The toys on store shelves this holiday season were picked by retail buyers more than a year ago, and many of those conversations started at a show most new toy creators have never heard of. In this episode, Azhelle Wade, The Toy Coach, attends LA Toy Previews for the first time and goes inside The Toy Building in El Segundo, California, where The Toy Association has turned its own lounges into showrooms.
In this episode
How LA Toy Previews became one of the most important stops in the toy buying calendar, with Greg Ahearn, President and CEO of The Toy Association
A tour of The Toy Building, now 101% leased, with Kimberly Carcone, EVP of Global Experiences
What really happens in a September buyer meeting, with Tom Delaney of Blokees
Why Ty, the company behind Beanie Babies, reports buyer feedback to leadership every single night, with Tania Lundeen of Ty
Five lessons for getting in front of retail buyers before Toy Fair
How The Toy Coach and one of her clients landed a retail deal even when showrooms were sold out
Key Takeaways From This Episode
What are LA Toy Previews?
LA Toy Previews are two weeks of hyper-focused sales meetings between toy companies and retail buyers every September in El Segundo, California. It used to be called “pre Toy Fair,” when big LA companies like Mattel and MGA would fly retailers in to preview next year’s line before New York Toy Fair. In January 2025, The Toy Association signed an 11-year lease on what’s now called The Toy Building at 101 Continental Boulevard. It has over 100,000 square feet, 85 companies have showrooms there, and it’s so sold out they turned the lounges into showrooms. As Greg Ahearn, CEO of The Toy Association, told me, it’s more important that people show toys than have lounges.
When do toy buyers decide what goes in stores?
About a year ahead. The toys in stores this November started getting reviewed and picked last September, then finalized around January and February. LA Toy Previews kicks off the cycle in September. Then comes Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany, then Toy Fair New York in February, where the last buying plans get locked in. Then the spring previews in LA start it all over again in April. If you’re still thinking like a consumer about when toys get bought, you’re already behind.
Do I need a finished product to pitch at LA Toy Previews?
No. LA Toy Previews is the beginning of the development cycle for the following year, so you’re welcome to come in with prototypes and tentative pricing. But buyers do tend to hold you to your pricing, so bump it up a little. If you want to pitch new items in September, your prototypes and initial pricing need to be ready by August. Book your meetings one to two months ahead, because buyer schedules fill up fast and they prioritize brands they’ve worked with before.
What happens in a buyer meeting at LA Toy Previews?
These are development meetings, not order meetings. You’ll hear the phrase “work the line” a lot. It means you sit down with a buyer, go through next year’s products together, and they tell you what they like, what they’d change, what price it needs to hit and what’s missing. So don’t walk in expecting a purchase order. Bring your prototypes, packaging mockups, alternate versions and target retail price. Then get answers to three questions for each product:
Would this work in your store, and why or why not?
What are your margin requirements for next year?
What would you like to see by Toy Fair New York?
A buyer who gives you feedback still cares enough to consider taking your product in.
How do I get meetings with buyers at LA Toy Previews?
Reach out one to two months ahead and ask for just 30 minutes to go over your line for next year. There’s no official registration and no badge pickup. It’s an appointment show, so buyers come by invite. Make it easy for them to find you. Tom Delaney of Blokees told me they put their suite number in all their marketing so buyers with a free 10 minutes can pop in. If you’re not in The Toy Building, be ready to tell buyers exactly how short the walk is, and it better be five minutes or less. Buyers will not get in a car.
What should I do after a buyer meeting?
Write down what they liked, what they’d change and what you promised to send. Then follow up within a day or two and make the changes as fast as you can. Tania Lundeen of Ty told me that what they hear from buyers at the show gets reported back every night, straight to the person who makes the decisions. If a company the size of Ty is still making changes that fast, you can and should too. The faster you give a buyer what they want, the faster they can say yes.
Do I need a showroom in The Toy Building?
