Page 34 - Toy & Hobby Magazine Feb-Apr 2021

TOY, HOBBY & LICENSING FAIR 2021
WELCOME TO
Toy Fair Digital!
ATA executive manager Alice Sanderson welcomes Toy & Hobby Retailer readers to the 56th edition of the industry’s favourite fair.
the industry and I am delighted to confirm that our four finalists are Leanne Papadopoulos
of My Creative Box, Andrew McCosker of U. Games Australia, Simon Phinith of Lego ANZ and Brea Brand of Connetix Tiles.
Who do you think will be 2021’s Rising Star?
For the first time, we will also be presenting the Kids Choice Award where junior judges chosen by Just Kidding get their chance to pick this years’ big winners. Can you imagine how excited these talented kids are to be able to touch, test and play with toys yet to be released in Australia? Stay tuned for images of the event which we will provide in our full report following the Fair.
The Product of the Year and Licensing awards will also be announced at the event along with the Judges Choice which is the only other predictive award presented
to the industry.
All awards are independently judged,
and I want to take this opportunity to thank this year's panel for their time and effort in the process.
Also, a huge thank-you goes to this year's sponsors and supporters including Just Kidding, Toy & Hobby Retailer and Modern Brands.
This industry is a fantastic industry and while I will miss catching up with everyone on the floor at the Fair, I am truly excited to see the toy industry come together online.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to welcome new Directors to the ATA Board while sadly having to say goodbye to others. Jacinta Whitehead, David McNeil and Jacqui Webster have all taken up the Director Nominated positions and for the first time.
The four vacant member elected director positions were filled by James Thurlow, Meagan Sanders, Claus Kristensen and Chris Loverso.
A huge thank-you goes to Andrew Skinner, George Khoury and Andrew Lee who have now stepped down from their positions. I would like to acknowledge Andrew Skinner’s long and dedicated tenure of just over nine years where he also served as President for two.
And of course, the Presidency has now been passed from Jonathan Zimbler to Tim Clarke of Modern Brands. For me it has been a pleasure working under Jonathan and I look forward
to also working with Tim and each Board Member moving forward. ❉
THIS year will be the first time in over 50 years that the Australian Toy Association has not held a physical event, however we are super excited to be providing the first-ever Toy Fair Digital!
Extended from four to five days and taking place online from Monday 1st March, the Fair provides a safe and effective platform for both our exhibitors and our guests to show and source new and exciting products for the 2021 buying period.
The digital platform offers many opportunities including video meetings,
live presentations and exhibitor demos.
It also removes any barriers that may usually be present, including travel and accommodation costs.
With the Fair moving to online, the ATA’s awards ceremony will also be held digitally
and is set to take place on Monday 1st March at 4pm. We welcome all industry members to tune in and find out what brands and licences were hot in 2020 and what fantastic new products are set to hit retail in 2021.
This is an opportunity for you all to get your teams together for the event and while we aren’t all celebrating onsite and at Crown, there is absolutely no reason why the current climate should prevent us from applauding the achievements of our peers over a cocktail or two.
The program for the ceremony will again include the Rising Star award. This will be presented to an outstanding performer within
34 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER FEBRUARY / MARCH / APRIL 2021