WTHRA Show Wrap-Up

For East Coast manufacturers and representatives, the Pomona show is a natural follow up to Toy Fair.

Held March 11–14, the Western Toy and Hobby Representatives Association Show (WTHRA) has become a reliable, compact, hands-on search engine for retail and wholesale buyers. Though day one was marred by a very un-SoCal-like hail storm, participants said the slush didn't dampen buyers' enthusiasm for their products — or for the show.

“After 20 years of going to this show, it is like a small town or a family,” according to Judy Hall, from Reno, Nev., and 2006 WTHRA Retailer of the Year. She has attended the show every year because it is closer to her than the New York Toy Fair.

Ira Kizner, vice president of sales and marketing at Guidecraft, agrees: “For some of our West Coast customers, this is the only time we meet face to face.”

Steve Grimshaw of Fun Lines is a long time exhibitor at the WTHRA show. “The main shift we see is in the number of customers outside of the toy store industry who are showing up to buy.” Grimshaw believes one reason for this shift is that many gift shows no longer sport long aisles of toy exhibitors, driving more specialty and gift store owners to toy shows.

WTHRA and sales agencies are both involved in expanding the audience of the show as grocery, drug, hardware, clothing and other specialty stores are including toys in their stores. “It’s true — because the toy industry is shrinking,” said WTHRA president Betsy Harney who confirmed that the association advertises the show in trade magazines outside of the toy industry. “The show is also unique in that it is set up for representatives to do business in a cost-effective way,” reports Harney. The show is run by volunteer members of the association.

For East Coast manufacturers, the Pomona show is a natural follow up to Toy Fair. “It’s a good chance to show your new lines and extensions to the folks on the West Coast who were not able to make it to New York,” said Kizner. Kizner, who has attended the show for 10 years, gets the sense that the show grows stronger and stronger. Kizner believes that over the past four or five years there has been a trend toward placing orders at the show.

Harney agrees that as buyers realize they save time and money by taking advantage of incentives when placing their order at the show, they come prepared to buy. Placing orders is a trend WTHRA encourages. The Tons of Toys giveaway awards approximately $10,000 worth of toys donated by manufacturers and wholesalers to a lucky retailer. Retailers/buyers get a raffle entry in the giveaway every time they place an order at the show.

Marilyn Chalais of Chalais Associates has had a good experience exhibiting at the show for seven years and claims her business continues to grow. With more than 900 manufacturers and representatives displaying, she suggests buyers first collect information at booths and then return to what really interests them.

Because most booths at WTHRA are manned by reps standing in for manufacturers who do not have a presence in the area, exhibitors are not arranged by toy category. This makes identification of the growing or shrinking categories difficult. With so much competition in the room with you, Chalais said “uniqueness” is important. Her science and nature lines by Noted get attention from retailers who use the show to seek out unusual items.

“Attendance has been about the same for the last five years, which is a good thing in the toy industry,” according to WTHRA office manager, Phyllis St. John. She estimates 850 to 900 actual buyers, not counting family and employees, visited Pomona, Calif., for the event.

Read here about the best-of-show products and why retailers were so enthusiastic. And in case you need to see more, TDmonthly also sent our Video Crew into selected booths, so that toys could really strut their stuff. Be sure to click on the video links to see for yourself.