Marketing

As president and chief executive of the North American Toy Association, no one is better equipped to assess the health of the industry than Steve Pasierb. As the industry gets ready to hit London’s Olympia, Jack Ridsdale sat down with Steve to get the rundown on the biggest toy event in the US, licensed toys and the future of the Toy Association.

The second largest category among the licensing stakes, toys has enjoyed revenue of £26.9bn this year. That’s a 13 per cent share of the categories making up the licensed sector.

The firm will now act as the worldwide licensing agency for the hit toy range that has already seen vast success across Toys R Us, Walmart and Amazon.

Hudson, who founded the distribution company Toy Buddy in 2015, will be amalgamating some of his existing assets and relationships within the Marvin’s Magic brand.

Deliberated over by a panel of judges made up of toy experts and over 250 children, a list of hundreds has been whittled down to the 36 lucky winners of this year’s awards.

Adlington will be supporting the brand with further PR activity, including providing exclusive swimming tips, promotional material, media interviews and social support.

In a deal secured by Merchantwise, the toy firm will distribute the master toy line created by Jazwares for the film and TV series across the territory.

Guests will be able to try out John Adams’ full line-up of games, including Othello, Twist and Word, Triominos and more.

The tablet comes packed with content for any LEGO fan, as well as a bundle of features.

‘With the release of Luvabella and Luvabeau, Spin Master remains at the forefront of innovative toy technology and trends,’ says Spin Master’s Ben Gadbois.