Yesterday, October 1, The Toy Association announced that it was making major changes to Toy Fair. Here is a breakdown of the what is coming:
Toy Fair will no longer take place in September
Toy Fair will not take place next year
Toy Fair will return to New York in March of 2025
Toy Fair will move to New Orleans in January of the following years: 2026, 2027, and 2028
When I heard this news, my first reaction was that it was a hoax. It wasn’t. Here is how Steve Pasierb, Toy Association President, described the advantages of New Orleans in a press release:
“New Orleans has state of the art facilities including a brand-new airport, renowned restaurants, museums, music, an array of event spaces, and a strong collaborative partnership between the Convention Center, New Orleans & Company, and the business community, making it a perfect, welcoming fit for Toy Fair.
Restaurants and music are nice to have but were the following considered in making the move to New Orleans.
transportation
New Orleans may be the Big Easy but it is not so easy to get to. Here is New Orleans compares to New York and Los Angeles when it comes to direct flights. There are 54 direct into and out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. There are 450 direct flights into and out of New York’s three airports, and there are 174 direct flights into and out of Los Angeles.
PRESS
New York offers the Toy Industry a world-wide press presence. Los Angeles gives us access to the global entertainment press. New Orleans provides only local press.
CONFLICTS
The show conflicts with the Hong Kong Show, the Spielwarenmesse in Germany, and the Atlanta Gift Show.
TIMING
As to timing, we have spent three years without a Toy Fair. What in the world is going on that we are going to have another year without a Fair.
politics
Louisiana bans 100% of all abortions. Is that going to be an issue for some Toy Association members?
Relevance
The toy industry shares a long, storied history with Los Angeles and New York. Other cities like Chicago have large, active toy industry communities. There is no such history in New Orleans.
This is an important issue. It is essential that all of those who work in our industry, speak up.
Any state that bans reproductive care for women should be off the table for an industry with majority women decision-makers at the consumer level.
It’s a joke and something else is behind it.
Just when momentum is swinging to the positive side THEY ( whoever they are) decide not to have a Toy Fair next year ?
Makes no sense.
The industry deserves its presence in New York, Los Angeles, even Las Vegas as well as Hong Kong and Germany. To do otherwise is hindering the impact of a industry fighting to return to prominence . It’s a shameful decision and needs to be rejected.
The Javits Center has 3.3 million square feet of space to exhibit in, whereas the New Orleans Convention Center has 1.1 million square feet. Who’s not getting in?
If you got nothing good to say, don’t say anything at all. So I’ll keep it brief. The Association has truly lost their way. They’ve become so insular they don’t poll their members and they plan trade show dates with no regards for the competitive show calendar. With each misstep LA becomes stronger, customers are discovering different alternatives to source toys and Toy Fair becomes even less relevant. Time to look in the mirror.
Interestingly, the crime rate in New Orleans is far higher than NYC – the homicide rate is 12x higher this year.
I think most us have worked Toy Fair in NY for a long time. Accommodations are nice and the food at most restaurants is extremely good. However, the city has now become dangerous.
New Orleans is a fantastic place, The food is great. The entertainment is fantastic and the people are very friendly. The major plus is that it is a lot warmer in New Orleans than NY during the winter months.
This makes no sense to me. I just checked and on average, the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has 31 departure flights each day. That includes only one flight to Europe (London) and none to Canada or Asia. It makes it a truely national event.