featuring such Disney licenses as Winnie the Pooh, Little Mermaid, Lion King and 101 Dalmatians, and its licensed coloring and activity titles tied to DreamWorks' May film release, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.
David Kelly, senior marketing manager, says Spirit titles could do well if the film, targeted at girls 11 and under, appeals to younger segments of that demographic. "There was a lot of retailer interest," he said.
Kelly reported that attendees responded especially well to the company's new McGraw-Hill Children's Dictionary, co-developed with Wordsmith as part of the Wordsmith Reference Series, and to its Little Libraries boxed sets of four chubby books. The 10-title Little Libraries series has sold more than one million units; three holiday sets are being released this year.
School Zone Publishing, which had a presence at both the Toy Center and at Javits, also showed new titles, such as Multiplication Made Easy from its revised Get Ready series and the Super Deluxe series of 128-page workbooks. But it primarily uses Toy Fair to demonstrate to its accounts how to generate more profit from existing four-foot School Zone displays. "We're focusing on getting more productivity from our current space," explained v-p Peter Alfini. Stores carrying the School Zone Scholars line, for example, which has a slightly higher price point than other titles, can generate more dollars from the same-size display.
Toy Fair provides a good opportunity for School Zone to illustrate how its offerings stay current, Alfini said. "We're constantly providing a fresh and updated look every one to two years." School Zone wrote more orders at Toy Fair this year than last, he reported, despite light traffic, and noted in particular an increase in grocery store buyers. "We see that as a good sign. It shows us grocery stores are interested in carrying educational product."
Reader's Digest Children's Publishing emphasized its fall Barbie promotion, consisting of point-of-sale materials, event kits and discounts to support new and backlist titles in the franchise, one of RD's staples. Two weeks before the start of Toy Fair, the company announced a broad license to produce titles for Hasbro properties starting this fall; it exhibited Mr. Potato Head, Scrabble Jr., Easy Bake Oven and Tonka books under the Hasbro umbrella.
"We found Toy Fair to be great this year," said Rosanne McManus, RD associate publisher, noting that the company saw key buyers and had productive meetings with licensors. Titles that generated the most interest from attendees included Barbie's Wheel of Fashion, a Fisher-Price Christmas flap book, and Scrabble Jr. spelling books.
Scholastic added 10 feet to its booth space this year, according to Michael Jacobs, senior v-p, trade division, and wrote an estimated 10% more orders than in 2001. The company highlighted key brands, both new and continuing, including Dav Pilkey's The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, Walter Wick's Can You See What I See? and a paperback set of the first three Harry Potter titles. Preschool series were another focus, including Clifford, Little Suzy's Zoo, Barney, Tonka and Franklin, as were new licenses, such as Butt-Ugly Martians and Cubix, and ongoing Powerpuff Girls and Scooby-Doo titles. (Powerpuff and Scooby, both Cartoon Network properties, will be featured in movies this spring and summer.)
Scholastic produced a catalogue for the specialty gift trade this year for the first time, which it promoted at Toy Fair. Jacobs said the strong presence by gift retailers was one reason for the enthusiastic reception of Scholastic's new title When I Grow Up I Want to Be Me by Sandra Magsamen, whose ceramics are well known in that market. Jacobs pointed out that Scholastic hasn't really begun soliciting this title, but wrote 200 orders at the show.
The house's SE Distribution division exhibited the company's Sidekicks line, featuring six new Clifford sidelines for spring and six for fall, as well as plush and beanbag toys based on Murphy and Myrtle, a book being introduced this autumn. Meanwhile, Scholastic Entertainment promoted its HBO television series based on I Spy, expected to debut in late 2002, and the accompanying licensing effort, as well as new Clifford playthings, including early learning toys from Toy Island.
Consumers have purchased more than $100 million worth of licensed merchandise based on Clifford (not including books and videos) since the TV series debuted last fall, according to Leslye Schaefer, Scholastic Entertainment's senior v-p of marketing and consumer products. Hormel will promote Clifford this year in conjunction with its Kid's Kitchen Microwave Meal Packages; the effort will include a giveaway of Clifford TV tie-in books.
