The Art of Conversation

Intelliplay Australia has been appointed assistant distributor to the highly successful card game called The Art of Conversation for the Australian Market.

The Art of Conversation for CHILDREN is the perfect way for children to become great communicators, learn about other people and better understand themselves.

Perfect for many occasions, the informative 16 page communication booklet provides guidelines and many variations on TAOC, including a solo version. The 104 cards provide 200 conversation topics, carefully created and tested to promote and stimulate communication, plus 4 blank cards for children to personalise. TAOC, is fun for everyone and is also a highly effective therapeutic and educational resource for families, therapists, counselors, teachers, speech pathologists, language teachers, coaches, church leaders and more.

Official Site: www.taoc.com.au

Junior Tradesman is Back in Town

Melbourne based Educational Toys Distributor Intelliplay, has announced that it has taken over the Australian distribution of the brick building toy Junior Tradesman. Intelliplay takes over the distribution from Sydney based Skansen Gifts in what Intelliplay’s director Marco Ferlaino best describes “We are giving the Junior Tradesman brand renewed focus whilst complementing our portfolio of products perfectly”.

The Junior Tradesman creative building toy was first introduced into Australian 2 years ago and has an established network of over 380 stockists that will be contacted by Intelliplay individually.

Further information on Junior Tradesman  is at www.juniortradesman.com of visit the intelliplay website at www.intelliplay.com.au for further details.

Cost Per Play

A new innovative buying concept has been developed and released by Intelliplay called “Cost Per Play” that will change the way you shop for toys.

The concept is simple, take the cost of the toy and divide it by how many hours the toy is actually played with and the result is the Cost Per Play figure. The more meaningful and educational the toy, the lower the cost per play which means you are getting value for money from your purchase e.g. The toy is played with hours on end.

The meaninglessness of modern toys have extremely high Cost Per Play Values as they are only played with once, your $ 20.00 Action Figure played for 1 hour will cost you $20.00 per hour, played with 2 hours is $ 10.00 per hour and so forth. Parents will be surprised that most high cost toys are never played with for extended periods and the return on investment is never realised.

The next time you are in the market for Educational Toys, think of the Cost Per Play concept and whether you can actually get the money back for that new flashy toy you just purchased.

So What’s New?

DAY 4

So What’s New?

Other than you having an answer to the famous elevator pitch theory, do you have an answer to the “What’s New?” question if asked by a buyer at a major trade fair.

Word on the street today was that buyers where dumping the Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre in preference to the Show Grounds. To those that don’t know, the Show Grounds is the proving grounds for many years for upstart distributors before you are given a highly sort after booth at the MECC.

The exodus from the MECC was that in tough economic times the larger of the incumbent distributors of any given category where perceived to be predictable with the same ranges as last year. Retailers wanting to look for really new innovative items came to the Show Grounds to look for new products they could not find at the MECC from hungry and eager to do business new exhibitors.

Quantity vs Quality & The 80/20 Myth

DAY 3

Many businesses know and probably live by the 80/20 rule and have so for some time, today i saw a different side of that rule that makes this rule only apply and workable in good economic times. 

What if 20% of your existing customers don’t order?

Those businesses that have always left the doors open and are open minded to continued new growth will do well in the coming months.

The Danger of Assumption

DAY 2

What is refreshing and immediately apparent attending the Gift Fair as opposed to the Toy Fair is that nobody assumes they know everything.

Unlike the Toy Fair whereby buyers come with predetermined opinions, theories and whatever they perceive as Good Toys from TV, Gift fair buyers cannot make this assumption because around every corner is the next business opportunity that could just make you a heap of money in the coming difficult monthes ahead.

It’s refreshing as first time exhibitor at the Gift Fair to be surrounded by this great enthusiastic environment.

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble @ Gift Fair 2008

DAY 1

Hunting season has officially started at the Australian Gift Fair 2008, over 800 exhibitors and tens of thousands of buyers buzzing around all looking for that elusive winner product. All distributors are after their share of the bounty with Christmas orders being laid down, it’s competitive, nervous and exciting and reminds me how much i enjoy the game where you win and lose in the same minute.

This fair is the all important make or break fair for most distributors. The last 6 months of retail slump and lean ordering cycles has now left them no excuse but to begin buying and stocking up setting aside any nervous buying decisions for the easy sell Christmas period.

Located at booth E4320, Intelliplay offers a specific range of Educational Toys that allows the specialist and independent toy stores to compete with the major retailers.

Visit the Intelliplay Educational Toys Website

It’s Official, Australia now has EITECH!

NEWS FLASH – The Eitech Australian shipment has arrived !

Just in time for the Gift Fair and filling orders from the Australian Toy Fair, the first shipment of new eitech stock has arrived and will be dispatched immediately to dealers already with secured orders.

The remaining eitech stock although limited until the next re-order mid August, will be on a first come first served basis. All existing dealers and potential new dealers are encouraged to secure orders ready for the Fathers Day and Christmas periods.

Click for a full list of eitech Construction Toys

Retro Games Kick Off

It’s hard to imagine that some Toy Companies can still be around since 1924, still family owned with production facilities still mostly based in it’s home town and claim they have invented the Worlds Best and longest lasting Soccer Game.

