The Toy Association’s Greg Ahearn, Kim Carcone and Andy Keimach on why The Toy Building in LA is shaping up to be a “watershed moment”

Guys, it’s great to catch up. The ‘move in’ date is fast approaching for the new Toy Building in LA. What do our readers need to know about this big moment for the Association – and the wider industry?
Andy Keimach, Special Advisor to the President & CEO, The Toy Association: Over the last two to three years, LA has become a centre point for the toy industry for the Fall and Spring preview periods. Manufacturers have been finding their way there, centred around the fact that you’ve got the world HQ for Mattel there – you’ve got Zuru there, you’ve got Moose there, you’ve got MGA, you’ve got Spin Master… The Toy Association made the decision a little over a year ago to see if we could create a centre point for the industry – a place where people can gather, feel and fuel this incredible energy that’s happening in LA. That’s essentially what we aim to do with The Toy Building.

Kim Carcone, EVP of Global Market Events, The Toy Association: It’s a real watershed moment for the organisation. It’s an exciting time.

When you were looking at options, what key boxes did this building tick?
Andy: Location, location, location. It needed to be in central El Segundo or surrounded by already existing toy manufacturing offices. It needed to be a building that had the right amount of amenities and space for us to be able to host industry-wide events and gatherings. And it needed to be a place where we could grow, expand and execute a multi-phase plan. We’ve got a three-phase plan. We are into it with selling phase one, which is four floors out of the 15 that are in the building.

Terrific. And does this building help you serve the broader industry? Do you see it having uses across your entire membership, from companies to inventors and beyond?
Greg Ahearn, President & CEO, The Toy Association: LA has grown organically from both a US and international perspective, but what we as The Toy Association can bring to the party is to provide a hub. That’s why we wanted a building and why we wanted to have naming rights on the building. It gives people a place to have these casual moments – these creative collisions. “Let’s meet at The Toy Building for a coffee”, right?

And there’s the inventor aspect. People of Play is looking at what we can do there, because there’s a big inventor community in LA too. It’s also a place where we can host the ‘inform and educate’ part of our three-year plan. We brought Circana to our LA activity last year and they’ll be back, but we’ll probably bring a little bit of Toy Fair University there too. And importantly, we’re going to have one, if not two, moments a year where the industry gathers there together in support of The Toy Foundation.

It’s got all of the ingredients needed to unite the industry and amplify connections and moments to make things richer for everybody.

LA is also home to some of the biggest entertainment companies around. Is that also a part of the appeal there – that it facilitates those connections between toy and entertainment?
Greg: Absolutely. LA has become what New York was a long time ago now. It really is becoming the hub where people are congregating. There are major manufacturers, both that are domestic as well as international companies that have put their HQs there. But yeah, it doesn’t hurt to have the major entertainment companies and the content producers literally 30 minutes away.

People still speak very fondly of the old Toy Building in New York and you mentioned having naming rights to this building in LA. Can you speak to the power of this being called The Toy Building?
Kim: The experience we are creating in Los Angeles pays homage to what was the beginning of a movement 119 years ago here in New York. It’s about the future and serving the industry in a way that provides an epicentre. It’ll be epicentre of efficiency for retailers that want to come to one location to see hundreds of manufacturers. Tenants in our building have year-round opportunities, whenever it works for them.

Our goal is to provide structure for what is organically happening in LA, and to really help companies enhance their business growth, their networking and their partnerships. I hope that 50 years from now, people will be talking about this building in the same way that they talk about the New York building.

Andy: And we’re building it from the ground up, so when you get off the elevator onto one of our floors, it’s going to feel toy and it’s going to look toy. It will have that lightness and fun vibe. You don’t necessarily get that in other places because they’ve had to retrofit into spaces that already exist.

Some associations – regardless of their industry – are very domestic-focused, while others lean into a global offering. Do you see The Toy Building being an important way for The Toy Association to engage in a deeper way with international companies?
Andy: I think you’ve hit on a distinct characteristic of this LA Toy Building – it’s going to be tremendously diverse. We’re going to have manufacturers from all over the world there. LA has become a gathering spot, especially for the Spring season – which is not as big a transition season in the US as it is in other international markets.

