ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - It’s a trade show where everyone gets to play.
ASTRA, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, is holding it’s Marketplace and Academy this week in St. Louis from June 2 to June 5 at America's Center Convention Complex Plaza 701.
The organization say there will be 2,000 people that will be in attendance for the week between exhibitors and attendees, with many more expected coming through the door.
"You will be seeing everything from little kids and infants toys all the way up to what this new category that's exploding is the k-adult (kids-adult) category," said Sue Warfield, President of ASTRA on Total Information A.M. Monday, "We definitely push that play is important to everybody from birth on through our adult life. And so more and more of our toy stores are looking at products that teens on up are loving and a good example is LEGO with their botanical series of flowers that you put together. They're hot because adults are doing it."
Warfield also talked to KMOX about the health of the toy industry and while a big business like Toys R' Us is no longer in operation, people assumed that it would increase business for small and specialty toy stores. Warfield says that hasn't been the case.
"When Toys R Us went under, it was a major starting ground for a lot of new products that can't get out there in the specialty market," said Warfield. "I don't think it affected our specialty stores as much as people thought it would as far as increased business. "What has helped our specialty stores is the understanding that you get absolute individualized attention for what you're looking for and the stores know those products. It's not just pointing you to an aisle where inventories might be, they can actually tell you about them."
Warfield says that that many specialty stores actually had their best years of business during COVID.
"I know it sounds terrible but they have their best years during COVID because they really pivoted and help their community by bringing products to do curbside, pick up Facebook selling, the whole thing," said Warfield.