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Half My Life

March 20, 2019

Was working a little late last night, preparing for a presentation I am giving today to our local Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Vancouver Island Chapter. And I realized something that surprised me a little.

World Puzzle Day

March 08, 2019

World Puzzle Day is an interesting event. Founded in 2013 by Günther Simetsberger of Austria, this year marks the event’s 7th season. Unlike what the name might suggest, the event is held over a two-month period. Competitors (let’s call them puzzlers) from around the world compete to assemble as many puzzles as possible. Puzzlers are ranked based on the total number of pieces they assemble.

Unexpected Conversations

March 06, 2019

 It has been a very very busy year at Outset Media. When things get busy, it’s far too easy to delay tasks that aren’t urgently required. And often these tasks get delayed… and delayed… and delayed… and eventually never get done.

Posting a new blog is definitely one of those “sure-would-be-nice-but-can-wait” type of tasks. In fact, it had been so long since my last posting that I was about to pull the blog off our website.

New York Toy Fair Review

February 28, 2018

It was our 17th consecutive year exhibiting at NY Toy Fair.  I couldn’t actually recall how many times we had exhibited at the show, but fortunately show management provides ribbons that indicate how many years each company has been exhibiting.  Quite handy little ribbons!

Should you attend Nuremberg Toy Fair

February 13, 2018

After my most recent blog, two retailers called and asked me if they should be attending Nuremberg Toy Fair.  After getting over the shock that two retailers actually read my blog, I thought about their question.  It is an interesting one.  Here are my thoughts. 

Firstly, the official name of Nuremberg Toy Fair is Spielwarenmesse - which doesn’t really roll off the tongue - hence I will continue to refer to the tradeshow as Nuremberg Toy Fair.

Nuremberg Toy Fair Review

February 09, 2018

This was our 6th consecutive year exhibiting at the Nuremberg Toy Fair.  It finally feels like we are making some significant progress on the international side of our business.

We exhibit at 8 tradeshows in Canada and 21 tradeshows in the United States.  At these tradeshows, the goal is to meet with retailers, and show them our board games and puzzles.  But Nuremberg Toy Fair is different for us.  At this tradeshow, we are only interested in meeting with distributors (rather than retailers) as it isn’t economically feasible to ship to individual retailers outside North America.

Mission Statement

January 29, 2018

Proofing our catalogue doesn’t rank near the top of my fun list, but is something we need to do every year.  While we have a team of excellent people working on the catalogue, I still feel the need to give it a thorough proofing before sending it to press.  This year, something I saw really got me thinking.

Retail is Dead

January 22, 2018

Over the last couple of years, there have been many articles written about how conventional retail is dead.  Some journalists claim it’s only a matter of time before bricks and mortar stores become redundant.  Pundits will point to the recent closing of all Sears locations in Canada as proof that this is indeed happening.

So retail is dead!  And everyone may as well start closing their stores.

Hong Kong Toy Fair Review

January 16, 2018

We just returned from our annual pilgrimage to the Hong Kong Toy Fair.  There must be something about me and travelling to Hong Kong, as once again the flight to Hong Kong was delayed, this time for 4 hours in Vancouver.  But I think it builds up the anticipation and excitement!  Plus, after reading toy expert Richard Gottlieb’s blog and his delay at JFK airport for 18 hours, my delay doesn’t sound so bad (even though there was another 3 hour delay on the return trip).

Big Changes Coming to Outset

January 11, 2018

The New Year is always a good time for resolutions.  One resolution should probably be to blog a little more often.  Last year, I managed only two postings.  But with today’s blog, we have already tied last year’s number… and it’s only the 11th of January.

But this blog isn’t about resolutions - it’s about big changes happening at Outset - and there are indeed a lot of big changes coming to Outset this year.  Changes that will help our company keep growing.  Here is a list of the top four changes for 2018:

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