Edplay NovDec 2018

For People Who Sell Toys

November/December 2018

The Happiest House in the Neighborhood In the past 20 years, Hobby House Toys has become home base for toy shoppers near Rochester and Syracuse, New York.

Owner Sue O’Neil with Addison and Jason, her grandchildren/sales associates.

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wordPlay

The Undead

by Kevin Fahy

I

t turns out that Geoffrey may not have been a giraffe after all. He may be a vampire.

By that I mean that he seems to be almost impossible to kill, short of driving a stake through his heart. Just when we think he is finally gone for good, that long neck pops up again.

The latest reincarnation appeared to be taking shape in early October, when the lenders which own the intellectual property rights of Toys “R” Us told a bankruptcy court that they had cancelled their plan to auction off those rights.

Now they have a new plan, which is to use those assets as the basis for a new company, presumably to become a major toy retailer. They expect the profits from this new venture to exceed the income they could reasonably expect from the sale of names, logos, mascots, good will, etc.

In making that argument, they point out that Toys “R” Us would have been profitable in the years leading up to its bankruptcy, had it not been for its crushing debt burden. There is a certain irony here, since that debt load is also the reason these venture capitalists own the TRU intellectual property.

Other funds controlled Toys “R” Us during the bankruptcy, lending it a great deal of money, paying themselves huge fees, and using TRU assets as collateral.

Those assets included the stores themselves and the distribution centers, which separated the hard assets from the softer ones.

All that real estate is gone, along with the inventory. So, too, are the relationships that TRU had with its suppliers, notably Hasbro and Mattel, which were forced to find other channels of distribution and have surely done so by now.

Another loss was the 2018 holiday sales season, and it will be difficult even to ramp up in time for 2019. Failing that, the new entity could lose the most precious asset of any business, namely the customers.

What the new company would have are some words, images, and ideas, combined of course with some deep pockets.

We all have a pretty clear understanding of the words and images, but I am very curious about the nature of those ideas.

Are we talking about a large number of small stores, or a small number of large stores? Some journalists have (continued on page 7) November/December 2018 • • • • • edplay.com 3

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For People Who Sell Toys

November/December 2018 Volume 25, No. 6

REAS

30

10

CO RECOG

DEXT

DISCOV

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Wordplay

The Undead by Kevin Fahy

10 The House that Sue Built

The idea was for a “family” toy store in which people of all ages could find something to play with. Twenty years later, the concept is still working – in four different locations.

16 The Dads are Coming!

Get ready to celebrate the army of dads heading to your toy store.

They’re impulsive, don’t care about the budget, and want their Christmas gifts to make a big splash with the kids.

18 More Fur Expected Next Year

30

Cats, the Yeti, and moths were just some of the themes Sandy Ruben came across at the Fall Toy Preview.

Playthings that support the trends “Ready, Set, Play!” “The WOW Effect” and “Toys 4 Kidults” will be highlighted at the 2019 toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany.

22 Myths and Trends for the Holiday Season

The truth about Black Friday, retail in the fourth quarter, and what to expect from shoppers right now.

24 retailers recommend Fabulous Products

Seventy Years of Spielwarenmesse, and Toy Trends for 2019

32

For Your Business Information

35

Industry News

38

Index of Advertisers

HEA

IMAGIN

TOUCH GRIPPI CO-ORD

26 new and true

4 C 44125 7 Canto 734-6 w

The latest launches and perennial bestsellers

in www info@

4 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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HAND E CO-ORD

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REASONING REASONING

COLOR COLOR RECOGNITION RECOGNITION

DEXTERITY DEXTERITY

DISCOVERING DISCOVERING

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HAND EYE AND HAND EYE AND CO-ORDINATION CO-ORDINATION

HEARING HEARING

IMAGINATION

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TOUCHING AND GRIPPING AND TOUCHING AND CO-ORDINATION GRIPPING AND CO-ORDINATION

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The original B2B magazine for the specialty toy industry, edplay has been devoted to locally owned and independent stores for 25 years.

