The annual New York International Toy Fair held its 101st edition as the toy industry dealt with the recent closure of FAO Schwarz and Zany Brainy and the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of K•B Toys (which closed 375 stores). Industry members were also pondering a tough 2003, when U.S. toy sales fell 3% to $20.7 billion. Meanwhile, the inaugural Fall Mass Market Toy Expo, launched last October, kept many mass merchants and discounters away from this year's fair, held at the Toy Center and Jacob Javits Convention Center February 15—18. Despite these challenges, however, attendees and vendors—including 35 publishers—said they were writing orders and having productive meetings.
Hot trends and talked-about new toys were few and far between. Most offerings were evolutionary steps from last year's items, rather than revolutionary new ideas. As during the last few years, interactivity and education were the buzzwords of the show.
A wide variety of educational publishers exhibited, ranging from long-time retail players to those who are known for creating supplemental materials for schools but are increasing their in-store presence. Evan-Moor Educational Publishers was touting The Never-Bored Kid Book for ages 6—7, developed in response to requests from parents whose children were using Evan-Moor's materials in class. Learning Horizons announced its new Sesame Street license for educational workbooks, flash cards and wipe-off books and introduced its Premium Education Series workbook line.
Other educational publishers at the show included Creative Teaching Press, Teacher Created Materials, School Zone, Carson-Dellosa, Learning Resources and Trend Enterprises.
The show also saw new players enter the education segment. Grandreams, which produces interactive novelty titles with an educational slant, introduced a purely educational imprint called Imagination Generation that is launching with a line of licensed Arthur books. Bendon Publishing debuted its educational program with a new license from Disney; other titles will feature the Muppets, Brainy Baby and Bear in the Big Blue House. Noting that the educational market is already competitive, Bendon cofounder Don Myers said, "We would not have ventured into education if it weren't for Disney."
Focus on Interactive
Toy companies' focus on interactivity usually centers around some sort of electronic component, including the sound chips and infrared technologies that are ubiquitous in toy products these days. (Some observers have estimated that as many as 70% of the products shown at Toy Fair included some sort of electronic component.)
For publishers, interactivity can take many forms. Piggy Toes Press, an imprint of Intervisual Books, showed a title called Under Construction, in which detachable vehicles move along grooved tracks on each spread. The company got a good reaction to This Little Piggy, the latest title in its "disappearing die-cut" format (the first of which sold three million copies in four years), and Good Morning, Good Night, a gatefold format with enlarged touch-and-feel areas.
Many companies combine interactivity and education. Silver Dolphin showed a variety of educational novelty titles, including Shark, the fourth in the Uncovered Series (450,000 in print); Totally Sea Creatures, which contains parts kids can assemble; and an electronic cloth book called Make Me Say Moo. Innovative Books highlighted a number of interactive educational titles, including Monster Munch, a counting book, and Bubbleology, a hands-on science kit.
One place where interactivity and education have come together is in the growing electronic book market, which bridges the gap between publishing and toys. LeapFrog's Leap Pad, Fisher-Price's PowerTouch and Publications International's Story Reader are the leading brands in this category; each announced new products and/or additional titles. Another company, Playhut, entered the market with its EZ Reader electronic books, which will launch with titles featuring the company's proprietary property, Little Signz.
Trend Watch
Licensed products were less prominent at this Toy Fair than in many past years. While some publishers highlighted a variety of licensed titles—such as Scholastic, with properties ranging from Boobah to Bionicle—most focused more on classic franchises and interactive or educational products.
Within the licensing market, retro properties are still going strong. Scholastic is adding Rainbow Brite to its roster, which already includes Care Bears titles. Penguin has done well with Strawberry Shortcake, according to Nancy Bassett, senior v-p of worldwide consumer products at licenser DIC Entertainment, while coloring and activity licensee Dalmatian has over three million in print. DIC added Meredith as a new licensee; it will release two Strawberry Shortcake soundbooks this fall.
Comic books and graphic novels—from The Hulk to Hellboy —inspired many toys and collectibles. A company called Critterbox showed limited-edition figures of art by graphic novel illustrators including Dave Cooper and Kaz, both published by Fantagraphics. Anime/manga properties are still going strong, with examples ranging from Sony's AstroBoy (with Bandai as the master toy licensee) to Shonen Jump's Shaman King and ShoPro's Megaman (both Mattel).
