Hints and tips:
...Disney’s Pixar Animation last month released Lightyear, a further slice of the Toy Story series that began in 1995, and starring the robot space toy Buzz Lightyear....
...Walmart was big in 1999, but it has four times the revenues now. As it expanded — to 24 countries, from China to Mexico — so has its hometown....
...Or, for example, the clothing or the toys you buy — pretty much anything will eventually have a digital twin....
...That did not appear to have happened at time of pixel....
...That Costa Palmas has serious buzz is no surprise....
...Beanie babies: Made by Ty Inc, these super-soft cuddly toys proliferated in bedrooms, car boot sales and even auctions in the 1990s....
...“We are playing at toy solutions at the moment,” he says....
...This year almost 30 toy lines were licensed from Hollywood films — three times that of last year. These tie-ups make up about 30 per cent of all toy sales, according to NPD....
..., including “expensive debt service” and “unrelenting competition from ecommerce and big box retailers”....
...“Things take a while to get to every Walmart, and toys usually have a longer lead time,” says Ms Malashock. “We’re already planning [the Fall season] at this point....
...“Consumers didn’t want the toy they were offered. I think the same could end up happening here.”...
...Blair admits that overseeing a franchise of this size brings big pressure....
...He recalled the scene in Toy Story when Buzz Lightyear falls from a window and the other toys think that Woody — solid, likeable Woody — got jealous and deliberately pushed Buzz out....
...After a while, every time I saw a banker with a FuelBand I wanted to roll my eyes and say, “what, you too?” It never actually vaulted the barrier from toy for grown-ups to covetable accessory....
...“At the beginning of a meeting, everyone always throws their toys on the table,” says Spillane. “Phones are always there....
...At the same time, Apple’s defenders have largely been able to keep the faith – through its tumbling stock price, the iPhone’s falling market share and the lack of shiny new toys to play with – by falling...
...Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company LLC....
...“We’re in a fascinating time,” says Mike Woodward at Deloitte....
...That is a leverage ratio of roughly 5.7 times, below the company’s peak level of over 12 times in 2007. However, it is producing cash flow to cover the cost of debt....
...“Skylanders was this idea that you can bring your toys to life,” Mr Kotick said. Mr Kotick said Activision may not have enough supplies of the new game to meet holiday demand....
...Disney has launched a series of toys called App Mates, which interact with the touch screen of the iPad....
...Customers who hold up a Lego box in front of a computer kiosk will see a three-dimensional image of the toy inside it appear on the screen....
...I don’t usually get nervous before a show, unless it’s very big or I think my parents are going to turn up and drag me off the stage....
...“Whatever way you cut it, it is seven times leveraged, and the market will not take that now,” said a big CLO manager....
...Disney hopes to sell $2.4bn of Toy Story 3 merchandise, almost five times the box office proceeds of its average Pixar film....
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