PUBLISHER J. Kevin Fahy kfahy@fwpi.com

MARKETING DIRECTOR Amy Colburn amy@fwpi.com

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Tim Braden tbraden@fwpi.com

EDITORIAL Tina Manzer, Director tmanzer@fwpi.com

ADVERTISING SALES Todd Crayton todd@fwpi.com

ART Mark Stash Production Manager mstash@fwpi.com

Darlene Ryan Darlene@fwpi.com E-NEWLETTER & ONLINE ADVERTISING Rick Kauder rkauder@fwpi.com

Copyright © 2018

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Maia VanOrman Designer maia@fwpi.com Cody Brackett Designer cody@fwpi.com EDITORIAL OFFICES PO Box 1080, 171 Reed St Geneva, NY 14456 800-344-0559, 315-789-0458 FAX: 315-789-4263

RESERVE AN AD IN EDPLAY Issue Deadline Jan/Feb 2019................................ November 30 Mar/Apr 2019..................................... February 1 May/June 2019 .....................................March 29 July/Aug 2019 ............................................. June 7 Sept/Oct 2019.........................................August 2 Nov/Dec 2019.......................................October 4

Fahy-Williams also publishes Toy Times

the magazine of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association

Educational Dealer

educationaldealermagazine.com

Life in the Finger Lakes lifeinthefingerlakes.com

ROBEX

for the Rochester Builders Exchange

Gradient

the magazine of the Association For Creative Industries craftandhobby.org

Art Materials Retailer artmaterialsretailer.com

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(continued from page 3)

Math & Language Manipulatives

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I are, as if I needed any further evidence.

I rarely eat at any type of chain restaurant, for the exact same reason. You know what you’re going to get, and I prefer to take a chance on a local place that may surprise me, even though the surprise could be to the downside.

I’m not religious about it. I’ll eat a McSomething at an airport McDonald’s during a layover, and there are some upscale chain restaurants that I have patronized more than once.

Some of them are remarkably good, and I can understand why you would choose one if you were, say, taking an important client to dinner and didn’t want the risk of having a bad experience.

As you know, that word is now considered the key to the survival of brick-and-mortar retail.

The “experience” at these places is entirely artificial, like the experience at Downtown Disney. That’s not to say it isn’t engaging, enjoyable, entertaining, or even realistic, but if you want to eat at an authentic Italian restaurant, you’ll need to go to Italy.

Personally, I’m good with an Italian-American restaurant, and I would prefer that its Old World touches reflect the background of its owners, rather than an artist’s rendition of a village in Tuscany. There is a new place in my hometown, for example, where the family strolls around singing Italian songs, and I don’t think they learned them as part of the business plan. (The food is (continued on page 9)

10

speculated that the idea will be some sort of hybrid retailer that tries to bring the strengths of internet and brick-and-mortar together in one place. The highvolume and trending items could be displayed in a smallish space, along with pickup or local delivery of online purchases.

Somehow that reminds me of the Sears catalog stores that were trotted out a generation back. They were supposed to combine the advantages of its legendary catalog and its huge department stores, but of course they did neither. The advantage of a catalog was that you didn’t have to leave home to shop, and the advantage of a physical store was that you could see and touch the product, and take it with you.

I went to one of the catalog stores once, in a converted bowling alley, and found a large room with a few washing machines and refrigerators against the walls and a long countertop. A couple of employees sat behind the counter, and would look things up for you if you didn’t know how to use an index. It was a “Saturday Night Live” skit waiting to happen.

Whatever the business plan turns out to be, the next generation Toys “R” Us intends to be a chain-store operation of significant size, which in itself makes it highly unusual in today’s toy market. It also makes it less interesting to me.

The President of the United States has said that he frequently eats at chain restaurants because you know exactly what you’re going to get. I guess that goes to show how very different he and

Timers ~ Spinners ~ Pawns & Chips

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A Classic Swing

AdventurePARKS.com

A Classic S wAi n g Classic Swing EPY_06_NovDec_2018.indd 8

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(continued from page 7)

great, by the way.)

How the public experiences a restaurant, or a toy store, is largely determined by the employees, so they should be a critical element in any effort to launch a new version of Toys “R” Us. You may have noticed that I did not mention the employees of the former TRU when discussing the disposition of assets, though many of those employees are still available.

