Q&A with PLAY USA

Interviewee: Stephanie Gaspari | Interviewer: Nick Truss

Trade Shows are a boon to everyone involved. Business owners can exhibit their wares in a highly curated and exclusive environment, the host city receives a surge of business from traveling attendees, and buyers can be treated to a smorgasbord of the trendiest goods all in one place. Most importantly, the diamonds in the rough have a chance to make their splendid debut, get a big break, and the recognition they deserve.

Enter NY NOW, the place to be for exhibitors and buyers alike, and one of the largest trade shows around. Hosted in New York City’s prestigious Javits Center (home of Book Con, NY Comic Con, and much more), NY NOW has the space and reach to regularly pull over 1,000 exhibitors and over 10,000 attendees total! This biannual event saw success for a wide range of goods, but particularly for toys. Year after year, toys demonstrated their telltale allure to attendees. That’s when Stephanie Gaspari, Senior Sales Manager at Emerald (the facilitators of NY NOW) had the idea to dedicate an entire portion of the show to these products. Thus, PLAY USA was born! With two PLAY USA’s under her belt, we sat down with Ms. Gaspari to discuss the beginnings of PLAY USA, the results of its maiden voyage, the successes and learned lessons, and what makes PLAY USA a must-attend event that the industry should keep their eye on. We are extremely grateful for her time, especially considering that this conversation took place not long after the wrapping of NY NOW’s Summer Trade Show and the second-ever PLAY USA!

- How did the idea for PLAY USA come about?

As we know, the initial quarter is significant for any brand intending to introduce its products, as retailers are looking to refresh their stores postholiday. With the absence of a platform for this group, NY NOW identified a chance to cater to manufacturers in the toy, game, and trend sectors. For almost a century, we’ve witnessed the success of toys at NY NOW and given the industry’s expansion and a surging demand for toys, we decided to launch a segment of the show devoted exclusively to these items.

- Tell us about the successes of the very first PLAY USA in February 2023.

We have had an overwhelmingly positive response regarding the launch of PLAY USA from retailers, brands, and press. We ended with about 90 brands exhibiting with us, including Ty Inc., Fat Brain Toy Co, Schylling, Super Impulse Ltd., Manhattan Toy Company, Playmobil, Tonies, and many more. Prior to NY NOW’s February 2023 market, it had been three years since the toy industry had a live event platform to conduct business, therefore, both brands and retailers were grateful to be able to do so.

- Armed with the experience of two under your belt, are there any plans to adjust elements of future PLAY USA iterations?

We have made quite a few improvements to NY NOW as a whole over the past year. We have simplified our supply strategy to three core categories to represent the full breadth of products showcased – Gift & Lifestyle, Home, and Jewelry & Accessories. PLAY USA will now fall under Gift & Lifestyle as a curated neighborhood to deliver a streamlined discovery experience for attendees.

This past August we launched the integration of Bulletin’s technology into NY NOW. This provides a 365-hybrid experience for both brands and buyersexposing brands to an additional 26,000+ qualified retailers who can place orders directly via their brand page.

With that, we aim to continue to increase the number of toy and game manufacturers exhibiting and provide them with the opportunity to connect with qualified retailers and press both in-person and online.

- Do you have any feedback you can share from buyers about the Play USA section of NY NOW?

Both new and seasoned buyers were thrilled to see the assortment of brands and products PLAY USA had to offer. While NY NOW has always featured toy brands, this launch brought a whole new element to the show, giving retailers more variety of toys and games to sell within their stores. Many of these buyers don’t typically attend other markets solely focused on toys, so it was exciting for them to see more variety and new products.

- How does the autumn timing of Toy Fair affect NY Now’s Winter Marketplace and PLAY USA?

NY NOW’s Winter Market is traditionally the most significant period of the year for discovering new and exciting product launches, as well as bestselling items. The timing of our show provides an essential resource for buyers in search of fresh merchandise to stock their stores after the holiday season has concluded so we do not believe it will have much of an impact.

- Tell us what is unique and special about Play USA that makes it worthwhile to attend, even with the close Toy Fair timing.

Exhibiting at NY NOW allows brands to reach retailers that may not typically attend toy-specific markets. 51% of our buyers only attend NY NOW which means brands new to the show are guaranteed the opportunity to network with retailers, open new accounts, and potentially expand their business. Cassidy Smith, owner of Uniche Collective stated “What we need is the variety of buyers – the specialty toy boutiques, the museum buyer, and the gift shops – and the beauty of NY NOW is getting to connect with all three in the same place!”