Page 40 - Toy & Hobby Dec-Jan 2020

ATA UPDATE BY ALICE SANDERSON
ATA welcomes change
THE last three months have seen many changes occur at the ATA, beginning with the departure of Gabby Anderson. I was offered the privilege of taking on the role of executive manager following Gabby’s resignation and look forward to my new position and all its exciting challenges. We wish Gabby every success for her future and want to thank her for the hard work and passion she brought to her role.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Georgina Kritsilidis to the ATA team. Georgina has taken over the position of events manager and has fitted into our team beautifully. You will all get a chance to meet Georgina
onsite at the 2020 Toy Fair – she will be the one running around this year rather than me.
It has been a busy time at the ATA and in
the October school holidays we were excited to launch our Value of Play program at Play World Australia in Sydney.
This is the second year running and the event was a major success again for the ReedPop team. Overthetwodays,kidsandfamiliesareableto touch, feel and play with all different gadgets,
toys and gaming products. The event attracted thousands of families, with interactive fun activities provided by Foxtel with Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Funrise, Lego, Cbeebies and Disney Junior to name a few.
Preparations are well underway for the 2020 Toy Hobby and Licensing Fair which will once again take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Stalls and sponsorship
are booking steadily, so we suggest you get in quick and book your position now. The dates are Sunday 01 March through to Wednesday 04 March and pre-registering to attend will be available on the ATA site in January.
The Toy Hobby and Licensing Fair is recognised as the biggest and best in Australia as it attracts some of the most exciting ranges of new and innovative product exhibitions in the Southern Hemisphere, along with retailers and buyers from all around the world.
You may have heard recently that there have been significant changes made to The Australian Toy Association program of awards. The ATA board and staff have listened carefully to the industry’s feedback on the awards and have put in place changes to improve the program.
The awards are an integral part of the
Fair as its aim is to celebrate the outstanding performances achieved by our industry through products, licenses and individual successes.
The changes incorporate:
1. ProductoftheYearAwardswillnowbe
retrospective and open to all Toy Fair Exhibitors. 2. Judges Choice Award will also be open
to Toy Fair Exhibitors only and will be
awarded to a new product that our judging panel predict will be a success in the Australian market.
3. Rising Star Award will now be open to the industry as a whole to celebrate outstanding performers.
4. ATA Licensing Awards will be open to all
ATA and Licensing International members. The judging of all awards will be carried out
by independent industry experts and we cannot wait to present these awards at the 2020 Gala Dinner on Sunday 01 March.
While it may seem that the ATA are just continuously having fun with events such as Play World and Toy Fair there is the serious side that we continue to play a huge role in and that is Safety and Compliance.
The ATA have been very busy in this space and in October and November, we were invited to take part in the 2020 priority sessions held by both the ACCC and Treasury. These provide stakeholders with the opportunity to discuss the priorities moving forward including counterfeit goods sold online which we continue to tackle and ensure
it remains an important issue. Other priorities include aligning our standards with our overseas counterparts, thus reducing barriers to trade as well as the need for more engagement and enforcement from our regulators.
Wewillcontinuetokeepyouupdatedinour member news and if you are looking to join the ATA and be a part of this exciting association, please contact the office anytime on +61 3 9320 2600.
We wish you all the best for the Christmas buying season and hope you have a great Christmas and New Year break. I will be heading to Hong Kong and Nuremberg in the new year so I hope to see many familiar faces on my travels and we are looking forward to a fun packed 2020 with our Toy Fair in March. ❉
Trade diary
2020
HONG KONG TOYS & GAMES FAIR
06 - 09 January
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Hong Kong, China event.hktdc.com/fair/hktoyfair-en/HKTDC- Hong-Kong-Toys-and-Games-Fair/
HONG KONG BABY PRODUCTS FAIR
06 - 09 January
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Hong Kong, China event.hktdc.com/fair/hkbabyfair-en/ HKTDC-Hong-Kong-Baby-Products-Fair/
SPIELWARENMESSE
29 January - 02 February Nuremberg Exhibition Centre Nuremberg, Germany spielwarenmesse.de/language/1/
AGHA SYDNEY GIFT FAIR
21 - 24 February
The Dome, Sydney Showground
Sydney, Australia aghagiftfairs.com.au/info/sydney/about- sydney-gift-fair
REED GIFT FAIR SYDNEY
22 - 25 February
ICC Sydney Exhibition Centre
Sydney, Australia reedgiftfairs.com.au/sydney-february/
NEW YORK TOY FAIR
22 - 25 February Jacob K. Javits Center New York, USA toyfairny.com
AUSTRALIAN TOY HOBBY & LICENSING FAIR
01 - 04 March
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Melbourne, Australia
austoy.com.au
40 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER NOVEMBER / DECEMBER / JANUARY 2020