LeapFrog Should Consider Expansion Into Asia

The recent report by NPD Group, Global Toy Market Estimates: 2011 Edition, reported that 2010 global toy sales grew 5% over the year to $83.3 billion. The big growth in the toy industry was driven by the Asian market, which grew 9.2% over the year. The toy industry market is growing strong in the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) markets where sales grew 13% over the year. The U.S. remained the leading toy consumer with sales of $22 billion. Japan was the second largest consumer, followed by China, which accounted for sales of $4.9 billion.

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Electronic Arts Strengthens Commitment To Mobile With New Acquisitions

According to research by NPD Group, U.S. retail video game sales fell 14% over the year in May 2011 to $743.1 million. Console game sales fell 19%, accessory sales fell 6%, and hardware sales were down 5% over the year. In the recently held Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), gaming industry players formally recognized the importance of the trend of digital and social gaming formats. During the recent quarter, leading game publisher, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) also made several acquisitions to strengthen their digital and mobile presence.

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Hulu Charging Ahead

According to IMS Research, the over-the-top video market, which includes TV and video services over the Internet, is projected to grow at 32% annually to reach $16.4 billion by the year 2016. The researcher expects not only digital companies such as Google and Yahoo! to become more active in the digital rental and purchase of media content, but also retailers to enter the market. The acquisition of U.K.-based LOVEFiLM by Amazon, and, more recently, Tesco’s purchase of an 80% stake in video-on-demand company, Blinkbox reflects that trend. Clearly, the market is heating up. >>>

WebMD And Epocrates Lead The Way In Mobile Health Apps

Manhattan Research estimates that 72% of doctors in the country currently own smartphones. This number is projected to rise to 80% by 2012. The research also estimates that among physicians, the smartphone is primarily used to look up prescription drug information at the point of patient care. The growing demand of mobile-based services is driving mobile initiatives of medical information providing companies.

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An IPO For Glam Media?

A few years ago, I covered the women-focused distributed media network, Glam Media, and asked if Glam could do more than just create a seat for itself at the fashion table. Recently, the company has been rumored to be readying their IPO plans, suggesting that they are truly “A Vertical Ad Network Powerhouse.”

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The Sky’s The Limit For Shutterfly

The U.S. printed greeting card market is expected to be worth $12 billion, of which a mere 5% is estimated to be transacted via the Web. The country’s stationery market is estimated to be worth $7 billion to $7.5 billion with 2% of the market’s transactions being conducted over the Web. These low Internet penetration rates are big opportunities for online photo sharing and printing site, Shutterfly.

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Disney Plans For Aggressive Growth In Parks And Education

According to market estimates, sales of new DVDs fell 20% over the year in 2009. Total spending on home entertainment, which includes DVD and Blu-ray rentals and sales, together with electronic downloading, fell 10% to $4.7 billion for the year. Researchers estimate that the consumers are shifting from the purchase of DVDs to an online streaming model such as that offered by Netflix. Declining DVD sales are impacting other traditional entertainment companies’ market performance. Recently announced results by Disney reflected this weak market.

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Adobe Beats Estimates

Last month, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) reported strong second quarter results that beat estimates. The clash between Adobe and Apple over Flash ended with Adobe making a conciliatory move and releasing a Flash-to-HTML5 converter. Last week, Google also released a Flash-to HTML5 converter called Swiffy. Let’s take a closer look.

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Accenture Plans To Hire 66,000 More People In 2011

During the previous quarter, Accenture’s strong market practices helped them to establish a solid presence in the global market. Not only are they winning big contracts worldwide, but they are also being given numerous accolades. Last week, Standards & Poor’s announced plans to add Accenture to the S&P 500 Index starting July. Last month, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals named the company the leader among the Global Outsourcing 100 List for the fourth consecutive year. It is thus no surprise that their quarterly performance also surpassed the market expectations.

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Gilt Groupe Sees Gold In Diversification And Overseas Expansion

Flash sales sites shot to attention after a spate of acquisitions announced over the past few months. Earlier this year, Nordstrom bought HauteLook for $270 million. Last year end, e-tailing giant Amazon also ventured into the market when it bought the members-only site BuyVIP for $96.5 million. The global market in luxury flash sales is led by the French company Vente Privée, which is projected to record sales of over $1.5 billion this year. Within the U.S. though, the market is led by New York–based Gilt Groupe, which has managed to stay independent thus far.

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