Hasbro Will Not Be Attending Toy Fair 2022

Thank you to our friend, John Miko, for alerting us to THIS ARTICLE form the New York Post in which they write:

The Western Hemisphere’s biggest trade show for toys is the latest victim of the Omicron virus, with some of the biggest retail buyers – including Walmart, Target and Amazon – pulling out of the in-person event, On the Money has learned.

They join Hasbro, Jazwares and MGA Entertainment among others in ditching plans to attend the fair, still set to take place at the Javits Center in Manhattan from Feb. 19-22.

First we must point out that what the fan community typically calls "Toy Fair" is not the real Toy Fair. What fans are accustomed to is Hasbro's off-site brand preview event that is held for fan outlets. It usually coincides with the actual Toy Fair, which is an industry event and one to which fan sites are not typically invited. It is that industry event that is subject of the above article, but this presumes (read: guarantees) that there will likewise be no in-person brand preview event this year (for the second year in a row).

What does this mean for you? Absolutely nothing. One thing that has come out of the pandemic is that Hasbro is no longer relying on the in-person events to announce product. Instead, they have pivoted to the livestream events, which can be held more frequently, and gives all fans equal access. While I miss the camaraderie from attending with other fan outlets, this is a much better structure. The in-person brand preview event at Toy Fair is likely going to join other historical footnotes from the hobby, such as dialing the FAO Schwartz mail order catalog to order their exclusive Imperial Shuttle.

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