Melbourne Toyfair returns for 2022

[griffin]

After the 2021 Toy and Hobby Fair was cancelled and held virtually (without many toy companies like Hasbro), it is back for 2022 as the state is opening back up after covid.

The dates are a little later than usual, as it is often at the start of March... which usually clashes with the Grand Prix (making it more difficult to get cheap accommodation), and is almost always on the same weekend as the Sydney Mardi Gras (the first weekend of March).

For 2022 it is on Sunday 27th to Wednesday 30th March - a week before the Grand Prix (which was also pushed back a month).

Unless we see a new, worse variant of covid that is immune to the vaccine that shuts everything down again, I'd really like to make sure I'm there once again... not just for the Toyfair, but also for the travel outside of my own part of the world after 2 years.

I haven't heard word from Hasbro Australia yet, but if the event is on, I don't think they would skip it since they are the biggest exhibitor. (Mattel is based in Melbourne, so they do their own appointment-only tours at their own premises while the retailers are in Melbourne.)

[griffin]

Announced today by the Australian Toy Association, the Melbourne Toy and Hobby fair has now been cancelled as a physical event, and will be reverting to a digital format like last year... which Hasbro didn't participate, so I doubt they will again this year.

Just two weeks ago, Hasbro Australia was telling me that they were going to have an exhibit, just a much smaller one, due to limited display stock (since NY Toyfair was cancelled, their usual display stock that goes around the world wouldn't exist).

It is with much regret that the ATA Board and Management inform our members and the industry that the 2022 Toy Hobby Licensing Fair, which was set to take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, will not go ahead.
The current situation is quite concerning with the spread of COVID through the community and while borders are remaining open, this not only raises concerns around the safety of an event but also its success due to a potential low attendance rate.
Both are vitally important for a successful in-person event.
We understand that this is a disappointing outcome for all and while there was so much positivity prior to Christmas, the current environment proves that things can change quite rapidly and there are no guarantees of improvement in time for the Fair in March.

We are pleased to confirm that the Digital Fair will still take place and with the new dates of Monday 28th March to Friday 1st April. The online fair will provide a platform to promote and source brands and products safely and effectively. While nothing can replace a live event, this will still bring the industry together again in March.

[griffin]

Apparently the digital event is on right now (March 28th to April 1st), but Hasbro isn't an exhibitor again (like last year), so there isn't anything to mention about Transformers.

However, while on the topic of Toyfair, this year's award winners were just announced (and featured on some of the morning programs this week), and even though Hasbro sponsored the event, they didn't win anything themselves (Entertainment One had a win, which is Hasbro, but it doesn't say Hasbro, so doesn't look good to the retailers reading the list and seeing heaps of mentions of Lego and Mattel)... including the Action Product category, which you'd expect to feature action figures (Hasbro's pretty much cornered the market on action figures at the moment), but this year, Lego took out one of the three places, while Micro Machines took out another spot... which must really be a kick in the teeth for Hasbro, because even though they own Micro Machines, they have licensed it out to someone else to make the toys now (musta thought it wasn't worth their time at the moment).
So basically, Hasbro could have won a couple more awards this year, if they had produced Micro Machines themselves instead of allowing someone else to do it for them as mere licensed merchandise.

Big Balloon is the company that is importing and distributing Micro Machines at the moment, and they managed to pick up a lot of awards and places this year... for a company I had never heard of before in the Australian Toy industry. So that's an impressive effort if they are indeed new here.