Welcome to TIPP-KICK, a German based manufacturer of the Quirky Miniature Soccer Game from the Black Forest Town of Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany.

TIPP-KICK is a Miniature Soccer Game played with metallic teams that kick the ball with a press of the button on their heads. The internal mechanism although simplistic is typical German Engineering that connects with the leg lifting it up in a kicking action, this in turn kicks the ball.

Full details on where to buy TIPP-KICK in Australia are available at the Intelliplay Website.

Visit the Official TIPP-KICK website
Visit the Australian TIPP-KICK website

Do You Dig Cult Toys, Welcome to LaQ

LaQ – pronounced “La-Kew” is a Made in Japan plastic Construction Toy utilising 7 different parts in 10 colors that click together to make realistic good looking models.

The inspiring thing about LaQ is that it can build virtually any design including the impossible to build sphere shapes which even LEGO cannot match. Although touted as “Japanese LEGO”, LaQ is much more than just a plastic Construction Toy due to it’s quirky SNAP sound as the pieces are connected and disconnected.

LaQ will be available in limited quantities from 1st September 2008 in Australia from Intelliplay.

Get More Information on LaQ

Construction Toy Fans Website *LIVE*

Fans and enthusiasts of the extremely popular hobby Construction Toys now have a website dedicated to there hobby as well as showcasing the Educational Construction Toys range from the German Toy company eitech.

The Construction Toys website has reviews and outlines descriptions of the models as well as link and further reading on Educational Toys. The Construction Toys from the German Toy Company eitech is distributed by Intelliplay Australia.

Please visit the official Construction Toys website.

Honey, Where are the Training Wheels?

There is a secret that those super trendy Europeans have known for ages, training wheels when learning to ride a bike have been extinct for many a years.

Balance Bikes, or Push Bikes depending what country you are from are super light bikes (5kg) made of heavy duty layered ply wood. Children as young a 2 years old can begin to scoot around pushing the bike and gaining confidence to begin lifting their feet all without training wheels!

The latest release Balance Bikes will be available across Australia from 15th August 2008.

More info on Kiddimoto Balance Bike
More info on Skipper Balance Bike

Flexstr Woz ERE 2008

Flexstr woz ere 2008, 8T8, 9T9

Intelliplay Secures Stanley Tools Partnership

Not content with the Industrial Strength quality of these German made Construction Toy kits, Intelliplay Australia has secured a partnership whereby Stanley Australia will provide free Stanley screwdrivers with selected sets valued at $9.95 available at Point of Sale.

 

“Stanley Australia is proud to be associated with the German Construction Toy eitech, as both brands represent premium quality and innovation”, saids John Snowball, Marketing Manager of Stanley Tools Australia.

 

The eitech Quality represents a return of traditional nuts and bolt metal construction without the frills and the fantastic packaging will appeal to both children and adult construction enthusiasts.

Good Toy Guide – The Logo

It’s official, we have formally submitted the registration for the Australian Trademark Good Toy Guide on the 4th July 2008. We have a long exciting road ahead in negotiating with all new and upcoming Toy Stores & Distributors that are keen to participate.

The Good Toy Guide will achieve a centralised online and influential publication of Good Toys under the Good Toy Guide brand in Australia.

Industrial Strength Construction Toys & Kits

During our travels and ever so unexpectedly we encounter products that completely redefine categories, that category “Construction Toys & Kits” is headed for a change with the introduction of the Heavy Duty Construction Kits from the German manufacturer eitech.

Since 1955, eitech Germany has been consistently producing well designed, inspiring Construction Kits using massive amounts of typical German over engineering. When building with eitech kits you forget you are playing with a toy as the resultant model is beyond what is expected from the Construction Kit category.

Massive amounts of metal bits, over engineering with hardly any plastic in sight is the trademark eitech brand and continuing vision.

The full Range on Construction Toys are available in Australia from the 1st August 2008.

Good Toy Guide – The Beginning

After exhibiting at the recent Australian Toy & Hobby Fair in Melbourne, i was astonished to learn that out of the 215 exhibitors, 65 where new. On the surface you may think this is great, but if last year’s exhibitor count was 210 then what happened to all the first time exhibitors coming back?

The Good Toy Guide is Intelliplay’s effort to round up all the new, upcoming and niche market players in Australia and put them in a position of exposure via the The Good Toy Guide website.

When you have a population of only 21 million and a land mass of 7.7 million sq kilometres you know you are headed for trouble alone. The Good Toy Guide bridges the gap between the upstart and covering the widest geographic area.

Different departments are covered such as Construction Toys , Board Games , Puzzles , Electronic Learning , Balance Bikes & Science Kits.

Let’s get Excited!

The start of July not only marks the start of the Financial year but a new chapter in the intelliplay journey of becoming Australia’s most successful Toy Distributor.

Excite! is the one word that encompasses our brand, vision and passion you will recieve when dealing with us as your preferred distributor.

We distribute Construction Toys , Board Games , Puzzles , Electronic Learning , Balance Bikes & Science Kits.