Breaking news coming in that The Toy Association has officially cancelled New York ToyFair, which was going to be held on February 19th-22nd, 2022 at the Javits Center in New York City. Unfortunately, if you had registered for this event you will be disappointed, as companies including Hasbro, MGA Entertainment, Jazwares, Amazon and other companies already decided to skip this year due to Covid-19 concerns and the lingering threat of the Omicron variant.
Companies that had already cancelled will be moving to online events that they did in 2021, and it seems that everyone else will also now have to move online following this news.
In a press release, the Toy Association stated that more companies were continuing to back out, and that others were on the fence when the decision to cancel the event was made. Here is a highlight from that:
“Key to our efforts these past two weeks has been the balance of some 700 remaining committed toy manufacturers saying they need and want Toy Fair 2022 to build their businesses, weighing that against those departing and seriously on the fence, and needing to provide a sufficient quantity and quality across the retail buying community necessary to deliver a positive experience,” said Steve Pasierb, President & CEO of The Toy Association. “As that balance has shifted, we are obligated to make the best decision in everyone’s interest no matter how heartbreaking for so many and potentially damaging some business’ future prospects. The wide range of other events that occur across New York City during Toy Fair week are now also impacted.”
You can read the full press release here.