"I'm not sure exactly what was driving the phenomenon this year, but Ican tell you that it has certainly made us view the Toronto Fair in adifferent light."

The Toronto Toy Fair, an annual event primarily directed towards Canadianchain-store retailers and speciality shop owners has experienced lowerattendance rates over the past few years as retailers shifted to a globalmarket outlook and alternative, non-conventional methods of retailing toys.

"We have always felt a tremendous obligation to attend the Toronto ToyFair and support Canadian toy and games inventors, manufacturers andsuppliers. We're proud to be Canadian and proud of our position in themarketplace. So putting our best foot forward at the Toronto Toy Fair hasalways seemed to us to be a very important obligation to our own home-grownindustry."

However, changing market drivers, the falling of trade protectionistbarriers, and the tremendous upsurge in communications technologies like theInternet have had an enormous impact on every sector of the Canadianmanufacturing industry.

"We used to be quite content to sell our wares safely protected in ourown backyards. The massive economic shifts, the opening up of huge markets inAsia, Eastern Europe, and the Pacific Rim and the Western European economicalliance has changed all this. Trade barriers have collapsed and frankly whenit comes to marketing one's products there's no such thing as national bordersanymore. Foreign based manufacturers are free to sell their products inCanada."

"I think we went through an interesting period here in Canada in the lastdecade. I think quite a few Canadian manufacturers took a defensive stance,rather than seeing that the new economy, and the new global market, was atwo-way street. We were complaining about the way foreign manufacturers wereswamping our own little backyard without realising we had just as much rightto start invading theirs! There were lots of other mitigating circumstances aswell, but the fact is, we as Canadians , initially saw this as an invasion ofour own territory, rather than an amazing opportunity to get out there andaggressively market our own products in markets beyond our own borders. It waslike the return of the Luddites of the Industrial Revolution. Rather than seethe opportunities, we seemed to want to hunker down and look at the wholething as a personal attack on our own nice , tidy little patch of land."

"There was a malaise which crept into our own industry here in Canada.And I think that the Toronto Toy Fair became a showplace for that negativethinking for a few years. There was a general lack of energy and excitement inthe atmosphere, and it seemed to me these Toronto fairs were taking on all theaspects of a wake."

"And this isn't some lofty judgement. I think Irwin Toy went through thisperiod as well. But we began to realise we were taking a very dumb view.There's a whole, new world out there now, and millions upon millions ofpotential new consumers. China is opening up, Russia has become a democracy.Half the population of Europe had been cut off from us for the past 50 years.The Pacific Rim countries are now surely developing into what will be one ofthe greatest economic forces in history. At Irwin, we needed to start lookingat these incredible changes as opportunities, not threats."

"But if this year's Toronto Toy Fair was any indication, then we, asCanadian toy manufacturers, have finally turned the corner! I saw smilingfaces, better informed people and better designed exhibits, more innovativetoys and a general level of energy on the exhibit floor this year than I canrecall. It was amazing, and it was a wonderful sight to behold."

"Naturally the boom economy is helping as well. But at Irwin our recentchanges were being noticed and remarked upon by our traditional clients andbuyers. We were happy about that, because, we want people to see the newenergy and direction which we're nurturing as a company. And because we'reCanada's largest manufacturer, we also feel an obligation to our own industryto take a leadership role. We are hopeful that others, whether they're smallbusinesses with perhaps only one or two major products to see, or they arelarger companies like ourselves - we're hopeful that our new stance will actas a catalyst to other members of our industry."

"In the overall entertainment field, Canada has a reputation forgenerating some of the hottest talent in the world. We're a creative bunch,especially when it comes to fun. I don't know if that comes from thegeographical realities of our country where many of us just had to make ourown fun, or perhaps it's like the younger sibling, always trying to getattention from his big brother to the South. But whatever it is, we've got it,and Irwin is going to mount an all-out campaign to attract the best inventorsto come and sit down with us and talk about their ideas. There's a toy or agame in all of us, and Irwin wants people inside and outside of our industryto know, we will be more than happy to hear what you have to say."

"We're packing up our exhibits now and heading down to the New York ToyFair. But I think that this year's Toronto Toy Fair was a resounding success,and I think a lot of us are going to be carrying that enthusiasm with us whenwe head south or go back to our hometowns to start preparing to gear up. It'sa whole new ball game in the Toy Industry, and this year exhibitors had one,united message to the market: `We are here, we are strong and we areprepared." If I was a retailer, I'd be feeling pretty good about theindustry's 2000 line-up. It's going to make a lot of customers very happy atthe end of the year!"

The Toronto Toy Fair at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centrewrapped up its 3-day trade show for 2000 earlier this week. Irwin Toy will nowbe heading to the New York Toy Fair where industry experts are saying thatIrwin Toy is owner of one of the hottest products for 2000.

[Updated 2/04/2000]