Advance publicity for this year’s Toy Fair generated all the thrill of a wet blanket, with announcements rolling in from industry giants Mattel and Hasbro that their presence at the 98-year-old show will be significantly notched down in 2002. As talk of “downsizing” and “retrenching” swirled in the press, we were also treated to the news that while 1999 toy sales showed the largest increase in a decade, last year’s sales dropped 1.4% to $16.4 billion, with units declining 4.9% to 3.4 billion. The industry blamed soft holiday sales on everything from a weakening stock market to the presidential election, according to Patrick Feely, chairman of the Toy Manufacturers of America. Indeed, the brightest spots in the toy biz playpen were the booming scooter industry, a 5.5% uptick in the infant/preschool category brought on by some high-tech gizmos, and the emergent field of robotic animals (see below).
Amid the gloomy outlook, it would seem that toymakers’ dependence on volatile movie-related licensing gigs (with the exception of flukes like Toy Story, of course) just confirms that book-originated characters are the ongoing lifeblood of the industry. To prove the point, once again the annual shindig at the Javits Center, the Toy Building, and other selected New York City venues was dominated by a book character: the ubiquitous Eloise (well, ok, Barbie was everywhere too, but she seemed to have lost some of her verve). Eloise has come into her own following the death of author Kay Thompson, who had heretofore rejected all licensing and repackaging attempts on the part of its original publisher, Simon & Schuster. Licensee itsy bitsy hit the ground running with Eloise, however, and their booth was dominated by the little lass. S&S, meanwhile, will be moving on with the launch of six new licensed properties this fall, including corporate cousin Nick-sourced Little Bill and Rocket Power as well as Peanuts and OshKosh B’gosh, among others. Book-originated characters, it seems, will always be sharing a portion of the Toy Fair limelight with their non-literary friends.
Still, the sassy young resident of New York’s Plaza Hotel even knocked Harry Potter out of the park, raising questions about Harry’s relatively understated toy presence. Normally one would expect about 100 movie tie-in licenses for such a major property, but Ms. Rowling’s interest in protecting her protégé from over-exploitation has resulted in far fewer toy releases for the Potter series. (Warner Brothers would not reveal the actual number, however.) All the same, the market can look forward to such wondrous Potter items as a Quidditch broom from Tiger Electronics; Hasbro’s “interactive candy” in the form of Bertie Bott’s Beans, with both good and bad flavors; and Mattel’s handheld “levitating” game. Spied here and there at the fair were also a kite, puzzles, board games, and paper goods, while apparel is said to be in the wings. Note: Last year’s desk diary from Andrews McMeel reportedly netted out at 1.2 million units, with a 1 million first printing, followed rather too rapidly by an equally huge second printing after advance orders ate up the first in five weeks. (A no-no in calendar publishing, but the flesh is weak — and greedy!) It was also reported that the Warner Bros. style guide was very difficult to work with, which might have scared off some potential licensees. And apparently Rowling won’t approve any subsidiary use requiring text — so everything is word-free. Despite the low-key role for Potter, there is said to be a global publishing tie-in deal which won’t be announced until the end of March — and by the time the movie hits in November, Harry could be the new mascot for Toys ‘R’ Us.
Most of the book publishers at Toy Fair — whose booths were looking rather more spruced up than usual — reported a solid response to their wares, even if they weren’t offering much that was novel. Booths for School Zone, Sterling, DK, HarperCollins, and Klutz were buzzing. And McGraw-Hill Children’s Publishing (formerly called Consumer Products, the unit was created following the acquisition of Tribune Education, which included Landoll) was crowing about its new status as the #1 children’s educational publisher (with more than 20 million children ages 3–13 using their materials daily) and its presence among the top 10 of US children’s publishers. With the latest acquisitions, McGraw-Hill is able to reach all markets from top to bottom, and their showroom in the Toy Building featured licensed products from the likes of Disney, Nickelodeon, Arthur, Little Critter, Henson, Warner Brothers, and their latest Nelvana — and they’re on the lookout for more. Incidentally, Jeanne Finestone was recently named vice president of marketing for the children’s unit (she was formerly managing director of McClanahan Book Company).
Goodbye Rambo, Hello Aibo
On the book front, Learning Curve International, the Chicago-based toy developer, will soon be a major publishing force, with the redoubtable Mike Morris and Patty Sullivan advising them on product development and sales, and Rachel Ginsburg handling additional markets. Their proprietary publishing line, originally spawned from a Lamaze license via B&N’s Michael Friedman, continues to expand. In response to many of the toys on display at the Javits Center, the president of Learning Curve, John Lee, in conjunction with Playing for Keeps, a broad-based coalition, announced the group’s second annual conference. Dedicated to promoting “the right of children to creative, imaginative, and non-violent play,” the conference — limited to a maximum of 250 people — will be held at Wheelock College in Boston on March 16–18. “This year’s conference,” says Lee, “will provide another opportunity for leaders in the children’s toy, media, and entertainment industries to come together with educators and family advocates to discuss play practices that will benefit children.” (For more information contact Linda Yates at 617 879-2185 or email lyates@wheelock.edu.)
But enough about books. The star of Toy Fair for many participants was clearly Aibo, the Japanese computerized dog, which retails at $1500. (“Personality Enhancement Aibo-ware” was available for an additional $90.) TV cameras followed fair spectators around, recording their reactions to this sleek critter, who wags his tail when petted, and will kick a ball placed in his path. An overheard comment, which made him seem more human, was that Aibo will “forget” if he isn’t played with constantly. (One wonders if he bites, too.) On the other hand, for a mere $99 wholesale, you can get two Insectazoids, which are hideous, radio-controlled cockroach-like beasts that are quite a bit larger than life. Looks like Aibo’s got his work cut out for him.
