This book would not have been possible without the participation, support, and insights of many people. First, thanks to the team at Business Experts Press who saw the potential in writing a book about the toy industry and who were enthusiastic throughout the entire process and even asked for a second edition.
My agent Maryann Karinch has been invaluable in helping me organize this information and shape the project.
All the colleagues and friends in the toy industry who helped with insight, perspective, advice, and the generous sharing of their knowledge and experience in the attempt to make this complex, seat-of-the-pants industry comprehensible.
They include Bernie Tenenbaum of China Cat Capital; Neil Friedman, Greg Badishkanian, and Catherine Lee of Citigroup; John Frascotti and Julie Duffy of Hasbro, Tim Kilpin, Sara Rosales of Jakks Pacific, Josh Loerzel of Zing Toys; Steve Rotter of the Rotter Creative Group; Michael Rinzler of Wicked Cool Toys; Isaac Larian of MGA; Debra Joester of the Joester Loria Group; Michele Litzky of Litzky Public Relations; Tedd Levine, Esq. for his insights on licensing and Jim Silver of aNb Media. Thanks too, to Michele Litzky of Litzky Public Relations, Linda Kraus D’Isa, and Michael G. Jackson for always being available to provide perspective. Their generosity with their time and their experience contributed enormously to this effort.
While all of the people named above had a direct influence on this work, there are countless people with whom I’ve been privileged to work over the past three decades who have experienced this business firsthand, which may would say is the only way to learn about this wonderful, mercurial, and ever-changing business.
One of the most surprising things about working on this revision has been the realization of how much the industry has changed in four short years. Always a dynamic industry, it seems the pace of change has accelerated even more than in the past. This, then, is an acknowledgment of all the people who work so tirelessly to manage that change … and be successful in this wonderful business.
New York—January, 2017