A showroom is ideal, but it’s not required. One of my Accelerator clients didn’t have one, and the building was sold out. So we booked a hotel conference room right across the street, attached to the main parking lot. It was clean and quiet, it had a screen for our presentation, and we had samples on the table. The buyer gave us tips on what sells in their store, told us which items they liked most and gave honest feedback on pricing, and we landed the deal. Just get as close to the building as you can. If you want a permanent showroom, leases run three to five years, and you can find details at toyassociation.org under LA Previews.
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Want to lease a showroom in The Toy Building? Visit https://www.toyassociation.org/ and click on LA Previews.
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Everything You Need to Know About LA Toy Previews at The Toy Building
The busy season is in November for toys but buyers are planning a year ahead the toys in stores this November actually started getting reviewed and picked last September hey there toy people Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of making it in the Toy industry this is a weekly podcast brought to you by the Toy coach.com so today we're diving into a toy show that most new toy people haven't heard of and that's called LA Toy Previews by the end of this episode you're gonna know the five biggest things that I Learned about getting in front of retail buyers before Toy Fair I've been in the toy industry for over 16 years and this year I attended LA Toy Previews for the first time Toy Previews is normally a sales focused show with toy companies meeting retailers in hotel lobbies rented conference rooms and more with my background in product development and design I used to hustle for months before
LA Toy Previews to get samples and pricing ready for our sales teams but I never needed to attend those shows but this September LA Toy Previews myself to help sell one of my clients into a big retail partner when we get to lesson 5 I'm gonna tell you how my client and I landed a deal at the show when all the showrooms were sold out in January of 2025 the Toy Association signed an 11 year lease on a building at 1 0 1 Continental Boulevard and they staked a claim for the toy industry in California they call it the Toy Building it has over 100,000 square feet of space and 85 companies who need a presence in LA have leased a spot in this building now I wanted to know how this all happened how it all came to be so I went straight to the top inside the toy building I sat down with Greg Ahern the the president and CEO of the Toy Association and I asked him the question you are probably asking right now
LA Toy previews have been around for a long time I've been in the toy industry for 30+ years and started at Mattel and they used to be called pre Toy Fair and run in August and September and through evolution and time here Elsa Gundo has become the toy district the official toy district and many international companies started coming the September time frame started to zero in when all of the retailers medium domestic retailers international retailers all descended on Elsa Gundo and the Toy Association felt like hey maybe we can help be an organizing force bring information and and excitement to the week like we do in New York for Toy Fair New York and so in 2024 we leased temporary space in a building and brought in about 70 partners that lease space just for that September and then we felt we needed a permanent home and so we entered into a 11 year lease right here at the toy building at 1 0 1 Continental
Avenue where we've leased 100,000 square feet and we are totally sold out we are at 101% capacity well because we actually leased our lounges I'm standing in one of those right now because we think it's more important that people show toys than have lounges because that's why everybody's here so we have 85 manufacturers that are part of what we're doing in the experience here at the Toy Building in in Elsa so think about that they leased out lounges because in Greg's words it's more important that people show toys than have lounges to chill in that's how much demand there is to be in this building for these two weeks most new toy and game creators see New York Toy Fair as the end all be all show to pitch and sell their products into retail the dream is that you invest in a booth you deck it out with all of your branding and then buyers from big retailers walk by fall in love with you and your brand and they just place
Thousands of dollars of orders on the spot but in reality that's not really how it always works is that the big and medium sized toy brands have been working their lines with buyers for months ahead of that show LA Toy Previews is two weeks of hyper focused working sales meetings in El Segundo California there are a lot of toy companies in LA including major ones like Mattel mga and for years the big companies would invite their retailers to fly in and preview the next year's line ahead of New York Toy Fair hence the name previews now over time LA previews began to have more influence over the buying cycle than New York Toy Fair as buyers started showing interest and offering soft commitments on upcoming lines before they were fully developed now our lessons lesson one of five the buying year starts in September now here's where a lot of toy creators get tripped up if you're new you might still be thinking
Like a consumer about when toys get bought you might think that like the busy season is in November for toys but buyers are planning a year ahead the toys in stores this November actually started getting reviewed and picked last September and then they got finalized around January and February so I asked Greg why previews matter when Toy Fair is still months away
