Is Your Store Ready for STEM STEAM Day?
05/17/2022 Twenty-one years after the acronym STEM was introduced by the U.S. National Science Foundation, experts agree that developing strong science, technology, engineering, art,…
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ASTRA Plans a Tropical Toy Event for February 2023
05/17/2022 An interview with Sue Warfield “When Toy Fair made its date-change announcement, ASTRA sent out a survey to a list of people in…
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Time to Reset and Move Ahead
03/21/2022 Seven Questions Business Owners Should Ask Themselves This Year The past couple of years have been incredibly stressful and chaotic for business owners….
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Play: The Perfect Getaway
03/21/2022 “The Great Play Escape” will be one of the top toy trends of 2022 according to the Toy Association. Toys that travel well,…
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Charting a Course with MAP
01/12/2022 In 2022, competing on price is going to be harder than ever for specialty toy retailers. But Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) policies, instituted…
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Things that Make You Smile
01/12/2022 The story of MukikiM, the company responsible for award winners like the Rock & Roll It Piano and The Genius Square, is a…
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It’s Not Too Late for a Holiday Toy trends forecast
10/12/2021 by Tina Manzer Every year The Insights Family market research firm – with headquarters in Manchester, England; and offices in the U.S., Brazil,…
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They Did It
10/12/2021 Specialty toy professionals met face-to-face (er, mask-to-mask) in Minneapolis for ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy in August. The show presented new products and bestsellers…
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So Many Dolls to Sell
07/13/2021 Don’t overlook the doll category as a profit center for your store Part 2 of an interview with retailer Peter Laudin from Pattycake…
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10 Questions: Meet Sue Warfield, Officially ASTRA’s President
07/13/2021 1. You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be? Sue: Brilliant yellow, because I like to always consider…
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