With this location, within literally a one-block area, there’ll be probably close to 300 toy manufacturers with showrooms by Fall. And that’s 300 companies that can be traversed very easily by global buyers, inventors, licensors… And it’s a unique environment in that it’s kind of a permanent home – you can sit down to have lengthy meetings and good in-depth discussions. It’s not a trade show environment.

Kim: The international component is important to the Association. At Toy Fair New York this year, we have over 100 countries represented here. They look to the Toy Association to provide a credible business environment for them. It’s something we’ve delivered for them on the East Coast, and because of that we’re trusted to deliver on the West Coast.

Greg: We’re not thinking of this as a US-centric moment in Los Angeles, it’s a global moment. We have done a significant amount of outreach with international partners, asking what they need.

And it makes sense in the wider cycle of our industry. LA represents the kick-off, where buyers and licensors are introduced to new product. In January, they meet in Nuremberg and start finalising and talking through the lines on a global basis. Then they come here to New York – and this is where things get locked in. I was speaking with a major manufacturer here at the show and they said that one of the top three retailers came through and the buyer saw a line that they hadn’t really thought about… They thought about it again here, bought the line and have committed to giving it a display area in Q4. He said it’s more than paid for the investment in Toy Fair.

The other key differentiator between LA and New York is that here at Toy Fair there are 250 first time exhibitors. That’s not possible in LA – LA is not built for those people, but we know that’s what drives this business. It’s where Trivial Pursuit came from. It’s where Squishmallows came from. It’s where Polly Pocket came from. I would implore every major manufacturer and their inventor relations people to use New York as a place to find that next big thing down in the Launch Pad area.

Absolutely. And, speaking for myself a bit here, but do you see The Toy Building in LA as serving a purpose for the toy trade press?
Andy: This year’s Toy Fair was the first to have the Press Center here on the show floor. That’s gone down really well, and it speaks to the fact that within this LA building, we need to find a way to have a dedicated media space. We want The Toy Building to also be a media centre point for El Segundo. In addition to having these showroom suites, the Toy Association is going to have a West Coast office in that building – in the ground floor of the building. Within that space, I think we’ve got to make something like this Press Center that’s friendly to media, so you guys can do your thing and feel comfortable going there.

Kim: The building has some amazing communal spaces. To Andy’s point, we don’t want the press leaving to do their work. You can be on our campus to be inspired and do your writing, reporting, podcasting – all of that.

Before we start to wrap up, what would you say are some of the cultural differences between LA and New York? Is there a difference in business culture?
Greg: We can do this because Kim can do the New York side and Andy’s the LA guy!

And we should stress they’re equally great – I don’t want to end things on a row!
Kim: They’re equally great, it’s true. Well, New York is New York. Let’s be clear, right? New York is not going anywhere. New York is the epicentre of many things. Finance, fashion, toys, the event world… My experience is that things in New York are quite structured, whereas sitting and having a coffee outside to casually talk business is part of what I experienced as everyday life in El Segundo. That does not happen here in New York.

Greg: Don’t let New York get away with that, Andy!

Andy: Ha! Here’s what I will tell you, New York – and the East Coast of the US in general – thinks they came up with the whole concept of business casual. It’s been business casual in LA for as long as LA’s been around! And do not be swayed by the fact that you’re within three miles of a beach. There’s serious business done in LA, but it’s done with the sun shining all the time! People love to come to New York for the energy and the sizzle and the fast pace. People love to come to LA because you can take a deep breath and still do the things you need to do. I can get my work done, then I can go for a six mile walk on the beach.

Kim: I get that, I get that. It’s not very casual here in New York!

Greg: Billy, I get to play both sides because I’ve spent significant parts of my life on both coasts. I grew up on the West Coast, went to school on the East Coast and worked 12 years at Toys R Us in New Jersey. Like Kim and Andy said, they are so different, but both are incredibly conducive to do business.

Great answers – and we’re all still friends! Last question: for anyone who wants to get involved in The Toy Building, how can they do so?
Andy: Reach out to Kim or to Laura Mangiaracina, our Director of Sales. She can be contacted at [email protected]. There’s also more information on the building available here. We’re close to a third sold out for phase one already, so please reach out as soon as you can!

Great stuff. Huge thanks again guys. Let’s tie-in again soon.

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