Richard Gottlieb

The Many Faces of Toy Nation: The ASTRA Annual Marketplace & Academy
July 2, 2008

Last week I attended my first ASTRA Annual Marketplace & Academy. It was held at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT. I took the 6:20 AM Amtrak train from Penn Station (by the way, absolutely no one speaks on the Amtrak train at 6:20 AM. In fact they all look a bit stricken at having to be up that early) and was on the show floor by 9:30 AM. 

When I walked onto the Marketplace floor, I had this odd feeling of suddenly crossing over into a parallel universe. It looked familiar but it was interestingly different than the toy industry I see at Nuremberg, Dallas, New York or Hong Kong. The one I am used to seeing is big, competitive and fast. The toy industry I saw at ASTRA was smaller, less competitive and, well, mellow. It didn’t run, it ambled.

Attendees at the other shows are always in a hurry. They have a great deal of ground to cover and they walk with a purpose. Perhaps because there are fewer exhibitors at ASTRA and because of the ambiance, attendees seemed to walk slower and spend more time at each booth.    This is not just my perception. I spoke to a number of exhibitors and they all commented on the ease with which buyer and seller interacted.

So, why the difference? Here are not necessarily reasons but some differences I noted between ASTRA’s Marketplace and the other shows:

• ASTRA focuses on the smaller Specialty manufacturers and retailers while the other shows cater more to the bigger players. 
• Marketplace exhibitors and retailers all tend to be of a similar, moderate size while the greater toy industry is dominated by a few mega retailers (think Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Carrefour) and a handful of mega manufacturers (think Mattel, Lego and Hasbro). 
• The ASTRA show took place in a large ballroom while the others take place in large convention centers. While convention centers tend to be noisy, the acoustics in the heavily carpeted ballroom muffled sound. This quieter feel plus the narrower aisles gave the exhibit area an intimate, almost homey feel. It was like walking around in a huge living room.

So, was ASTRA a good show for exhibitors? Those exhibitors I spoke with, from a sales standpoint, felt it was good enough. All, however, seemed to feel that, no matter how much business they did,  it was important for them to be there in order to be part of the Specialty community.

As I rode home on the train my thoughts went back to the Discover Games inventor’s party I attended last February. I wrote about it in a February blog entitled “The Soul of the Toy Industry.” At the time, I blogged about the uniqueness of that event and that the party had a different feeling than any other toy related event I had attended. 

So, after attending ASTRA, here is what I think now: Toy Nation has many faces. We are a bit like a nation of tribes. We all owe allegiance to Toy Nation but each tribe has its own customs and rituals. 

So, if you want to really know your industry, spend some time at as many events as you can. You will learn a great deal, not only about how Toy Nation works, but about yourself and where you fit in the big picture that is Toy Nation.

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on July 2, 2008 | Comments (2)