Yeah this is kind of the first show in the business cycle right so the the fall previews is showing toys that are for fall of 2027 right and so it's exciting but it's also not a press event for them let me walk you through the toy buying cycle for retail buyers LA Previews kicks off the planning cycle in September then there's Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany then Toy Fair New York in February where where the last buying plans get locked in then the spring preview in LA kicks off the spring buying in April and it continues on like that with the toy industry retailers buying products that won't be in their stores for another year
And we want people to feel like this is their permanent home in Los Angeles so they can use it for spring previews that happen in April fall previews that are two weeks here in September there's meetings that happen in August some larger retailers come here in August so they have meetings now if you're a newish toy brand wondering how to plan to be ready for LA Toy Previews next year I've got you I just want you to know that if you want to pitch new items in September your prototypes your initial pricing all needs to be ready by August you want to book out those meetings one to two months ahead because buyer schedules book up fast and they prioritize customers they've worked with in the past now if you want help with any of this you might be interested in my accelerator coaching program where I help clients one on one grow their brand sales and grow their product lines now one important distinction to know
About LA Previews is that your product is not expected to be final this is the beginning of the fall development cycle for the following year so you are welcome to come in with prototypes and tentative pricing though they do tend to hold you to your pricing so bump it up a little bit lesson 2 these are development meetings not order meetings in my interview with Greg he explains how you should walk into these meetings during our prep chat for the interview he told me that brands say the show gives them real work time with their customers to work the line so I asked him to explain
Is a different show so some of the other shows they're very efficient shows we've had multiple manufacturers the way they talk about it is this is a chance because it's a two week long event to spend quality time to as they say work the line right which means to work their product line with the retailers that come through really talking about the products really talking about their company and the strategy and where they're going and how all these products fit in to not only what the company's doing but obviously to what the retailer's trying to achieve through their shelves or their online experience or their their digital and social econ that they're doing it's a it's a great way to spend that quality time with the retail partners or the licensing partners that come through and see all of the product for the first time and maybe even are approving product here in Los Angeles now you're gonna hear the phrase
Work the line a lot at this show the line they're referring to is the product line for the following year so if you plan to launch five or six new products that's your 2027 line that you would be working at the September 2026 LA Toy Previews working the line means you sit down with a retailer and you go through the items together you explain what they will be what they are right now and they tell you what they like what they change and what price it needs to hit if it's gonna sell and what's missing
I decided to get some insight from other toy brands that have showrooms in the toy building who are actually taking meetings during LA Toy Previews so I met with Tom Delaney who runs sales at Blokees and I asked him straight out if they are having buying conversations or development conversations here's what Tom had to say
Tom Delaney with Blokees in charge of sales here for us well the Toy Association has done a fantastic job of bringing together the toy community with the new building at 1 0 1 Continental and we're so excited to be here this is actually our second show and we actually expanded our space based on the success of the first show in April so what's great about LA is and especially in the fall we can talk about fall and what they're looking to buy but also we can talk about development and what their needs are and what can we do to product and packaging and pricing you know ahead of the year to follow we're talking already a year ahead and we're not even in for the selling season for this year but that's how the toy industry is but it gets a great opportunity to get the feedback from the buyers as far as you know what they're looking for what's been successful what trends are going on and it allows us to do
A lot more planning for the year ahead according to Tom the meetings are a bit of both because LA Toy Preview meetings happen so early in the development cycle there is a lot of room for change in how a product looks and how it functions and even what it could cost
So because of that a buyer can ask for a new design and there's still a reasonable amount of time to make those changes before New York Toy Fair hits and to finalize it before the production that is going to occur in the middle of that year so don't walk into LA Toy Previews just expecting a purchase order you'd be better served if you walk in expecting to work your line aka improve your line focus on answering questions for retailers be open to rethinking your pricing and get ready to make fast revisions and follow up for a real commitment by Toy Fair New York typically after LA Toy previews sales teams follow up with buyers and give revisions based on the September conversations the goal for sales teams is just to get some level of commitment from buyers by giving them everything they feel like they might need to make that item a success in their store that means if you're in a preview meeting and a buyer
