The Canadian Toy Association’s Annual General Meeting on August 12 offered attending members an information-packed agenda with three speakers taking the podium. Kicking off the early morning event, which took place at Georgetown, Ontario’s Eagle Ridge Golf Club, CTA Chair Jeff Hurst, of Spin Master Ltd., delivered a wrap-up of the CTA’s 2009/2010 business. In his address to the audience of distributors and manufacturers, he made several announcements and covered a variety of topics:
Dr. Toy Releases Green Toy Awards List
September 1st, 2010
Earlier this summer, U.S. toy expert Stevanne Auerbach, or Dr. Toy as she’s perhaps better known to parents, released her fourth annual Green Toy Awards for 2010. Designed to bring attention to companies “working towards making a difference in playthings and reducing the impact of production”, Dr. Toy gave the top honour of Best Green Toy Company to Vermont’s Maple Landmark Woodcraft for its C-Blox.
Gift Show Features Cross-over Products
August 19th, 2010
Although only about 37 of the almost 1,000 vendors who exhibited earlier this month at the Canadian Gift & Tableware Association’s (CGTA) Fall Gift Show were listed as toy suppliers, Canada’s toy retailers still visited this annual trade show in numbers. That’s because they were on the hunt for more than just regular toy lines. Many told Toys & Games they came to shop for those indefinable items that straddle both the toy and gift categories — products offering wider appeal that expand and extend the toy retailer’s business.
NETS Show Exhibits Grab Retailers’ Attention
August 17th, 2010
With 24 vendors and almost 40 visiting retailers in attendance, the buzz in the showroom at the recent annual Neighbourhood Toys Stores of Canada’s (NETS) Latest & Greatest Show was palpable. Independent retailers came from across Canada to check out new and hot product. Plus, visiting NETS members used the opportunity to cast their final votes for products appearing in the organization’s fourth-quarter consumer catalogue.
This year for the first time, NETS show organizers arranged to have youngsters on hand to demonstrate the merchandise —
Neighbourhood Toy Stores of Canada Names Gold Star Winners
August 12th, 2010
2010 Gold Star Award honourees included double-award winner Merle Tubman, of Borgfeldt (Canada), 2nd from right.
On August 9, 2010, members of the Neighbourhood Toy Stores of Canada (NETS) hosted their 6th annual mid-season toy show and awards ceremony at the Hilton Garden Airport Hotel near Toronto’s Pearson Airport. During the awards ceremony, ten prestigious Gold Star Awards were handed out to suppliers whose products were chosen by NETS members and their customers as representing the best in play value. A special salute goes to Borgfeldt (Canada), a previous multi-award winner, which actually took home two of the ten awards this year.