There is a suspicion among them that the new company will go with inexperienced workers in order to keep costs down.

I think that the biggest problem for the next Toys “R” Us, just like any other chain retailer, is that there is no relationship between the ownership and the staff. The next time you eat at a chain restaurant, ask your waiter who owns the business. Is it publicly traded, or is it a person, a family, a group of investors or another company?

Chances are he or she won’t have the slightest idea.

Ask the same question at a locally owned establishment and you’ll get a far different answer.

The staff doesn’t just know the owner, they know what the owner expects of the employees, and they know that the success of the business depends upon it.

That’s why independent retailers have survived in the 21st century, and are likely to survive in the 22nd.

You can e-mail Kevin at kfahy@fwpi.com.

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The House that Sue Built

by Tina Manzer

T

wenty years ago, Sue O’Neil opened the first Hobby House Toy store in a suburban mall near Rochester, New York. Despite two recessions, the growth of Amazon, and the infamous failures of several mall toy-store chains, Sue’s business grew. Today, there are four Hobby House Toy stores; three are in malls or lifestyle centers.

By 1998, consumers were already showing signs of being tired of mall shopping. “Beginning in the late 1990s, the culture that once fed the American mall started to change,” explained Smithsonian Magazine in 2014. “Increasingly rundown and redundant, malls started turning into ghost towns – first losing shoppers and then losing stores.”

But not all of them. “Strong malls will continue to prosper,” wrote retail anthropologist Paco Underhill in 2004. “If a mall is in the right spot, it will almost surely thrive. It lives by the axiom that guides all real estate: location, location, location.”

That may be one of the secrets to the success of Sue’s malls, but her stores have more going for them than just busy locales. Each one provides a welcoming and homey atmosphere, family-friendly experiences and a wide selection of unique toys for kids of every age. Sue loves people and it shows.

Here’s her story. edplay: Why a toy store?

Sue O’Neil: I was a stay-at-home mom ready to do something outside my home. Nearby, The Village Toy Shoppe in a big old house provided inspiration.

I shopped there for years with my three kids. By the time my oldest became a teenager, he had outgrown all the products there. I thought that was a shame.

Our idea was for a family store, one where people ages 2 months to 90 could find something to play with. I had no background in retail. Thank God my husband John gets the math part of it. He just

“It’s amazing how much my three grandchildren help me. They have great ideas for the store,” says Sue O’Neil, pictured here with grandson Jason. “The youngest, age 2, follows shoppers around to show them toys she thinks they’ll like.”

retired from his day job so he’s helping me more.

His insight is invaluable.

Why the mall?

I could walk to work! My son could take the car!

Perinton Square Mall is part strip center/part indoor shopping center. It’s been in this community, which is loaded with families, since the early 1970s.

Hobby House became the neighborhood’s toy store.

It’s about 2,500 square feet, and packed with products.

It’s one of our four stores, and I try to get to each of them at least once a week to check in and do restocks. They are within a 10-mile radius, except for one that’s 70 miles away in downtown Skaneateles, New York.

Why Skaneateles?

My husband and I grew up around there so we have family connections. When I go there I can visit my mother. She is 96. My sister-in-law, who is in real estate, said it would be a great place for my store. She was right. We opened on its main street in 2011.

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Hobby House Toys, Perinton Square Mall. The mall has a number of other tenants that cater to children, including Haircuts for Peanuts, Kumon Math and Reading Center, and The Little Gym.

The village is quaint, historic and on a lake. It hosts many summer vacationers, some of them are famous. The Clintons had a home there, and the Baldwin boys shop at my store when they visit their mother in Syracuse. Locals shop at Hobby House Toys year-round, so we have both a strong tourist season and holiday season.

At 1,000 square feet, it’s small but really cute.

At Eastview Mall, the store is about 1,500 square feet, and at Pittsford Plaza it’s about 2,500 square feet. In total, we employ between 10 and 20 people. Some have been with us since the beginning, and a few have actually left and come back.

Do all your stores carry the same mix?

