The Toy Universe —?Edition 8

Welcome to Edition 47 of The Bugg Report Magazine, featuring at this year's Toy Hobby & Licensing Fair from 11-14 February and hosted by the Australian Toy Association in Melbourne.

2023 had some great features in The Toy Universe throughout the year including Zuru Toys, Build-ables by BMS Brands, Cubeez by HeadStart, a 50th Anniversary Celebration for Hunter Leisure and to round out the year, Clixo by Divisible By Zero.

Late in 2023 we published an article from The Toy Association which included the Q4 Toy Trends Update which highlighted the trends to watch out for over the holiday season, which included Cool to be a Kidult, Conscientious Consumers, Playing it Smart and Pop Culture at Play. The Toy Association will host their?annual "Toy Trends Briefing" virtually on February 8 to provide insight into the trends predicted to drive toy and game sales throughout the year and into the 2024 holiday season.

Looking at the trade events calendar for 2024 and some times will be different this year with the New York Toy Fair skipping a year to return from 1-4 March 2025 and the Toy Hobby & Licensing Fair in Melbourne being held in February instead of March. Spielwarenmesse (Nuremberg) was once again held in late January/early February and then in April we will see the Los Angeles Spring Previews which will also return later in September as well. We also have the ATA Mid-Year Toy Preview in late June.

There are a number of events and awards that will take place at this year’s fair including the Gala Dinner, 25 Year Club, Product of the Year Awards, Environmental and Sustainability Award, Judges’ Choice Award, Kids’ Choice Award, Licensed Property of the Year and the Rising Star Award. Keep an eye out for the winners to be announced!

Hopefully 2024 will offer a good year for toys and things will improve in the economy as well as increased optimism heading into 2025. Based on the trends from 2023 it would be reasonable to expect similar trends this year including sustainability, inclusivity, learning and nostalgia.

We hope that you enjoy the fair this year and please consider visiting The Toy Universe website and subscribing to our updates which focus mainly on the Australian Toy Industry.