WHO’S TREKKING TO TOY FAIR?
Of 79 retailers questioned, 46 percent plan to attend the 2008 Toy Fair in New York. Trade show consultant Candace S. Adams, aka “The Booth Mom®” stressed the importance of networking at Toy Fair: “Where else are retailers going to learn from other retailers who are geographically diverse and not their direct competitors down the street?” Keith Schumacker, manager of Talbot’s Toyland in San Mateo, Calif., considers the relationship aspect important: “We like to maintain relations with our vendors and keep our face in front of them, so they know we are still around.” The majority of non-attendees blamed bad timing, New York’s high costs and bad weather, and personal reasons. “I do just as well with reps and catalogues,” Betsy Justings, owner of Betsy’s On Ross in Auburn, Ala.
