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Hong Kong Day 1
January 4, 2008
There are certain rituals that are reassuring. Just as the birds (and the retirees) returning north marks the beginning of a new spring, the toy industry returning to Hong Kong marks the beginning of another year for the industry.
As I look out my hotel window, my eyes are drawn to a huge bill board with the words: "Toys To Trust." The city of Hong Kong has obviously gotten the message that safety is the hot button for 2008. It will be interesting to see if that message is as strongly heralded at the Nuremberg and New York toy fairs.
It felt like at least 25% of the people on my plane were toy industry people, and that was just one plane, so you can imagine how many toy industry people are here. It’s a positive and reassuring sign.
I have only been here a short time but have had a chance to speak to a few people and the feeling I am getting so far is a concern that retailers will be tentative. We should know over the next few days and weeks just how that plays out.
On another note, the news that Hasbro has purchased Cranium is another reminder that mid-sized toy companies continue to opt in favor of selling out rather than going public or raising capital on the venture markets to grow their businesses. We as an industry need to figure out why this happens and what to do about it. We need more healthy, big manufacturers.
Posted by Richard Gottlieb on January 4, 2008 | Comments (1)
