Games, Playthings and Plush

ToyFest 2023 will be held at World Market Center

Las Vegas

February 27- March 3. 2023

February 27, Showrooms Only: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

February 28 – March 2, Expo Hall and Showrooms: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

March 3, Expo Hall and Showrooms: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

World Market Center Las Vegas

435 S Grand Central Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89106

Carrie Scanlan – Show Director

Phone: 1-833-TOYFEST (833-869-3378) e-mail: info@toyfestUS.com website: www.toyfestUS.com

Toy Store Trends (From page 118) sensory toys have been the top category at the mall store this past season.

In the game section, Go! Calendar Toys & Games has had recent hits with the board game version of the online craze Wordle, as well as Tapple, a kind of fast-paced mashup of Scrabble and Boggle. “Board games in general are always popular,” Robert observed.

When he’s looking for fun new toys and games at the trade shows, Shane Powers tries to shop the way his customers do. “My advice is, don’t overthink,” said Powers, who with his wife, Kyndall, owns The Toy Quest in Fairbanks, a second-generation business first opened by Kyndall’s parents in 1986.

“When I shop for a new household appliance, I spend weeks doing research. But toys, for the most part, are impulse buys,” explained Powers. “The packaging and colors catch people’s attention, or the way something feels to touch.”

Powers also puts a premium on toys and games that aren’t sold at local chain stores like Walmart. “Well never match their prices, so it has to be something different,” he explained.

Shane Powers has also seen a trend toward fidgety, tactile toys like yo-yos. When the fidget spinner craze died out and then came back, The Toy Quest was the only local store to stock them — and cornered the market.

And Powers is doing big business in Hanukkah dreidels, which, in a way, are the ultimate fidget toys. “Our local school does a project with them, so there’s a huge rush,” he explained.

Out in Honolulu, Hawaii, COVID-19 restrictions were more comprehensive and lasted longer than in much of the mainland. As a result, retailer Ken Komoto saw an ongoing boom in board games and Legos at the 1,200-square-foot Honolulu store he owns, From The Heart Hawaii.

“We’ve all spent so much time at home,” the retailer explained. “Legos have been such a big thing during the pandemic.”

With life returning to normal, Komoto is looking forward to attending this year’s New York Toy Fair along with the West Coast trade shows for inspiration. For now, his top sellers at the six-year-old store are trading card games. “They’re booming here,” he said.

The best known of these, Pokémon, recently reached its 25th year anniversary, celebrating with a Super Bowl halftime commercial and launching an app. “These games are very collectible, and they’re evolving along with technology,” Komoto noted. ❖