Toys in the News: 4-29-2015

By TDmonthly Staff
April 2015

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_{Toys in the News is updated Mon-Fri at 9:15 am PST}Video Game Hall of Fame: 'Mario,' 'Sonic,' 'FIFA,' 'Tetris,' 'Angry Birds' Earn Noms. April 29, 2015 — The new World Video Game Hall of Fame has named the 15 finalists for its inaugural class, a competitive list that includes pioneering classics...

DC and Mattel look to turn girls into superhero fans. April 29, 2015 — Last Halloween, math teacher and comic book enthusiast Jenn Reddig found one of her advanced seventh-grade students drawing a picture...

Boulder-made robots expands as STEM toys see market growth. April 29, 2015 — At some point during the holidays, production at Modular Robotics was stymied...

Millennials are driving retail. April 29, 2015 — Here's a key takeaway from a national retail conference at the Convention Center this week...

Recession Not Over yet for Retailers, Other Small Businesses. April 29, 2015 — The recession isn't a dim memory for many small businesses. Nearly two-thirds of owners...
Hasbro - Well Positioned For Sustained Growth. April 28, 2015 — Hasbro’s performance has been in-line with the broader market in the last five years...

Apple's Retail Strategy Is Still Paying Off in a Big Way. April 28, 2015 — Apple no longer breaks out the sales of its retail store business as part of its quarterly results...

One Touch lil Nursery Tent from Pacific PlayTents wins National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. April 28, 2015 — Why is it that the smaller the child, the more stuff a parent needs to carry — even though they only have two arms? Pacific Play Tents heard the exasperation and created the ingenious One Touch Lil Nursery Tent ($63.99). The National Parenting Center testers were wowed by the simple concept and awarded the tent, perfect for ages 6 months and up, its Spring 2015 Seal of Approval. Their review was summed up in four words, "parents absolutely loved this."
Mattel drops SeaWorld-themed barbie doll. April 27, 2015 — The SeaWorld barbie doll has been tossed overboard...

Hasbro and IDW Creating All-Female Transformers Team. April 27, 2015 — Fresh off confirming plans for a shared Transformers universe, Hasbro has now revealed that it is working with IDW Publishing...
Marvel announces video game partnership with Telltale Games. April 24, 2015 — At an event in San Francisco today, Marvel discussed the company's future plans in the video game space...

Hasbro stock is not just a toy story. April 24, 2015 — Rhode Island-based Hasbro Inc. has been around since 1923 and is a company name that most parents and their kids recognize...

Warner Bros. and Lego are teaming up to get a piece of this billion dollar market. April 24, 2015 — Disney, Nintendo, and Activision are seeing billion dollar revenues from their successful franchises in the hybrid toy/video...
Move over, Barbie: Mattel hopes to lure little girls with Wonder Woman and Batgirl. April 23, 2015 — With sales of Barbie dolls slumping, Mattel is hoping a new lineup of female action figures...

Games Workshop Founder Backs New Creative Toy with the "Connect and Wow" Factor. April 22, 2015 — FANTASY gaming veteran Ian Livingstone is backing a Nottingham entrepreneur ’ s fund-raising campaign for a new creative craft and construction toy...

The Earth will spend $91.5B on video games this year. April 22, 2015 — The global gaming market will reach $91.5 billion this year, according to an upcoming report from research firm Newzoo...
Why Weren't There Any Star Wars: The Force Awakens Toys at Celebration? April 21, 2015 — At this past weekend’s Star Wars Celebration, we did get a new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens...

JAKKS Pacific® Reports First Quarter Results for 2015. April 21, 2015 — JAKKS Pacific, Inc. reported results for the Company’s first quarter ended March 31, 2015...

Disney unveils 'Age of Ultron' merchandise, Black Widow conspicuously absent. April 21, 2015 — Disney has an on-going problem when it comes to lady action figures and swag...
Toy story: Hasbro shares soar on profit 'beat'. April 20, 2015 — Shares of toymaker Hasbro, sellers of brands such as Transformers, Nerf, Monopoly and Play-Doh, soared nearly 8%...

Mattel taps Autodesk to let kids design and 3D print their own toys. April 20, 2015 — Design-focused software company Autodesk is teaming up with toy manufacturer Mattel to create a “new immersive experience”...

How To Make Discounting A Game Retailers Can Win. April 20, 2015 — These days one can almost feel bad for the people who work hard to bring you television commercials each night...
What's Weighing on Hasbro this Earnings Season? April 16, 2015 — Hasbro Inc. is slated to report its first-quarter 2015 results before the market opens on Apr 20, 2015...

What to look for in Mattel earnings. April 16, 2015 — Mattel Inc. is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings after the market closes on Thursday...

Disney sued in Detroit federal court over 'Frozen'. April 16, 2015 — Disney's blockbuster hit "Frozen" has run into another legal iceberg...

Toys"R"Us® In-Store Campaign Raises More Than $2 Million To Benefit Special Olympics. April 16, 2015 — Toys"R"Us today announced that a recent campaign hosted in its stores across the U.S. and online at Toysrus.com to benefit Special Olympics raised more than $2 million...
Retail sales rebound signals thaw in economic activity. April 15, 2015 — Retail sales rose in March for the first time since November as consumers stepped up purchases...

