Industry News

By May 5, The Toy Foundation and the global play community had raised more than $3.8 million in monetary and product donations. They are being distributed to local Ukrainian and international nonprofit organizations to support their ongoing humanitarian efforts for Ukrainian refugees.

The foundation is supporting KIDDISVIT, a 24-year-old Ukrainian toy company that immediately shifted its business into a volunteer organization to help thousands of children and families who left their homes for a safer place. The resources available are decreasing as the need for support is rising, said The Toy Foundation, as KIDDISVIT quickly and effectively supports refugees within Ukraine in these ways.

Hosting 300 people per day in two shelters located in Dnipro and Voloske

Since the war, its team has hosted more than 1,600 people who receive sleeping accommodations, sanitary facilities, hot meals, humanitarian aid, medical supplies, toys, and diapers.

Evacuating at least 5,000 refugees to safer areas

Thousands of children, women, senior citizens, and those with disabilities are being transported by KIDDISVIT to safe and secure areas.

Delivering 7 tons of humanitarian aid to restive regions

In Dnipro, the team is purchasing essential items including food, hygiene products, diapers and formula, to support local business. Then, they’re delivering it to families, orphans, armed forces, and hospitals. Each humanitarian kit costs only $25-$33.

Assembling & distributing 3,000+ food and hygienic kits for families

The kits last for two weeks.

The Toy Foundation is continuing to collect monetary and product donations for Ukrainian children and families. For members of the play community interested in making a contribution, visit thetoyfoundation. org, or reach out directly to Executive Director Pamela Mastrota or Director of Development John Fistolera.

In April, the experiential toy store Camp opened its first location on the West Coast, in Los Angeles. It is Camp’s ninth store.

In a press release, Camp Founder and Chief Executive Ben Kaufman said that Los Angeles had been at the top of his wish list for several years. The former chief marketing officer at BuzzFeed and his wife Nikki opened their first store in 2018, in New York’s Flatiron District. Since then, Camp stores have opened in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, Connecticut and now California.

Camp’s space in the Westfield Century City outdoor mall is 7,000 square feet, “much of it behind a magic door that can only be accessed by a child, caregiver or other free spirit performing a special move to get it to open,” reported Spectrum News 1. “Much like the traditional toy store that leads to it, the hidden experiential space is also a place to shop.”

Camp offers craft classes, magic shows and musical performances performed by staff.

Many of the activities are free, but some require a fee. In the spin art and slime room, for instance, kids can make their own slime with a kit that costs $20. has announced the launch of WiT Wellness, a year-round initiative designed to raise awareness and mobilize conversations around mental health and well-being, and inspire individuals and companies to incorporate mental wellness into their daily lives.

The overall goal of WiT Wellness is to share the tools and resources women and their allies need to manage and maintain wellbeing and good mental health. Additionally, WiT will host ongoing constructive conversations focused on helping to diffuse the stigma around mental health.

Studies show that women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD. They are also much more likely to battle eating disorders. This discrepancy may be caused by various factors, such as pay inequity, gender-based violence, and having more caregiving responsibilities. Challenges are further amplified in the workplace, where women, and especially women of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community, are confronted with sexual harassment, imposter syndrome, and more.

In May, Mental Health Month, WiT offered a variety of wellness events that ranged from discussions and roundtables to WiT’s Instagram Stories – digital content created in partnership with lifestyle brand CupOfTherapy. CupOfTherapy focuses on sharing mental wellbeing resources through emotive illustrations and thoughtful text.

WiT’s focus on mental health and wellbeing directly aligns with the organization’s mission to help advance women through leadership, opportunity, connection, and education. Along with its topic-

focused events and resources, WiT also offers members a wide variety of programming and ways to find new opportunities. WiT has 25 chapters throughout the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, France, and the UK, with liaisons in Australia, Finland, Germany, India, Israel and Lebanon.

To find curated tools and resources on a variety of mental health and wellness topics, visit womenintoys.com/ wellness/.

