Toyfair 2017 is a place where some of the world's largest toy manufacturers and retailers come together to show off new toys, games and to network with others from the industry. License 2 Play attends every year, where we meet our customers, source new toys, make connections and have a lot of fun checking out the new toys and games.
This year, more than 1,100 companies showed their merchandise to over 20,000 visitors from around the world, who came to see new toys and games as well as to source products for their stores throughout the year.
We know everyone was not able to go, so here's a quick recap in case you weren't there.
New Toys – Top toy manufacturers like Hasbro, Mattel, Funko, Playmates and many more all debuted their new toys at Toyfair 2017. Some of them are pretty spectacular. Mattel's new Barbie Dreamhorse, Hasbro's FurReal Friends and ABC/Mattell's The Toy Box are sure to be some of the biggest sellers of 2017 and they show of some cool new tech. We were excited to see just how geeky the industry is this year, especially all of the new Star Wars, Marvel and DC merchandise, which nearly everyone seems to have this year. We also saw some of the most innovative new companies to hit the industry, like WizzHead Paper Heads, Sensible Objects Beasts of Balance and Tucker Toys.
New Trends – What will kids be buying this year? While some smart options like PlayDough Touch and remote control toys like the BB-8 from Spin Master are sure to be heavy hitters for birthday parties, we're seeing more and more micro minis, blind box toys and collectibles. This is great news for smaller retailers, because you won't have to compete head to head with large retailers and Amazon to sell these because shipping costs often make them more affordable to buy from brick & mortar shops. With options ranging from Shopkins to Marvel and DC, collectibles are definitely here to stay. Older kids have a range of higher-end options like Funko, Jazwares, or Schleich, which are offering tons of new superhero merchandise, but kids under 12 have Shopkins, Glitzi Globes and World's Smallest to choose from.
New Growth – Toy Fair is all about making connections and growing your business and that's what we did. The toy industry grew by 5% in 2016 and by making connections, meeting with our partners and finding the toys and games we can offer to our customers for the rest of the year, we hope to make that happen again for 2017.
The best part about Toy Fair is meeting the retailers and toy store owners who sell these toys every day. We saw a lot of familiar faces, met new ones and made business relationships that will push growth through the year. Toy Fair 2017 was a great success and we hope we saw you there! If not, join us next year at Toy Fair 2018.