Complains about your box size or winces at your pricing you better fix it fast and happily a buyer who is giving you feedback still cares enough about your product and your brand and they are probably considering taking it in a buyer who helps shape your product is more invested than one who didn't so give them what they need so bring buyers your prototypes your packaging mock UPS your alternate versions and your target retail price and aim to get answers to these three questions from those buyers about each of your products one would this work in your store why or why not 2 what are your margin requirements for next year and 3 what would you like to see by New York Toy Fair lesson No. 3 make it easy for buyers to find you so another big question how do you actually get these meetings LA Toy Previews is an appointment show the great and relaxing part about it is that there's no official event registration which means
There's no badge pick up there's no aisle numbers to decode or find or remember it's just a main office building suite with numbers and calendar invites and a coffee bar in the lobby it's simple it's old school I loved it companies get to set their own showroom hours buyers come in by appointment and sometimes if you've been marketing your presence at the show buyers might just stop by
With yeah I'm Tom Delaney with Blokees in charge of sales here for us before the toy building Tom shared that Blokees did previews out of a hotel room but now they've got their own showroom and buyers can stop by then I asked him what happens if you don't have meetings booked
Well it's always good you know to schedule meetings cause you wanna make sure that you're meeting with somebody from the company and we can spend that time with you but then again if I know everybody's schedule is very tight and if they have a few minutes we welcome people to pop in because we want everybody to see the line we have a lot of people and you know from smaller buyers to large companies that their their schedules are so packed so if they have a few minutes you know it's easier for them to pop in and see vendors that they don't have you know a scheduled meeting time with yes so in our marketing materials we do tell people you know we're located at 1 0 1 Continental building give them our suite you know 10 12 10 13 and so they know that you know if they have free time they can pop in so we make sure you know that that's open to them that they don't have to be on a tight schedule okay
Did you catch that they put their sweet number in all of the marketing so that a buyer with a free 10 minutes who knows they're going to be at LA Toy Previews because of their marketing also knows where to find them so start reaching out one to two months ahead and ask buyers for just 30 minutes to go over your line for the next year buyers are gonna ask where you're located in the toy building and if you are located in the building give them your suite number and if you're not be ready to tell them how short of a walk it is from the building to whatever room you rented and it better be five minutes or less alright our fourth lesson report back to your team every night so let's say your meetings are over now what I met with Tania Lundeen who runs global sales and licensing at Ty the company behind Beanie Babies and and I asked whether what they hear at the show actually changes what they do to their product line
This is our second year attending the Toy Previews The Toy Association has been fantastic at working with us to find a space that makes sense this one in particular has been fantastic we love this because we see a number of different parts of our business in a very condensed period our licensors our distributors and our key customers so there's a a group of us that come from the Thai corporate office all with different objectives in mind to meet with those groups of people and we get a lot accomplished in setting up our plans for 2027 so it's been a fantastic experience in the last couple years had not this is our first time and again the Toy Association made it very easy for us because they had a move in ready beautiful space and it's again right in the heart of where everyone is walking and working in these weeks of toy previews so it was perfect we think the buyer feedback here and again the licenser and distributor
Feedback is so critical for us it's always an improvement in what we're doing in the future and one of the great things about our owner Ty Warner is he is very reactive and listens so what we hear here we literally report back every night and get that feedback directly to the person who's going to make those decisions yeah that's right every night if a company the size of Thai is still changing things based on what buyers say in September and they're addressing it that quickly you can and should too so after every meeting write down what they liked what they changed and what you promised you would send then send that follow up within a day or two and actually make the changes as fast as possible the smaller or greener your company the quicker you need to be on your feet ugh I remember when I worked corporate rushing to make buyer changes in 24 hours so that the sales team could grab a follow up meeting show them the
