Numbers in, Dallas decision pending

By Brent Felgner -- Playthings, 10/24/2007 1:15:00 PM

NEW YORK — As the Toy Industry Association's board prepares to vote later this month on whether to make Dallas the permanent home of the Fall Toy Preview, the association is reporting that the event this month met or exceeded most critical benchmark criteria.

The final numbers state there were 283 exhibiting companies (22 percent more than in 2006) covering nearly 148,000 net squre feet of exhibit space, a 60 percent space gain compared to last year’s show at New York’s Javits Center. Those companies showed their wares to 775 buyers from 440 retail outlets — 296 of which were U.S. companies. Among international buyers, 34 Canadian retail outlets and 110 other international retail operations were on hand, TIA told Playthings.

All told, overall attendance was 1,720 from 31 countries, according to the TIA.

Apparently, not everyone made it to Dallas, though. Prior to and during the show, TIA touted that retailer registration “ha[d] climbed to over 1,200 buyers representing more than 500 individual retail outlets,” figures that turned out to be well above the actual final buyer attendance tally.

Regardless of that short-fall, reaction from attending exhibitors was generally positive.

“The bottom line is, the show was a huge success,” offered Jay Foreman, president of Play Along Toys. “The buyers showed up, companies were all present, the venue worked well, hotels were convenient and, with a few exceptions, it all went very well, indeed.”

Foreman’s biggest concern with continuing the event at the Dallas Market Center centers around the cost of exhibiting, which he worries will average between $20 and $30 per square foot. Fixturing, carpeting, furniture and lights could push the cost of exhibiting close to $40 per square foot, he said.

Despite that, “Dallas was more convenient all around,” Foreman said.