Mattel Loss Expected to Expand. April 15, 2015 — Mattel is expected to book a wider loss than a year ago when it reports first-quarter...
Retail Sales Climb Less Than Forecast From U.S. Bad Weather. April 14, 2015 — Sales at U.S. retailers rose less than forecast in March after being...

Consumers Turning To Tabletop Options In Backlash Against Video Games. April 14, 2015 — When Justin Becker moved into a new home in south Philadelphia, he set the TV and video games...
Old-School Cool: Charming Toy Cars Made of Nothin’ But Wood BACK AT LAST year’s Toy Fair, Candylab’s collection of MO-TO “Awesome Wood Cars” were retro...

Retailers Scrutinized for Schedules and Staffing. April 13, 2015 — The office of the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, is investigating 13 large retailers...So much for Mattel ex-CEO resigning. He was fired. April 10, 2015 — Mattel said in a regulatory filing that former Chief Executive Bryan Stockton had been fired, contradicting its January 26 press release...

Amazon gets green light from U.S. regulators for new drone tests. April 10, 2015 — Amazon.com Inc has won approval from U.S. federal regulators to test a delivery drone outdoors...
The Golden Girls Lego Set Might Soon Be Reality. April 9, 2015 — Dorothy, Blanche, Sophia and Rose could soon be immortalized in plastic...

Toy business attracts private equity as kids go green and retro. April 9, 2015 — Striding confidently through Matty's Toy Stop in Manhasset, New York, Catie Tepedino...

Retailers Urged to Ditch Millennials in Favor of Older Shoppers. April 9, 2015 — Retailers should stop wasting so much time trying to win over millennials...

Lego Dimensions Video Game Brings Lego Toys To Life. April 9, 2015 — Lego has a new game in the works with Warner Bros. Interactive, which brings the building blocks...
JAKKS Pacific to Announce Results for First Quarter 2015. April 8, 2015 — JAKKS Pacific, Inc. will announce results for its first quarter of 2015 on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, before the stock market opens...

The Cheap Toys You Buy Your Kid Are Rarely Inspected. April 8, 2015 — On a Sunday evening in December 2011, 4-year-old Ixchel Tamayo was coloring a poster of Jessie, one of her favorite characters...
Mattel’s Gift for Adults: A 6.7% Dividend Yield. April 7, 2015 — Mattel’s dividend yield is now 6.7%, close to its recession peak of 6.9% on March 6, 2009...

Legislators consider broader tax for online retailers. April 7, 2015 — Tennessee legislators are considering a bill initiated by Gov. Bill Haslam that would tax...
Can Mattel, Inc. Woo Shoppers This Holiday Season With "Smart" Barbie? April 6, 2015 — Mattel is in a funk. The reeling toymaker is hoping that an interactive Barbie doll...

Retailers Duke It Out for Hispanic Shoppers' Dollars. April 6, 2015 — As the Hispanic population shoots up and buying power increases, U.S. retailers are increasingly vying...

How Walt Disney Co.'s Live Action Remakes Could Drive Huge Growth. April 6, 2015 — As if the separate success of its original animated features and original live action films weren't enough already...

Service and Retail Wages See Increases, But Why Do They Feel So Hollow? April 6, 2015 — As has been widely reported, paychecks have begun to rise at the bottom...
Codie Joins The Ranks Of Toys Aiming To Help Kids Learn Coding. April 3, 2015 — Say hello to yet another cute toy with a mission to get kids coding and grasping...

Greninja Amiibo is Exclusive to Toys R Us, Pre-Orders Begin Friday. April 3, 2015 — The Nintendo Direct that was held yesterday revealed so much information about amiibo, including the reveal of Splatoon amiibo...

'Play-Doh' movie: Can Paul Feig, Hasbro mold another classic toy into a hit? April 3, 2015 — Get ready for Hollywood to play with your childhood once again. Paul Feig is in talks to direct an upcoming...

Struggling Mattel Dethroned – Again. April 2, 2015 — Just a few months after Denmark’s Lego dethroned El Segundo’s Mattel Inc. as the world’s biggest toymaker by revenue...

Mattel lays off 107 workers. April 2, 2015 — Toy maker Mattel Inc. has laid off 107 employees at its El Segundo headquarters...

Toys"R"Us Shifts Bricks-and-Mortar Strategy. April 2, 2015 — Struggling toy retailer Toys“R”Us Inc. appears to be shaking up its bricks-and-mortar strategy...
Supreme Court mulls lengthy patent deals in spat over Spider-Man toy. April 1, 2015 — A disagreement over a toy that lets kids pretend they're Spider-Man is the impetus for one of two patent cases...

Amazon Launches A Dedicated STEM Toy Shop. March 31, 2015 — Amazon announced this morning the launch of a new store on its site that’s dedicated to selling STEM toys and games...

Mattel: Waiting For The Entry Point (That May Never Come). March 31, 2015 — Investors are waiting for a dividend cut or further fall in share price before buying Mattel....

Genius Brands International Partners With Comcast to Launch New Kid Genius Channel on Xfinity On Demand. March 31, 2015 — Building on the success of its Baby Genius® series on Xfinity On Demand, Genius Brands International, Inc...