Op-Ed: Why the Fall Toy Preview Show in Dallas “Makes Sense”

With Fall Toy Preview just around the corner (September 27-29), Jay Foreman, CEO of The Bridge Direct, talks about the enduring importance of a fall marketplace in Dallas.

Back before my time selling toys into the retail trade there was always a fall preview going on at the Toy Center in New York City in September or October. Unfortunately, in the mid 00's, we lost our home at the Toy Center and had to find a new home for the fall show. Many of us fought loudly against a move from New York, including yours truly, and even worked to try to find a new building for the industry to occupy in the city. Regrettably, we were not able to find a suitable replacement for the Toy Center, so the decision was made to move to Dallas.

Dallas was really not a foreign concept as it was a place where many of us used to go in January to work with the entire Toys“R”Us team. Imagine, the industry used to set up in New York for a preview in fall, travel to Hong Kong in early January and then right to Dallas exclusively for one account before finally traveling to New York Toy Fair in February. Since those days, TRU has ended its January Dallas review and many companies either send a skeleton crew or don't send anyone to Hong Kong in January any longer. So, there now remain two opportunities to present our lines in a traditional show format to the trade:  one in the fall in Dallas or LA and one in the winter in New York.

This begs the question “Why Dallas?” for so many of us, especially given the general and ongoing shift of the center of the toy industry to Los Angeles. The question might be better asked “Why not Los Angeles?” A few words come to mind regarding this question: “It’s Los Angeles!” Los Angeles is synonymous with traffic and logistical nightmares. The core LA companies are spread from Orange County in the South up to the “Valley” in the north in Encino and even as far west as the city in Riverside.

The TIA trade show committee decided against a move to Los Angeles because there is no single viable location that made sense as a "one stop" permanent or temporary host for the event that was convenient for buyers.  We know for certain that key retail buyers do not have the additional time during their four to five days in Los Angeles to see any additional companies. In fact, some are starting to cut off visits and directing companies to Dallas, Hong Kong or the home office for line reviews. For anyone not in the position to keep a full-time showroom in LA, the cost of exhibiting there is considerably higher than in Dallas. We have also discounted New York and Las Vegas because the cost to exhibitors and buyers is far beyond that of Dallas.

Finally, showing in Los Angeles for most companies means manning a showroom for the better part of the entire month of September! Mattel and other large LA-based companies schedule meetings generally for the entire month of September, and cycle buyers by scale and trade class weekly all month. They might see an account like Walmart the first week of the month and an account like Walgreens the last week of September, and all the others in between. If you are based in New York, Chicago, Miami or Kansas City, in order to see as many of the buyers that travel to LA as possible you need a presence all month. That either means posting staff full-time or traveling in and out each week.

Dallas makes sense because it’s easy and cost efficient to get to, stay in and get around. It's the most time efficient city for the majority of buyers to travel to as there are dozens of flights daily from most cities large and small. It also offers a “one stop shop” for 200+ companies, so buyers, in an efficient and time affective way, can see a dozen or more companies each day.  For exhibitors, the venue is less expensive to rent, move goods into and set up than most other key show cities such as LA, Las Vegas or New York.

Those of us on the TIA Trade Show Committee recognize that due to the way the Jewish high holidays fall this year, we are running into a conflict with the LA previews and losing some accounts that have told members they are going to LA and not going to Dallas. While that is regrettable (and only a factor this year as the show will move out to early October next year and beyond), it is important to know that TIA is working with member companies now to change minds and get holdouts to the show. It’s also important to know that the original mission of this show was and is to give buyers that make selections prior to the end of the year a chance to see member companies. We can assure members that we have confirmation from these key accounts that they will in fact be attending in force this year. That includes buyers and management from Toys“R”Us, Walmart, Target and others. These accounts have told us in no uncertain terms that their buyers don't even have enough time to see the existing LA companies, let alone add dozens if not hundreds more. They have told us that Dallas works for them! In fact, one high-profile retailer told the committee that if TIA moved the show to LA, he would not be able to see any of the companies. We were specifically advised to keep the show in Dallas.

I personally believe in Dallas, as do the others on the TIA Trade Show Committee, which is made up of executives from member companies. We highly recommend that all our members and exhibitors continue to support the show and urge your customers and trade guests to attend this year and in the coming years.