Full Version: 5 Toy Fair breakout hits

5 Toy Fair breakout hits

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[url=http://www.kidsgive.com/][b]KidsGive[/b][/url] broke its ownpersonal bests at Toy Fair, where it racked up a company record for thelargest number of sales made in a single day. The company's LosAngeles-based co-founders - one's a lawyer, the other's a marketingexecutive - say the surge puts them well beyond the projections theymade in their initial five-year business plan. Founded in 2006,KidsGive already counts FAO Schwartz and Neiman Marcus as clients.
TheKarito Kids World Collection features five dolls representing differentparts of the world: Mexico, Italy, Kenya, China and the U.S. Anaccompanying book illustrates a typical day in the life of thesefictional young girls. (To promote diversity and equality, KidsGivestrongly encourages retailers to stock the full line, not just one ortwo of the dolls.)
When producing ethnic dolls, the usualpractice within the industry is to inject plastic with correspondingthe skin color into the mold of a Caucasian doll. Instead, KidsGivehired a renowned doll sculptor to (literally) break the mold to makethe dolls' physical features ethnically accurate. At Toy Fair, Piperfrom Australia made her debut as the sixth member of themulti-continental gang.

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[url=http://www.pressmantoy.com/][b]Pressman Toy[/b][/url], a family business based in Piscataway, N.J., since 1922, unveiled three highly anticipated board games at Toy Fair: [i]ESPN Jeopardy, Disney Wheel of Fortune[/i] and [i]The Office Trivia Game[/i]. All are expected to be in retail stores later this year.  "ToyFair certainly gave us an opportunity to showcase our entire 2008 lineand build excitement among buyers and licensors," said President JimPressman. The third-largest game manufacturer in the country (mostgames are made in China, these days), Pressman Toy became a pioneer inthe industry when it was among the first to license popular charactersand content for toys and games. Its early efforts included games builtaround Superman, frontier icon Davy Crockett, and puppeteer ShariLewis' Lamb Chop.

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[url=http://www.icandothatgames.com/][b]I Can Do That! Games[/b][/url],a Seattle venture, is the brainchild of Jacobe Chrisman, former head ofproduct development for Cranium. The line now includes six games, allbased on works by Dr. Seuss, which the company locked down exclusivegame-licensing rights for in tandem with its June 2007 founding. At Toy Fair, the [i]Cat in the Hat - I Can Do That! Game[/i]joined Mattel and (ironically) Cranium as finalists in the gamecategory for the highly-coveted Toy of the Year award. While it didn'twin in the competition, the company did score elsewhere: I Can Do That!Games sealed deals with Target, Borders and Barnes & Nobles.

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                                        Newcomer [url=http://idbids.com/][b]Idbids[/b][/url], anAtlanta company that makes eco-friendly toys for tots, chose Toy Fairas the venue for its official product launch. The Idbids Starter Kitincludes a storybook and field guide that teaches children the iddybiddy steps - hence the company name - that they can take toward goinggreen, as well as one of three plush toys: Waverly the Water Drop,Scout the Cloud, or Lola the Flower. The trio of fluffy friendseach represent an environmental cause and are made of 100% organicEgyptian cotton. (Idbids even saw to it that their exhibition booth waseco-friendly, building their floors and framework from bamboo andrenewable woods). No official deals were inked at Toy Fair, but aspokesperson confirms they are already in talks with major retailersand smaller brick-and-mortar stores.

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                                        A little over a month ago, [url=http://www.liquidimageco.com/][b]Liquid Image Co.[/b][/url] debuted its [url=http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fsb/0801/gallery.CES.fsb/index.html]digital underwater camera mask[/url]at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. But the mask, which allowsswimmers to record underwater photos and videos hands free, still madea splash at Toy Fair: the company set up distribution relationshipswith Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, JCPenny and Dick's Sporting Goods. Thestring of new deals follows the success that Liquid Image Co. has hadwith Wal-Mart, which company executives met through 2005's Toy Fair. "Itwas a big show with big players," said President Kent Pearson, who flewin from the Sacramento headquarters. "But we were there to let themknow that we were ready to play ball."