Penguin Putnam focused on its "favorite characters" at Toy Fair, particularly those with licensing or promotional initiatives in the works, according to Gina Maolucci, executive director of marketing. The house spotlighted Madeline, which had a long list of licensees exhibiting at the show, such as Learning Curve, which is doing a big push on Madeline toys this year. Other key properties included Eric Hill's Spot, which will be at the center of an apparel program at Target; Peter Rabbit, celebrating its 100th birthday with promotions and a new line of merchandise, Peter Rabbit Seedlings, for infants and toddlers; and Mad Libs, which will soon benefit from a licensing program.
Penguin also exhibited new licensed titles, including those based on the PBS series Jay Jay the Jet Plane, DreamWorks' film Spirit and Infogrames'Rollercoaster Tycoon. The last is based on a PC game that sells well in book clubs and fairs; Penguin previewed cover comps and a demo of the game to promote the fall book launch. "We're going to see how it translates to books," Maolucci said.
Larry Jonas, director of special sales at Harcourt Children's Books, reported a good reaction to a fall 2002 title, My Little Blue Robot, a follow-up to last year's successful My Little Red Toolbox. Retailers also responded favorably to In My World, a spring 2002 die-cut title by Lois Ehlert featuring a rebus story. "It's of interest to a wide array of channels of distribution," Jonas said.
At its Javits Center booth, Mattel division Pleasant Co. spotlighted its new series of interactive scrapbooks, American Girls Travel Books, including Molly's Route 66 Adventure and Samantha's Ocean Liner Adventure, which feature pull-out souvenirs. Publicity manager Julie Parks reported that Pleasant's Angelina Ballerina books have done well at Toy Fair the last couple of years and this year was no exception, with excitement raised by the upcoming PBS series, a costumed character and a two-for-one doll promotion for retailers. Parks said Angelina doll-and-book sets are especially popular with gift stores, including the original Angelina, as well as a new Polly set, based on the character's younger sister. The company's Matchbox line is also a natural for Toy Fair. (This year, for the first time, Pleasant exhibited in Mattel's showroom, where it featured its dolls, as well as at Javits.)
Silver Dolphin Books used Toy Fair as an opportunity to introduce its new interactive board book series for preschoolers, Dial Books. Titles include Dialing Alphabet, Dialing Numbers and Dialing Animals.
Some publishers opt to show their lines at their New York offices rather than at Toy Fair. One of these is Random House, which announced a new licensing deal with Ohio Art Company and Pro Licensing Nordic to create books based on the Betty Spaghetty doll line for fall 2002. It showed its list, including its newly acquired Golden titles, to accounts, licensors and investors in town for the convention (Golden had been a long-time exhibitor at the Toy Center).
According to Kate Klimo, v-p and publisher, Random House/Golden Books Young Readers Group, the company's sales reps saw a particularly positive reaction to Random's relaunch of the Little Golden Books line. "Random House is making a monumental effort to resurrect Little Golden Books," she said, noting that under an independent Golden, "the economics of the Little Golden imprint were imperiled." Random also showed Golden's full coloring and activity line, with Nickelodeon properties a key focus. (Golden's Cartoon Network license reverted to Warner Bros. after the Random House acquisition.)
In addition to showing their lines and attending meetings with licensors and existing accounts, publishers also walked Toy Fair, hoping to spot trends in the toy and licensing businesses relevant to children's publishing. "It's certainly an occasion to see what the toy business is up to," said Klimo. "It's an occasion for taking the temperature of things and seeing what the trends are."
This year, publishers commented on the lack of stand-out toys, trends and licenses, noting that most products were part of ongoing lines or repurposed versions of previous toys. Yet despite the lack of any breakout products and despite the slow traffic, most publishers agreed that participating in Toy Fair was beneficial. "It's been much more clear over the last few years that retailers of all stripes, including the book trade, take the opportunity to come to town for Toy Fair," said Scholastic's Jacobs.
"I feel like I really need to be there," said Jonas at Harcourt. "Our rep groups expect me to be there, and our accounts expect me to be there. And you never know who you'll see. It's good for making contacts."