Yes, for the most part. We take advantage of volume discounts. Skaneateles carries more impulse and beach toys. Perinton stocks a larger selection of rockets because the students there study rockets. We constantly shift merchandise from one store to another. We try to tailor our products to the needs of each store’s customers.

Looks like your idea of a “family store” is working.

Yes, even more so today as people look for activities that encourage talking and playing together.

Our mix is all over the place, from Bruder Trucks to Calico Critters. One of our bestselling categories is puzzles, especially ones that families can do together. Our “large-format” jigsaw puzzles are also popular. They have adult images with bigger, easier-to-see pieces. We carry Ravensburger and White Mountain (made in America). I consider them the Cadillac of puzzles.

Games are also big sellers, and crafts. We see that family game nights are coming back. Bestsellers include classics like Sorry and Parcheesi.

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Alyssa Falwall, right, manager of Hobby House Toys Eastview, serves customers from all over the state who travel to shop at the upscale mall.

Sales associate Holly Drummond, bottom right, curls ribbon for Hobby House Toys’ “gift wrap.”

Plush is selling well right now, and I think sensory products will be hot through Christmas.

Everyone has discovered the benefits of touch and feel. My grandson’s first-grade classroom has a sensory corner for kids who are upset. They can go there and pick up a fidget to settle themselves down.

But our role in the community is bigger than selling toys. When kids come in, I talk to them.

At first they’re shy, they look at the floor. But the more they come in, the more they feel comfortable talking to me. I just love that. They give me their money when they make a purchase – it’s mostly change – and we count it out. I thank them for the coins, and explain that they’ve saved me a trip to the bank.

Shopping is a great learning experience, and local retailers can be great teachers. It’s an important part of the relationship. We and our customers try to support each other. It helps all of us become family. (article continues on page 15)

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• Includes 3 arches • Each 23” x 8.5” x 4”

Arches allow children to invent new ways of playing and create various motor challenges

970-484-7445 1-800-289-9299 www.amep.com

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“We chose brown paper gift bags 20 years ago, never thinking that ‘good for the environment’ would become so stylish,” explains Sue. “When moms call in for a birthday party gift, or send their husbands in, all we need is the recipient’s age, gender, and price they want to spend. We pick the gift and ‘wrap’ it by adding a logo sticker and pretty ribbon to the bag. It’s fast, efficient, and makes for a really positive experience.”

grab

verb (used with object), grabbing, grabber

1.

2.

To take hold of something suddenly To order yours today

www.thetoynetwork.com

14 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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1-877-777-4661

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Compared to 20 years ago, my customers today really understand the importance of shopping local.

They want their money to stay here in the tax base, and they ask for items made in the U.S.A. Everyone seems concerned about the health of independent local businesses. They don’t want them to go away.

My customers check in with me all the time and ask, “Are you doing okay? We love coming here.”

What do you like about malls?

The security is great. We just feel safe.

The owners of Eastview Mall came to us and asked us to move in two years ago. They also own Pittsford Plaza, where we have been for nine years.

They knew we were good tenants.

Before we opened in Pittsford, we briefly operated stores in two other Rochester-area malls.

In one, we were only there during the holidays and then the mall closed. In every case, our landlords have been very good to us; accommodating and fair.

The days are long at mall stores. We’re open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Sunday, when our hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. We have to employ more people to cover all the hours. In Skaneateles, we’re open ’til 6 p.m.

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Eastview Mall is within a 90-minute drive of more than 3 million people. When a storefront became vacant there in 2016, mall owners reached out to Hobby House Toys.

In general, what has been your biggest challenge?

Convincing people that we don’t have boutique prices just because we’re not a big-box store. We show shoppers that they can find a $2 item here that will make them happy, or a $100 item. We run the gamut.

What’s next?

Who knows? People ask us all the time to consider the suburbs north and west of Rochester.

We’ll see.

e

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The DADS are Coming!

by Phil Wrzesinski

I

was born into the life of toy retailing. My grandfather started Toy House 17 years before I entered the world.

At school, I wasn’t the cool kid but I got invited to all the cool kids’ birthday parties.

