Objective:
This hour-long webinar highlights key findings from a Vanderbilt University study on channel trends in the toy industry and seeks to shed light on both past industry responses and potential pathways to success.
Who Should Attend:
All TIA members and non-member toy companies; specifically recommended for executives and staff responsible for development, sales, marketing, and research.
What You Will Learn:
Over the past decade, the toy industry has faced many challenges as traditional distribution channels have consolidated. The channel power accumulated by a few large discounters and on-line retailers has had a profound impact, particularly on small manufacturers. Traditional toys have also seen increased competition, first from video games and then from mobile devices and apps. Given the challenging shifts in the industry’s retail channels and demographics, this webinar explores successful toymaker strategies. We will present our “Pathways to Success” matrix and its implications for operations, marketing, and product development.
Presented By:
Moderator:
Anne McConnell, Senior Director, Market Research & Data Strategy, Toy Industry Association, Inc.
Presenter:
M. Eric Johnson, Dean, Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University
M. Eric Johnson is the Ralph Owen Dean of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management and the Bruce D. Henderson Professor of Strategy. Previously he served as Associate Dean for the MBA program at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, where he was also Faculty Director of the Glassmeyer/McNamee Center for Digital Strategies and Benjamin Ames Kimball Professor of the Sciences of Administration. He has published articles on management and channel structures in the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. He is particularly interested in the supply chain challenges faced by industries with short product life cycles such as computers, toys, and apparel.