The LEGO Group recently announced plans to triple the size of its digital team to more than 1,800 employees over the next three years. The purpose is to accelerate its transformation to digital. In other words, to provide “electronic versions of fun, where kids of all ages can seamlessly play, shop and share their brick-clicking escapades in the physical and digital worlds,” said PYMNTS.com, a global news and insights source on the role of payments, connected devices and new tech.

“The renewed digital focus at LEGO is being likened by some industry insiders as an effort to develop the next iteration of the blockbuster video game Minecraft, the block-building fantasy world gaming title that is now owned by Microsoft,” said PYMNTS.

“Our digital transformation is one of the single largest investments the LEGO Group will make in a generation,” said Atul Bhardwaj, the company’s chief digital & technology officer, in a press release. “We’ve been blending physical and digital experiences for many years and are excited by our progress.”

Investments in areas such as e-commerce capabilities and new products – especially LEGO Super Mario – are

already driving LEGO growth, he said. “The LEGO brick will always be the heart of our business, but we’re seeing great success making LEGO a digitally enabled brand, with new ways to play, shop and do business.”

To accomplish the acceleration to digital, the company opened a new office in Copenhagen, one of four digital workspaces around the world. Each accommodates 400 employees. In addition, offices in London and Shanghai, and at LEGOs headquarters in Billund, Denmark, will also be expanded.

The Copenhagen office is designed to enhance digital ways of working and reflect the company’s playfulness and mission to inspire and develop children. It will also support the company’s Best of Both approach, which balances the best of working in the office and from home.

Digital division employees contributed to its design, reports Tim Ahrensbach, LEGO’s head of Workplace Experience. “The team gave us great advice on how to create the ideal agile working space, plus what would help them focus, the importance of spaces to collaborate and play, and, of course, a great gamer room.”

According to the press release, LEGO is also planning to step up its digital investment across all areas of its business, from play to shopping and technology infrastructure. The company is looking for talented engineers, product managers, UX/UI designers, technical program managers, digital security specialists and data scientists. For more information, visit lego.com/en-us/careers.

LEGO was founded in 1932, and remains a family-owned company to this day. Its products are sold in more than 130 countries worldwide.

ToyFest West is now ToyFest. “Toy and gift stores from 39 U.S. states, plus Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Guam, Mexico, and the U.K. now attend our show,” noted Bill St. John, board chair of the Western Toy and Hobby Representatives Association (WTHRA). “The rebranding better reflects our growth from a regional event to a national one.”

Plans are underway for 2023’s ToyFest, scheduled for February 27 through March 3. It will return to The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas, a newly opened, purpose-built tradeshow facility downtown that served as the venue this year. “As an

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added benefit, ToyFest attendees have access to crossover gift and accessory lines presented at the World Market Center’s permanent showrooms,” said Bill.

“There are many aspects of the show that have proven to work well for ToyFest over the years, like the Morning Masterpieces Craft Fair that opens the show, the fabulous ToyFest Game Night, a toy-business-related educational seminar, exclusive show specials, and the wildly popular ToyFest Cash and Product Raffles,” he continued. “At the legendary Welcoming Gala, we will continue to honor a Retailer of the Year and induct brilliant toy industry individuals into our WTHRA Hall of Fame.

Here are the 2022 inductees.

Marlene and Charles Gabris, BrainyZoo Toys

Marlene, a social worker and mom, couldn’t find good-quality educational toys, so the couple started a toy store in their garage in 1982. It moved to a storefront in 1984. Over the years they continued to open stores around Sacramento, most recently on Black Friday 2020. For many years BrainyZoo Toys has been voted Best Toy Store in the Sacramento area by Style Magazine and KCRA3 TV.

Stephanie Sala, Five Little Monkeys

Stephanie opened her first toy store in 2001 in Albany, California. Since then, the business has grown to six locations and an e-commerce site. In 2010 Staphanie was named the Alameda County Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2016 she was ASTRA’s Retailer of the Year, and in 2019 she was WTHRA’s.

Brian Turtle, Goliath

When Brian and a couple of friends were snowed in for a few days in 1994, they developed the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. TV appearances, including late-night talk shows, ensued.

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