The Press Release:
As COVID-19 remains insufficiently resolved, The Toy Association has announced that it will not conduct an interim trade show in New York for 2021, which was previously planned to take place May 1 to 4. Plans for Toy Fair Dallas remain on course for October 2021 and providing an ongoing mix of physical and digital business opportunities for the industry will be the Association’s focus this year.

“Our foremost consideration is the health and well-being of the global toy and play community and setting a clear path forward,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “We want to provide our exhibitors, retail buyers, and the larger toy and play community with certainty on important destination shows and the ability to take advantage of immediate opportunities through our year-round buying and selling platform.”

As uncertainty about the pandemic persists, The Toy Association remains keyed into what is possible ? concentrating on its digital business offerings; bringing the industry back together in person for Toy Fair Dallas 2021 from Tuesday, October 5 through Thursday, October 7; and looking ahead to Toy Fair New York 2022 from Saturday, February 19 through Tuesday, February 22 in a newly expanded Jacob K. Javits Center, which will allow for new exhibitors, new educational offerings, expanded networking opportunities, and more.

Toy Fair Everywhere digital market weeks held throughout 2020 successfully helped toy businesses forge ahead amid the pandemic and brought in more than 3,000 buyers from 60+ countries, proving the global potential of the platform for doing business despite travel restrictions and different time zones. This February, the digital B2B marketplace will further establish its position as the toy industry’s first and only year-round platform, making new business opportunities possible every day.

The Toy Association will also collaborate with additional prospective retailers throughout 2021 on virtual private product preview events, which in 2020 created new avenues for nearly 400 toymakers to get their products on shelves. The next virtual event with specialty retailer Claire’s is scheduled to take place February 4.

“These proven digital opportunities should continue to be a critical part of every toy businesses’ mixed sales and marketing strategy,” said Marian Bossard, executive vice president of global market events at The Toy Association. “As we look forward to our time together at Toy Fair Dallas 2021 and Toy Fair New York 2022, the proof is in the pudding as to the potential of these digital tools and events to serve our members in reaching new audiences.”

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Piercing Ken Thoughts: I’m not going to claim having the powers of the Master of the Mystic Arts when I say that I didn’t feel that the interim Toy Fair was going to be possible. Trust me it pains me that we are still dealing with this almost a full year after it began to be the big news on this side of the pond. As I’ve mentioned in some earlier writings in 2020, it was around the second week of March when it became a matter of urgency and then so many things in our lives were put on hold for the duration. Though I will likely get yelled at for saying this, with most of our fellow citizens being months away from qualifying for the vaccine, I can’t see anything coming to pass unless its set for November or December. Believe me I would love to be proven wrong but I don’t see it right now but don’t hold my caution against me. “Happy New Year” again if you missed my wishing you this. Let’s stick together and please be safe out there. As more news on this and other major conventions, trade shows and tours come to light I will be discussing them here or on PiercingMetal.com and who knows, maybe I will even begin using the brand new Ken Pierce Media as more of an editorial soapbox. See you soon.

Official Website: http://www.toyassociation.org