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Berkshire Hathaway Inks Deal for Jazwares Owner
Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company led by Chairman and CEO Warren E. Buffett, is getting into the toy business through its $11.6 billion acquisition of Alleghany Corp. While Alleghany is known for its holdings in the insurance business, its subsidiary, Alleghany Capital Corp., maintains a diverse portfolio of eight companies in non-financial industries, including Jazwares. Read more…
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Exclusive: Far Out Records’ Glotivation Is Here to ‘Rock Your GLO’
Far Out Records — the newly formed music division of Far Out Toys — held a virtual listening party to reveal the music video for “Rock Your GLO,” the new single from Glotivation, a pop quartet chosen to represent the Glo-Up Girls fashion doll brand. Read more…
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Global Toy Industry Supports Ukraine During Russian Conflict [Updated]
The Toy Book continues to monitor the global toy industry response to the crisis in Ukraine. Visit our roundup for the latest news, updated daily. Read more…
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Jakks Pacific Unveils New Outdoor Toys for Spring 2022
The refreshed line of outdoor toys includes popular characters licensed from Spin Master, Moonbug Entertainment, Paramount, Disney, and more. Products include trampolines, ride-ons, tents, and more. Read more…
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Paris Hilton Joins MGA Entertainment’s ‘Rainbow High’ Series
Hilton steps into the role of headmistress at Pacific Coast High, which, along with the launch of Shadow High, has added opened up new opportunities for storytelling and play this year. The first of four episodes of the Rainbow High animated series to feature Hilton debuts tomorrow on YouTube. Read more…
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Spin Master Gets ‘Spellbound’ in Licensing Pact with Skydance Animation
Under the new licensing agreement, Spin Master will develop toy lines based on properties from Skydance Animation, beginning with Spellbound, an Apple Original Film that debuts on Apple TV+ this summer. Read more…
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Melissa & Doug Celebrates Global Recycling Day with New Initiatives
Melissa & Doug has joined the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and How2Recycle, a membership-based collaborative that supports making packaging more sustainable. The moves reflect further progress on the company’s Project Restore initiative. Read more…
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Licensing Expo Introduces Sustainability Programs
Sustainability is a big focus for the toy industry, and now the movement is getting a showcase at Licensing Expo. The Global Licensing Group — organizers of Licensing Expo — will continue its strategic partnership with Products of Change (POC) to present a pair of sustainability sessions alongside additional activations at this year’s event. Read more…
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Add a Bluey Twist to DIY Play with Horizon Group USA’s New Activity Sets
The Toy Insider takes a look at a new collection of 18 different Bluey-inspired products from Horizon Group USA that are making their way into mass retailers this spring. Read more…
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Kids2 Acquires SUMR Brands
Kids2 has entered into a definite merger agreement to acquire Summer Infant (SUMR Brands), a global leader in infant and juvenile products, along with all of its outstanding common stock. The deal is expected to close later this year. Read more…
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‘LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’ Brings a Force-filled Uprgade to a Fan-favorite Franchise
The Pop Insider takes an early look at one of 2022’s biggest video game releases. In LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, players can drop into the adventure at any point within the storyline of the nine-film saga. The game from LEGO and Warner Bros. arrives next month following years of development. Read more…
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Pouch Australia Lands Partnership with Mattel for Play Pouch
Under the new licensing deal, popular Mattel brands, including Hot Wheels, Barbie, Fisher Price Little People, and Thomas & Friends, will be featured on branded Play Pouches, colorful play mats that quickly transform into storage pouches. Read more…
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Schleich, American Montessori Society Forge New Partnership
This new partnership provides new ideas on how to use Schleich characters in the context of a Montessori classroom. It includes co-branded video content and surveys. Schleich also had a presence at The Montessori Event in Nashville earlier this month. Read more…
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Silvergate Media to Launch New Animated Series ‘The Creature Cases’
The studio behind Octonauts will launch its latest series on Netflix next month. The Creature Cases mixes animal mysteries with real zoological facts and wild detective action. Read more…
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PhatMojo Inks Licensing Deal for ‘Pet Simulator X’
Los Angeles-based PhatMojo has entered into a master toy and licensing partnership with Big Games, the company behind the Pet Simulator Roblox game. Under the new agreement, PhatMojo will produce a variety of collectibles based on the latest edition of the game, Pet Simulator X. Read more…
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Protect the Planet and Play Sustainably with Waboda’s Rewild Collection
The Rewild collection is a sustainable alternative to classic footballs, soccer balls, and volleyballs, which are typically made of harsh plastics and polyurethane that can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills. Read more…
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Retail Sales Spiked in February, But Inflation Is Slowing Growth
Both the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Retail Federation (NRF) released February retail sales numbers that reflect continued double-digit year-over-year growth. The organizations use differing methodologies in their calculations, with the Census Bureau reporting a 17.6% spike versus February of last year and the NRF reporting a 13% gain. Both organizations noted that month-over-month growth slowed to the low single digits. Read more…
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State of the Industry Q&A: Learning Express
Sharon DiMinico, founder and CEO at Learning Express, discusses supply chain disruptions, top toy trends, and the importance of Learning Express exclusives. Read more…
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State of the Industry Q&A: Toys "R" Us Canada
Nick Muriella, associate vice president of toys at Toys “R” Us Canada, discusses how the retailer is keeping shelves stocked, how it dealt with supply chain issues through the holidays, and offers some predictions for this year. Read more…
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The TikTok Effect
The Toy Book’s Madeleine Buckley chats with the teams behind some of the hottest toys to go viral on TikTok over the past year to see what the industry can learn from their success. Read more…
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Representation Matters
The Toy Book shines a spotlight on nine companies that are making a difference in the toy department by offering new products that foster diversity, inclusion, and representation. Read more…
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2022 Global Toy Industry Roundtable
The Toy Book caught up with members of the International Toy Magazine Association for a roundtable discussion on current toy trends, happenings, and challenges in their respective countries. Read more…
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Toy Industry Veteran Ed Gershowitz Joins Snorble
In his new role, Gershowitz will serve as chief revenue officer and executive vice president of sales at Snorble Inc. The move comes as the tech startup prepares to bring its flagship “intelligent buddy” to retail later this year. Over the course of his 40-year career, Gershowitz has held executive roles at companies including Hasbro, Carrera of America Tyco Toys, and Hedstrom Outdoor Toys. Read more…
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Osmo from BYJU’s Appoints Shawn Smith as Global Head of Communications
In her new role, Smith will lead Osmo’s communications strategy and narrative messaging across all aspects of its business, including corporate communications and brand policy campaigns. Read more…
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Jed Paulson Joins Exploding Kittens as Chief Commercial Officer
In his new role, Paulson will oversee the commercial strategies of Exploding Kittens’ direct-to-consumer website and retail partner relationships. Read more…
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Insight Editions Welcomes Chris Bauerle as Vice President of North American Sales and Operations
In his new role, Bauerle will partner with the Simon and Schuster distribution team and various retail partners across Insight Editions’ channels to aggressively expand the company’s market share and bring operational excellence to its sales and operations functions. Read more…
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ZAG Names Rafael Baltodano as Vice President of North America Retail Development
In his new role, Baltodano will oversee relationships across all departments of retail under the ZAG Heroez label, an umbrella franchise that connects the superheroes from ZAG’s animated properties such as Miraculous — Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Power Players, and Ghostforce. Read more…
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