I didn’t get the most toys at Christmas, but I got the best ones. I got Playmobil in 1975, the first year it was sold in the U.S. I got all the Johnny West action figures, including the hard-to-find and obscure characters. When the GI Joe Swamp Buggy was the hot toy, I had one waiting for me under the tree.

My two sons grew up in a similar way. They, too, made all the cool kids’ birthday party invite lists. They had stellar results on Christmas.

Of course, we had to keep the TV off, and we made sure they only visited Toy House and wrote wish lists from our stock each year, but they scored each Christmas.

When my boys were in those peak years between ages 4 and 10, I realized something.

My mom had always talked about “Man Week” at the store – the final week or two before Christmas when the men would go shopping.

It was fun because men were impulsive, wanted to make a splash, and didn’t care about the budget.

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It turns out I was one of those men.

Sure, I owned a toy store so I felt the need to make sure my boys got the top items on their lists. If I couldn’t play Santa, well, who could?

I realized I was the epitome of the “final week male shopper.” I displayed all his characteristics … the same characteristics I had been teaching my staff about.

Therefore, I feel I can speak with great authority about how to make your last two weeks before Christmas finish strong.

The Discovery Channel has Shark Week. The toy industry has Man Week. It starts unofficially two weekends before Christmas and ends about an hour after you were supposed to close Christmas Eve.

First, let’s start with a disclaimer: yes, these are generalizations, and as with any generalization, there are exceptions. No, not every man is like this. Yes, some women shop this way, too. But by the time you finish reading this article, you will have recognized the vast majority of male shoppers you’ve encountered, and will come away with the best plan for selling to them. You just have to remember that men are impulsive, want to make a splash, and don’t care about the budget.

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MEN ARE IMPULSIVE!

By nature, men don’t do as much research on shopping as women do. Our research is done at the store level. We are visual creatures so we need to see it. We also want to touch it and feel it. We will be swayed by great merchandising displays.

If you want to win dads over, give them something to demo, something to try. When we can play (and we want to play!), we’ll be far more willing to spend.

One of the best demos I ever put in our store was a NERF Shooting Gallery. Our NERF sales (and the sales of all other projectile shooting toys in the store) skyrocketed!

Men also communicate in a different way than women. Men speak vertically (Does what I say make you think higher of me or lower of me?) This is the reason men are less likely to ask for directions than women. To ask is to imply, “I don’t know,” which lowers me down a rung on the ladder.

For this reason, men don’t usually ask for help in a store. If we do ask, it is usually to say, “Point me in the direction of …” There’s also the lazy-dad shopper – your new best friend – who says, “I need gifts for two boys ages 6 and 9. Load me up.”

Since men are less likely to ask, the best way to get them to buy is through signage. Your demonstration stations and merchandising displays need simple, easy-to-read signs that provide these three facts – • the price; • the answer to the most frequently asked question about the product; and • the most compelling benefit of owning the product.

Not only will those three things make a man more likely to buy, they will also give him the justification he’ll use when his wife balks at the purchase. (Please note: those signs work equally well on introverts.) (continued on page 37)

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Expected

Next Year Counting Down the Hits 1) Unicorns

6) Anything with sequins

2) Sloths

7) Harry Potter

3) Dinosaurs

8) Spa-related

4) Llamas

9) Mermaids

5) Avacados

10) Fairies

by Sandy Ruben

I

n October, I went to the Fall Toy Preview in Dallas. I used the Toy Association’s annual event as an opportunity to search for possible new themes for 2019. The one I feel most confident about is SPACE. The 50th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing is next July, so media attention will surely drive sales of items related to NASA, the galaxy and the cosmos.

CATS will be a theme to watch in 2019 says Amy Reitsma, sales manager for Crocodile Creek.

She attributes the renaissance of cat-related products to the increasing interest in Japanese anime and its cat characters.

Many booths and showrooms in Dallas featured YETI items. Darby Zahradnik, key accounts manager for Ann Williams, thinks that yetis in 2019 may generate as much interest as llamas did in 2018.

Steve Starobinsky, director of marketing at Diverse Toys, mentioned a possible new breakthrough theme which I hadn’t heard about yet: MOTHS. “There’s a new meme going around showing how moths are attracted to light,” he told me. “It’s generating lots of interest!”

