BRIO Enhances Its Wooden Railway

ROWLEY, Mass., February 7, 2013 - A year ago, the Swedish toy maker BRIO relaunched its classic wood trains and preschool toy ranges in North American in co-operation with Schylling Associates Inc. The toys are now sold in over 500 stores. BRIO, with it's over 100-year history in making high quality wooden toys, is still a leader in this segment of the market. BRIO returned to the North American market in 2012 after some years of absence. The successful reintroduction of the BRIO classic wooden toy range, with BRIO Railway sets and the Toddler range, shows that the brand is still very popular among customers.

This year the BRIO wooden railway will expand with a remote controlled engine. The new engine comes with a handheld remote that controls the train with infrared light at a distance. Remote control is one of several new features BRIO is adding to incorporate aspects of the real world into children's play. The remote can move the train at two speeds and in two directions, as well as control sounds and lights.

"The RC features in the railway range are a natural step in developing the train set with modern qualities. During the last few years BRIO has added several new features to help children incorporate "real world" experience into their play, which has turned out to be a very successful concept," said Thomas Karlsson, Export Director at BRIO AB.

Schylling Associates founder Jack Schylling is looking forward to presenting the new BRIO products at the American International Toy Fair, which takes place from February 10 to 13 in New York City. "We had a tremendous response to both the BRIO trains and the BRIO toddler toys in 2012," Schylling said. "Retailers were excited to offer a wider selection of BRIO to their customers, and parents were delighted to share these classic toys with their own children. We're looking forward to 2013, and we've got some great BRIO surprises that we'll be unveiling next week."

Last year the BRIO classic railway won the ASTRA* Best Toy Award for Kids in the Classic Play catergory for ages 0-7.

Other new additions for 2013 include a new Farm Set with a barn, tractors and toy horses and cows. New accessories include tunnels, bridges, trucks and people figures. Additional information on these BRIO releases will be available on the Schylling Blog at toytalk.schylling.com during Toy Fair 2013.

"The retailers are very enthusiastic about the new developments for BRIO. We see a great demand for these traditional toys with a modern touch, "says Mark Slusarz, Vice President of Sales at Schylling Associates.

About Schylling Toys:
Since it's founding more than 30 years ago, Rowley, Mass.-based Schylling Toys has believed that toys should mean something special to people of all ages. Schylling searches the globe for toys powered by hand and imagination that will be shared and remembered, and never go out of style. Schylling Toys are available through specialty toy retailers throughout the United States, as well as onlineat schylling.com.The brand can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SchyllingToys.