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Submit Now for the Toy Insider’s 16th Annual Holiday Gift Guide!
The Toy Insider — the source for the hottest kids’ toys and gifts — is now accepting submissions for consideration for its 16th annual Holiday Gift Guide. All submissions are due by June 16. Featured in the November issue of Parents magazine and online at thetoyinsider.com, the guide will showcase the best toys and gifts for the holiday season. Reaching millions of consumers, the Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide will feature more than 250 toys for kids of all ages. Click here for submission guidelines and to submit!
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U.S. Toy Industry Sales Spike 27% During the First 4 Months of 2021
The U.S. toy industry growth is showing no signs of slowing down. Total U.S. sales increased 27% in the first four months of 2021, a $1.5 billion increase over the January-April period last year, according to The NPD Group. Tracking data for the period reveals that both unit sales and the average selling price increased to 17% and 9%, respectively. Read more…
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WeCool Toys Forges Partnership with Mattel for Hot Wheels and Barbie Toys
Under a new agreement with Mattel, WeCool will develop new compound and activity sets under the Compound Kings and Activity Kings brands that will feature the iconic staples of the doll and die-cast aisles. Read more…
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BBC Studios, VTech Strike Global Licensing Deal for Bluey
BBC Studios has partnered with VTech to produce electronic role-play toys, extending its global licensing portfolio for the award-winning kid’s TV show Bluey. The two companies agreed to a multi-territory licensing deal. BBC Studio’s Bluey was originally broadcast in Australia but won the hearts of kids all across the world, becoming a global hit. Read more…
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Disguise Debuts Ghostbusters Mini Stay Puft Costumes, Classic Accessories
This year, Disguise — the Halloween division of Jakks Pacific — is rolling out a full assortment of costumes, accessories, and role-play items based on Sony’s Ghostbusters franchise. Disguise is the official costume licensee for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and while most of the assortment remains under embargo until later this year, the company revealed Mini Puft costumes for kids and a range of accessories inspired by the classic films. Read more…
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Melissa & Doug Launch Its First-ever Brand Campaign: ‘Timeless Toys. Endless Possibilities’
The purpose-driven toy brand prides itself on inspiring kids to explore the world around them with a wide-range of hands-on, screen-free toys. Melissa & Doug’s new campaign echoes its mission and aims to reach parents who are searching for a simpler — but still engaging — kind of play for their kids. Read more…
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PlayShifu Launches Virtual Board Game Platform Tacto
PlayShifu has launched the first-ever “phygital” board game platform, Tacto, based on innovative technology and augmented reality (AI) that turns screen time into family time. Using iPads, kids can utilize real figurines to access the virtual gameplay on Tacto’s platform. Read more…
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Hasbro Kicks off Second “Yo Joe! June” with G.I. Joe Classified Series, Jada Toys Reveals
The 6-inch scale G.I. Joe Classified Series continues to do big business across major retailers, fan channel retailers, and hobby and collectibles shops across the country. Hasbro unveiled a host of new action figures and vehicles alongside die-cast figures and an R/C vehicle created in collaboration with Jada Toys. Read more…
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The Lost Art of Typewriting Is Back with the LEGO Ideas Typewriter
The 2,079-piece set has interactive features sure to thrill avid letter-writers, including a center typebar that rises each time a letter is pressed, a cartridge that moves with every typing movement, and a platen roller that builders can feed real paper into. Read more...
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Save the City in Super-style with DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power for Nintendo Switch
The DC Super Hero Girls are flying into the Nintendo Switch in their new video game: DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power. Based on the Cartoon Network animated series DC Super Hero Girls, this game follows famous DC heroines and supervillains on exciting crime-fighting and high school adventures in Metropolis. Read more…
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Hess Rolls Out 2021 Hess Toy Truck Mini Collection
The Hess Truck’s back and it’s ready for summer! This year’s Mini Collection — a limited-edition set packed with small-scale versions of classic holiday Hess Toy Trucks of the past — includes the 1968 Tanker Truck, the 1980 Training Van, and the 3-in-1 1997 Hess Toy Truck and Racers. Read more…
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Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Comes to Storypod
9 Story Brands inked a deal with Storypod under which the screen-free audio entertainment platform will introduce new products based on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, the Emmy Award-winning series from Fred Rogers Productions. Storypod is a 360-degree speaker that kids can use to listen to classic and original stories, songs, and rhymes that are activated using 3.5-inch yarn figures called Crafties. Read more…
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ROYBI Robots Roll into the Digital Book Scene with Grove Street Publishing
Grove Street Publishing books are getting a new artificial intelligence (AI) ally in the ROYBI robot. The partnership aspires to optimize online learning by giving kids an accessible, interactive medium to read and learn on the go. Grove Street Publishing will expand ROYBI content into digital books for kids, including the implementation of its patented voice AI technology. Read more…
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Exploring the Toy and Game School with Adam Borton on the ‘Power Kid Podcast’
In this week’s episode of the “Power Kid Podcast,” host Phil Albritton of Power Kid Design welcomes Adam Borton, founder of Creating Unique Toys and the newly launched Toy and Game School — a digital education platform is designed to teach students the fundamentals of the toy and game industry. Listen here...
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The Insights Family, InspiredConsumer Strike U.S. Partnership Deal for Family Research
The Insights Family entered into a partnership deal with InspiredConsumer — a U.S.-based youth experiential marketing agency with clients including Disney, Nickelodeon, and Mars — to create new opportunities for kids’ research and insights that marketers can use to better reach consumers. Read more…
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Super7 Relaunches ’80s SilverHawks Franchise
Following the successful relaunches of ’80s action brands, including G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe, ThunderCats, and Voltron, the SilverHawks are reporting for duty. The original Kenner collection launched in 1986 with action figures, vehicles, and playsets. Super7 will kick off its relaunch with a range of 7-inch scale Ultimates! action figures. Read more…
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Walmart-owned Flipkart and Ace Turtle Bring Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us to India
Through a strategic arrangement with WHP Global, the controlling shareholder of Tru Kids Brands, consumers in India will be able to shop the TRU and BRU brands through newly established websites as Toys “R” Us looks to establish a wider presence and gain market share in the country’s growing toy market. Read more…
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Toys for Tots, Good360 Extend Partnership to DoGoodNow!
Toys for Tots is continuing its partnership with Good360 — the global leader in product philanthropy and purposeful giving — as part of the company’s year-long efforts to provide hope for those less fortunate. This summer, the two companies are collaborating to give away one million educational toys, books, and games to the kids of COVID-19 impacted families. Read more…
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Pop Quiz: June 2021
There’s no time for a summer slump, so Wendy Smolen is back with the latest Pop Quiz to test your knowledge of sunny day toys from every angle. Do you remember which toys were hot, hot, HOT? Take the quiz...
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Everything Old Is Collectible Again
The ‘90s are calling and they want their collectibles back — for millions. Toy Book Deputy Editor James Zahn explores the collectibles resurgence that’s fueling record sales of classic toys alongside Pokémon cards, video games, and more. Read more…
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Toy Industry E-Commerce Sales Spike 16% in China
The toy industry is booming in China, particularly on the digital front. E-commerce sales in the first quarter of 2021 spiked 16% to $1.2 billion, according to The NPD Group. The increase was due in large part to the Feb. 12 Chinese New Year celebration, with sales in January growing 34%. The market was dominated by Chinese manufacturers, with just four of the top 10 toymakers representing international companies. Read more…
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