By:  Serach Nissim

The Toy Association quickly retreated on plans to move its annual Toy Fair outside of New York City.

As reported by the NY Post, on Oct. 2, the Toy Association had made a surprise announcement that it would be relocating its annual fair to New Orleans–after having held it in a NYC convention center for over a century.   The plans to move the fair for three years, beginning in 2026, got swift criticism and backlash from the toy manufacturers.  Just 11 days later, the Toy Association backtracked and issued a mea culpa, changing the plans.  “We were swiftly reminded of our industry’s passionate bond to a place that no amount of research, conversation and learning had sufficiently surfaced,” said the board’s letter. “As a board we have heard clearly that his change was the wrong choice for our members.”

The annual show has typically been held at the famed Javits Center, on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th, usually in February.  This year, there was a change, with the even taking place between Sept 30 and Oct. 3.  The changed date had also stirred complaints from members, with some of the biggest toy companies, including Mattel and MGA Entertainment, even missing the show, as per The Post.  The fair, which is open only to the toy trade and has been held since 1903, has been a central event for tapping into the $27 billion U.S. domestic toy market.  The annual show has grown into one of NY’s largest trade shows, giving the city’s economy a boost of more than $30 million, as per a city report.

So this time, the show organizers are listening to the feedback and the show will stay in NYC.  The Toy Fair has said that it will skip the event in 2024, and instead is exploring “ways to support” an event in August and September 2024 in Los Angeles – where Mattel, MGA and dozens of other major toy companies are headquartered, the association said in its letter to members.  Industry experts say that the LA-based manufacturers hold fall previews for major chain stores including Walmart and Target and have long sought to permanently relocate the Toy Fair to the West Coast.  “Toy Association made a big mistake [moving] Toy Fair to September,” MGA Entertainment chief executive, Isaac Larian told The Post.  He added that he’s “not sure” whether MGA would return to the show if the date was moved back to February. “I have advocated for Los Angeles.”

Per the Post, in 2021 and 2022 the Toy Fair did not take place due largely to the pandemic.  This year the fair’s changed date was a subtle way of giving manufacturers and buyers more time to bring goods into the US from overseas– but was seen by many as a misstep.  “We went three years with Zoom meetings so getting back to normal is a process,” said Jay Foreman, Chief Executive of Basic Fun, which specializes in retro toys like Tonka trucks, Care Bears and My Little Pony. “In the end we went around in circles and came back exactly where we started.”

The Toy Association said it will learn from this experience to better communicate with its members in the future before making changes.  “In retrospect, we recognize our shortcomings in the communication and decision-making process,” the letter from board said. “We’re committed to learning from these lessons and ensuring, clearer, more inclusive dialogues in the future.”