Revisions ASAP and then try to lock the deal the faster you give a buyer what they want the faster they can say yes with an order that could change the trajectory of your toy business do not waste their time or your opportunity if a buyer wants a revision just treat it like gospel and execute it right away lesson No. 5 get as close to the buyers as you can now this brings me to the last thing I Learned at the show and it's all about location I asked Kimberly Carcone executive VP of global experiences at the Toy Association to show me around
One of the many amenities here at 1 0 1 Continental the Toy Building is this beautiful communal lobby available to all of the toy tenants the Toy Association staff and our visitors shared tables open space warm sunshine the inside comes out the outside goes in we have opportunity here to promote and show the engagement of the association programs that we do all year long in addition to what happens here during fall toy previews further down we have a alcove lobby area lounge area that's also available for people to take meetings enjoy a little bit of a respite have a moment recharge for the rest of the day's appointments the environment here is very different than any traditional trade show we are here now this is our second fall preview here at 1:01 Continental Whoo hoo we have a we leased a number of floors so that we could welcome tenants we are 101% sold out you take a lounge and you turn it into a
Showroom because somebody needed it and our situation here 102% 102 yeah so if you want a showroom in the toy building here's how to get one if you're interested in leasing space here at the Toy Association's Toy Building visit us at toy association. org click on LA Previews and you'll see my colleague Laura Mandrascina Senior Director of sales she'll be more than happy to help you and walk you through the opportunities here at the Toy Building permanent leases here at the Toy Building range from three 4 5 years if you're interested in something longer than that we are open to that conversation as well give us a call let us talk you through the options let us find the best solution for your business needs here at the Toy Building if you are a permanent tenant here at the toy building you have keys that give you access to the building the amenities of the building and certainly your showroom for any business meeting
That you might need throughout the year every day 365 days a year your keys will give you entrance to your space the toy building here at 1 0 1 Continental offers every amenity that you can think of in a corporate environment there's a fitness center state of the art there's on property parking there's 24 hour security and it really is it's new it's bright it's well maintained you will want to be here there's no other building like it in the Toy District and we look forward to having you join us as a tenant and Greg told me they're working on a phase two of the toy building so more space may open up so if you can swing a showroom in the toy building I think it's a smart move but if you can't get a space as close as you can a hotel conference room a co working space anything within walking distance you do not want a buyer getting in a car most likely they just won't do that so here's the story I mentioned my client one of my
Accelerator clients didn't have a showroom in the toy building and they're all sold out but we had a few last minute meetings pop up so we were able to book a conference room at a hotel right across the street it was actually attached to the main parking lot for the previews it was clean it was quiet it came with a screen so we could plug in our computer for the presentation we had water for our guests we had samples on the table it was perfect that meeting was everything I laid out the buyer gave us tips on what to look for and successful products in their store they told us which items that we were presenting for the following year they liked most they gave honest feedback on pricing they were wowed by some of our pricing and then they were just like about some of the other pricing so now we know what to focus on as we're moving forward in 2027 we know which products really grab their attention we were
Working the line we walked out with a plan and we landed the deal now would a showroom in the toy building have been ideal yes but we made the most of what we had and you can do the same and this is where it helps to have someone on your side who has been there before the big toy companies might have showrooms but you can be in the same conversations that they're in you just need the insight to show up early snag a showroom when you can and be able to show them product while it can still change and have the tenacity to follow up every single time I just want to let you know you can do this it might feel big and scary but it is a great opportunity you can and should be there so here is what we Learned today LA Previews is the event to feel out early interest in your next year's line these are primarily development meetings not just order opportunities so you want to go there with a mindset to work the
Line make it easy for buyers to find you report back to your teams every night with what they want and what they don't and if you're running a space outside of the toy building make sure it's as close as possible to that building as you can alright here's your action item for this week I want you to open up your calendar go to August and write Book LA Toy Previews meetings then I want you to go to the Toy association dot org find the LA Previews page so you see the actual dates as soon as they're posted and make it a plan to get there as always thank you so much for spending this time with me today I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there so it truly means the world to me that you tune into this one until next week I'll see you later Toy Creator
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