Thanks to the pioneering efforts of companies such as Funko with its Pop! brand, Kidrobot, and Lego with its minifigures, it has become commonplace in the toy industry for licensed properties to take on the stylized look of the licensee’s brand. The trend affects not only the adult-skewing collectible portion of the market, but also […]
Archive | Toys/Games
Q&A About TRU
Toys ‘R’ Us announced last week that it would shut all 735 of its U.S. stores under the TRU and Babies ‘R’ Us banners, after declaring bankruptcy last fall and subsequently posting poor holiday results. This move raised a number of key questions for toy companies, retailers, analysts, and licensing executives. Question 1: What happened? […]
Nurturing Nature Knowledge
Science, maker, and activity kits—some with licenses attached—are a big trend within the toy business, from STEM packs centered on coding and circuitry to chemistry sets focused on slime or cosmetics. A mini-trend within the category, notable at this year’s New York Toy Fair, was the pairing of licensed properties with plant- and nature-related science […]
Toy Testers, Mommy Bloggers, and More
The impact of social media influencers in the toy industry—from toy testers and mommy bloggers to comedians, singers, and pranksters—was evident at this year’s New York Toy Fair. Ryan of Ryan ToysReview, which has accumulated 19.5 billion video views and 12 million subscribers, has a new deal with Bonkers Toys for a line of branded […]
Construction Paper
Paper engineering (the art and science of creating pop-ups and paper sculpture) has inspired a growing, albeit still small, product category dubbed paper art. The sector has attracted a number of entertainment/character licenses over the past 18 months or so: Lovepop announced early in December that it had introduced a 3D paper art collection tied […]
Unplug and Play
A couple of decades ago, makers of physical board, card, and tabletop games were rushing to sign deals that would bring their game play into the digital world. Those sorts of agreements are still happening, of course; Hasbro and its licensee Marmalade Game Studio introduced a new mobile game based on Clue (known as Cluedo […]
Hot Toys for the Holidays
Over the past couple of months, key retailers have released their hot holiday toy lists, predicting the playthings consumers will be buying for fourth-quarter gift-giving. Licensed products account for between 16% and 32% of the products on each of the lists released by Amazon, BJ’s, Kmart, Target, Toys R Us, and Walmart, with Amazon at […]
Tough Times for Toys-to-Life Titles
The shutdown of Lego Dimensions is the latest bad news for the “toys-to-life” segment of the toy and interactive gaming industries. The sector, which got its mainstream start with Activision’s Skylanders in 2011, represented one of the top trends in the toy business in its not-long-ago heyday. Warner Bros. Interactive, TT Games, and Lego announced […]
An Education In A Box
Amazon’s launch of its STEM Toy Club earlier this year is the latest in a long list of educational subscription box services to come on the market over the past few years. Many of the leading names in this space, such as Kiwi Crate, Green Kids Crafts, and Little Passports, rarely, if ever, feature licensed […]
A Crush of Collectibles Brands
Even as mini-collectible toys have become a key category for entertainment/character licenses of all types, properties with roots in the world of collectibles are also increasingly launching outbound licensing programs. Some of the newer entrants into the market include: Splashlings from TPF Toys, licensed by Shaftesbury/Smokebomb. Licensees announced to date include Boston America, Children’s Apparel […]