ToyFest West concludes successful show

ToyFest West concluded its eighth show in the 80,000 square foot exhibit hall at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Toy and gift Stores from across the U.S. attended the Las Vegas Show, including stores from 24 states, Mexico and Canada. “Our collective intentions continue to be about discovering ways to improve the experience for our valued attendees” said Lawrence Nissen, president, W.T.H.R.A. As the specialty market evolves and major trade shows become more expensive and less accessible to the independent retailer, ToyFest will continue to make the event affordable, fresh and relevant. This year’s show was a success for those that attended. It was inviting, visually appealing and the buyers who attended wrote orders from the 300+ manufacturers that exhibited. ToyFest received positive feedback from buyers that participated in the new Morning Masterpieces Kit Session, the ToyFest Gala, Game Night and the affordability of the hotel and how well organized it was. “ToyFest West was an amazing event and provided an amazing buying opportunity for people in the toy business! Having the opportunity to talk to vendors and sales reps is an invaluable opportunity for our industry. Todd and I appreciated every informative session that was provided, we attended everything! The morning sessions, were informative and the food and beverage was much appreciated, thank you,” said Connie Jacob, owner of Learning Express Toys.

Western Toy & Hobby Hall of Fame Inductees

The ToyFest Gala inducted two individuals into the Western Toy & Hobby Hall of Fame:

• Melissa Moore of Toy Crazy, based in Malibu.
• Donna Songer, representative principle, sales and marketing from Wildthings.

Accolades

Retailer of the Year

• A Child’s Delight in Corte Madera

Manufacturer Booth Awards

• First Place: Open The Joy represented by The Toy Sellers Group.
• Second Place: Little Adventures in the Diverse Marketing/Be Smart Toys area.

Representative Booth Awards

• First Place: Golden Sales
• Second Place: R-Biz

The New Morning Masterpieces Kit Session was well accepted by attendees with a full breakfast and crafting to kick off the show. Six vendors showed their newest crafts and kits and opened the boxes for attendees to try and take home, Djeco, Handstand Kitchen, MW Wholesale, Ooly, PlayMonster LLC and Wrebbit Puzzles. Morning Masterpieces will be back again next year with even more to show off. This year’s seminar on taxes and succession was a fascinating one and those that attended learned a lot on how to organize a trust as well as how to protect the assets in their lives. Larry Oxenham, Lawyer and Author of Protect Your Assets and The Asset Protection Bible led an intriguing discussion informing and teaching store owners the best ways to protect their businesses. ToyFest Game Night was a fast and furious evening with nearly 100 attendees and 15 game sponsors including Adventerra Games, Asmodee, Blue Orange Games, Continuum Games, Endless Games, Family Games America, HABA USA, Mukikum Toys, PlayMonster LLC, Smart Toys & Games, Steve Jackson Games, Thames & Kosmos, Ultra Pro and What Do You Meme?. The night was packed full of fun with new games learned by all, a hosted grilled cheese and tomato soup bar and hosted drinks. A cash award of $400 was given away to eight lucky buyers as an extra perk for attending.

ToyFest for Buyers

The second annual Best of ToyFest for buyers event helped buyers on the final day of the show seek out some of the best toys voted by other buyers as categories are discussed in a casual forum during breakfast. The morning started with an inspiring conversation which led to more orders. The list is tallied and emailed to all exhibitors and attendees following the end of the show.

Raffles

ToyFest raffled off $2400 in cash to buyers over the three days in the ToyFest Daily Raffle. Manufacturers donated product to the raffle as well making it exciting for all to triumph. For every order written buyers receive a raffle ticket to win.

Future ToyFest Show Dates

At the end of the show, Lawrence Nissen, president for WTHRA announced the dates for the 2021 show.

• February 28 – March 2, 2022
• February 27 – March 1, 2023

For more information, visit toyfestwest.com.