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Game specifications for Mattel’s Auto Race by George Klose, with annotations by Mark Lesser, 1976. From the Mark B. Lesser papers, 1973-1999. The Strong, Rochester, New York. Finally, an area where Millennials and Gen Z have an advantage: both generations have consistently had access to gaming on the go. From the Nintendo Game Boy to Tamagotchis to smartphones, if you needed … [Read more...] about I Wanna Hold Your Hand(held Game)

A curated list of articles of interest to the toy industry Box Office Predictions for 2022: From the Surefire Hits (Superheroes!) to the Biggest Risks (Anything Else?) – Variety 5 alternative container ports for avoiding congestion in 2021 – Freightways China’s birth rate has hit a record low. That could shake the world economy – Business Insider U.S. Retail Sales … [Read more...] about A curated list of articles of interest to the toy industry

Road closed sign with orange lights against a bright blue skyThe last domino fell today. The Spielwarenmesse, the world’s largest toy fair by a magnitude, has canceled. In doing so, it closed the final stop on the toy highway. The highway that many of us have traveled for decades. The toy highway has many routes.  My travel has taken me to Sao Paulo, Brazil, Hong Kong, … [Read more...] about The Toy Highway Is Closed: The Spielwarenmesse Has Been Canceled

12th of January, Manchester: The Insights Family, the global leader in kids and family market intelligence, launched its service into four new international markets. As of January 1st 2022, the company started interviewing kids (3-18s) and parents in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Argentina and South Africa. This will see the business expand its operations to provide its clients with … [Read more...] about The Insights Family expands into Argentina, Turkey, South Africa and Saudi Arabia [Advertisement]

“The Mother of All Supply Shocks” China is aggressively fighting Coronavirus. With the Olympics only a month away, the Chinese government is determined to keep the Coronavirus at bay. The supply chain is becoming collateral damage as any incident of Coronavirus occurring sparks a shutdown. Just last week, truck movements in and out of the ports of Ningbo and Shanghai were … [Read more...] about Disruption Report #42

Click here to listen to this episode The Playground Podcast begins its fourth season with the first of a series of conversations with curators at The Strong Museum of Play, Richard and Chris talk with Michelle Parnett-Dwyer who oversees the doll collection. From the Edison talking doll to the newly inducted American Girl dolls, they discuss the history, significance and … [Read more...] about Strong Museum: The Doll Collections & the Power of American Girl

To many of you, the cancellation of Toy Fair is a relief, to some a disappointment, and to others a disaster. Toy Fair, which, before last year, had only been canceled once (World War II), will not take place again this year (it even took place during the 1919 flu epidemic). No one is at fault. Some were scared about Covid, others about losing money due to low attendance. The … [Read more...] about CRAP! Toy Fair is Cancelled

The latest updates to the Toy Intelligencer include Richard’s thoughts on a potential business culture challenge for new Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks. The latest TTI Toy Stock Composite Index numbers, and updated spot freight rates from Shanghai to Los Angles, New York and Rotterdam. Also, you can read about disruptions at the ports of Ningbo and Shanghai due to trucking problems … [Read more...] about The Latest from “The Toy Intelligencer”

We ran the “2022 Looking Forward Survey” because we wanted to know what was on your mind for the coming year. 225 of you filled out the survey, the biggest response in our years of conducting surveys. Here is what we learned. Questions 1: What are your top 5 concerns about 2022? Respondents listed the top 5 concerns in this order: Supply Chain (76.4%) Freight Rates … [Read more...] about The Toy Industry’s Biggest Worries: Results of the “2022 Looking Forward Survey”

“To be, or not to be? That is the question—Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by opposing, end them?” Hamlet, William Shakespeare There are two pandemics currently in play. One is, of course, Coronavirus (Omicron style), and the other is “decision fatigue.” Hence, the … [Read more...] about Toy Fair: To Go or Not To Go, That Is the Question