Soar into the Future with ASTRA

by SUE WARFIELD, President, American Specialty Toy Retailing Affiliation (ASTRA)

Toy Honest within the winter — it’s again! Whereas March isn’t precisely the identical as February, it’s shut. At ASTRA, we’re excited to exhibit at Toy Honest at a time that’s extra in sync with our specialty retailer schedules.

You could find me and Particular Initiatives and Occasions Supervisor Michael Foldeak in Sales space No. 5937. On the present, we’ll meet with our members and allow them to learn about our new member advantages, discover new firms so as to add to our membership, and get a really feel for the most recent merchandise and tendencies for 2025.

ASTRA members have quite a bit to sit up for this 12 months, and we are going to share our initiatives as we meet with everybody at Toy Honest. Final 12 months, we commissioned a client survey that included getting enter from specialty buyers on why they store the place they do. We’re utilizing the outcomes to tell our efforts and concentrate on what’s vital for specialty buyers. 

Listed below are only a few issues you may anticipate from ASTRA this 12 months: 

• Increasing our Licensed Play Knowledgeable Program to get extra specialty retail retailer personnel licensed;
• Constructing our on-line instructional choices and increasing our choices past our membership;
• Serving to our retail members construct shows and assortments that enchantment to a broader viewers;
• Setting sail on the Toy Boat on March 17; 
• Beginning regional teams for members to fulfill and share concepts;
• Persevering with Zoom gatherings that cowl a large number of topics;
• Organising “after-show” gatherings at reward reveals all year long;
• Working with our membership to be taught what they need from ASTRA;
• Constructing our on-line communication system to be extra user-friendly;
• Banding collectively to fight any authorities points that would impression our progress and success.

Toy Honest has been a practice for many people through the years, and we hope that with the return to a winter present in New York, the power shall be what we bear in mind from earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Toy Honest slated for February 2026 and 2027, ASTRA hopes so as to add further occasions and broaden its presence at these reveals. Up to now, we’re contemplating throwing a networking banquet, a cocktail hour, and bringing again the “Share the Honest” breakfast. Over the subsequent 12 months, we are going to take a look at potential new alternatives to work with our specialty neighborhood gathered in New York.

As on-line gross sales proceed to develop, we additionally see extra folks purchasing in individual to make connections. We will’t neglect that buyers truly wish to store in individual, and we are going to proceed to work with our members to make it practically as simple to “store native, store small” as it’s to buy with one of many huge packing containers. 

Let’s go, 2025, we’re able to soar!