Licensed toy brands currently are prevalent in the children's book arena, and publishers are adding more such properties. Modern Publishing has done well with its Bratz and Little Tikes lines and is rolling out Li'l Bratz for younger girls in the spring, according to Modern president Andrew Steinberg. The company has signed additional toy-based licenses for the Build-A-Bear Workshop and Spin-Master's Mighty Beanz. (On the other hand, it decided to give up its Barbie license, under which it produced educational workbooks.) Bendon Publishing reported strong sales for My Little Pony, which ranks among the top five bestselling titles in mass channels, according to Myer, while Scholastic has acquired the license for Groovy Girls, Manhattan Toy's tween-targeted doll line.
As always, a number of exhibitors promoted merchandise based on book characters. MerryMakers highlighted new plush figures including Walter the Farting Dog (with sound) and Five Little Jumping Monkeys. The sidelines specialist will enter the publishing business next spring with a line of four 32-page picture books tied to Colonial Williamsburg, for which it has produced plush items.
Mudpuppy Press showed stationery products based on Gossie, Miffy and Olivia; Wink Inc. promoted furniture and home décor featuring The Cat in the Hat, Curious George and Olivia; Peaceable Kingdom showcased greeting cards and other items based on Dr. Seuss, Where the Wild Things Are and Frog and Toad; and Briarpatch touted board games based on I Spy (its top seller for 10 years) and Olivia.
Licensing Out
A number of publishers promoted properties they hoped to extend through licensing. First-time exhibitor Dogs in Hats Publishing showed a line of stories under the PuppyDog Tales imprint, including a four-book series featuring Tractor Mac (50,000 copies sold) that it intends to license. Eurpsville Entertainment, which returned to the fair after a three-year break, recently hired a licensing agent to represent its book-based property the Eurps, which has a video from Sony Wonder coming out this fall.
Angel Gate has taken over publishing and merchandising duties for Jane Seymour's children's book series This One and That One (the first three titles were published by Putnam). It will create plush toys and books based on the characters, as well as other Seymour properties; it also publishes a line of graphic novels. And Ideals Publications plans to license room décor and other items inspired by its Noah's Babies book line.
Self-esteem, especially for girls, was a notable trend among the titles highlighted by publishers. Examples included Jane Not Plain, a new book-plus property self-published by the author-and-illustrator team Jane Keller and Donna Rudderow, who were seeking licensees for entertainment and merchandise. Dogs in Hats'IQGirls also fit into this trend, as did Harcourt's I Like Myself, featuring African-American characters, which it promoted along with other titles including Rocko and Spanky Go to a Party and Janell Cannon's next release, Pinduli.
Exploring New Channels
Many publishers exhibiting at Toy Fair are looking for new distribution channels, and the possibilities are diverse. Bendon is selling its educational titles in a 72-pocket display at Michael's arts and crafts stores, while first-time exhibitor Excel Publishing is trying to expand into traditional book and toy stores after selling its golf-themed children's books at pro shops and golf tournaments. Meadowbrook Press has a line of party activity cards that it has sold through grocery stores such as Ralph's and Kroger as part of a wedding-themed promotion; Scholastic is producing a custom book called Clifford's Big Itch as part of a tie-in with Merial's Heartgard brand in 8,000 veterinary clinics; and Silver Dolphin has sold its Undercover series at museums and zoos during on-site educational events with the author.
Meanwhile, toy companies are increasingly turning to the written word to enhance the value of their playthings. Not only do licensed publishers create content that is complementary to the toy line, but toy companies are developing their own story lines to be included in the toy package. Mattel is incorporating a mini pop-up book in its Fairytopia version of Barbie, for example, while Marvel/Toy Biz is packaging a 32-page comic or 24-page poster book in each box of its Marvel Legends action figures.
All in all, the connection among toys, books and Hollywood is growing ever stronger, and nowhere is this more evident than at Toy Fair, which naturally shines a spotlight on their symbiotic relationship.