The big question for next year is what will become of UNICORNS? Steve believes they will retain their popularity. “Unicorns are still mystical enough, and because of that, they won’t trend out.”

Manufacturers throughout the Dallas Toy Preview showed lots and lots of unicorn items. It was apparent that they felt confident that the theme will remain strong, at least throughout the first half of 2019.

DINOSAURS have been trending upwards thetoynetwork.com in our surveys. Based on conversations I had with retailers and manufacturers in Dallas, this will continue into 2019.

In a lively conversation about activities that are trending, retailers Candace Williams of Toy Maven, Gwen Ottenberg of Imagine That, Christina Clark of Kidding Around, and I agreed that ROCK PAINTING is rockin’, and FRIENDSHIP

18 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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BRACELETS are making a comeback.

They also mentioned that focusing on PERSONALIZATION has been really important for them. While some stores actually personalize items that they sell, sales are growing for items that kids can personalize themselves.

2018 may be the year of the sequins. Anything sequined is selling, from craft items to plush. But after walking around the Dallas Toy Preview, I’m thinking this may slow down in 2019. Consumers, especially the ones who purchase plush, are looking for new on a very regular basis.

While the sparkle of sequins may fade, it appears that anything with TACTILE APPEAL certainly won’t. Orb Toys had a very large booth in Dallas; probably more than half of it was filled with every kind of touch experience and activity imaginable. The message I got from Orb was that they are “all in” on tactile/touch toys.

While I didn’t get to visit the Play Visions booth, retailers told me that it also had a great selection of mindware.com sensory toys.

We continue to poll a group of 30 retailers nationwide every two months to compile a list of top 10 trending themes. We ask them what’s trending, both up and down. Even though different retailers respond to each survey, there has been an overall consistency in the results. Remarkable!

Fairies briefly left the list based on the results of our last survey. They’re back this time at number 10 after starting the year at number 3. While it is a significant drop, fairies are still holding their own.

For years, the fairy theme was, for all intents and purposes, grouped with the princess theme.

But according to our poll, “princess” has dropped significantly into 14th or 15th place.

We’ve also seen a drop in the mermaid theme.

They held the number 2 spot at the start of 2018, but are ending at number 9. It could be a seasonal change, but to me, it really doesn’t appear to be the case.

SPA-RELATED ITEMS are in eighth place and continue to rise. We expect that this theme may go

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Special thanks to the retailers who participated in this survey.

Todd Anderson of Hub Hobby Center, Lynne Milot of Grandrabbits, Christine Osborne of Wonder Works, Sabine Hack Roberts of Nana’s, Rick Derr of Learning Express Lake Zurich, Cindy O’Hara of Learning Express Alpharetta, Melanie Clark of Big City Toys, Sarah Evers of Dancing Bear Toys, Ginger Milligan of Fantasy Island Toys, Sherry Stone of Toys and Company, Anita Demetropoulos of Island Treasure Toys, Stephanie Sala of 5 Little Monkeys, and Wes Dunlap of Timeless Toys.

Sandy Ruben is the owner of Sandy Ruben and Associates, a rep group in the Southeast.

If you, or someone you know, would like to participate in his bi-monthly survey, email sandyrubeninfo@gmail.com, or call 843-696-4464.

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by Tina Manzer

B

y the time you read this, holiday shoppers will have already made purchases in your store; mostly due to your efforts on November 11, Neighborhood Toy Store Day.

But experts predicted that Christmas shopping would begin early this year anyway. Coupon company RetailMeNot Inc. reported in September that 60 percent of consumers planned to start before Black Friday, based on the results of its consumer survey in July.

Black Friday, the traditional “day of deals,” has never been particularly important to the specialty toy industry. Over the years, it’s become less important to more people.

“Black Friday is popularly viewed by both the media and among retailers as a key predictive indicator of how good or bad business will be over the course of the weeks leading up to Christmas,” says retail guru Pam Danziger, founder of Unity Marketing.

“That is a myth.”

The importance of the whole fourth quarter is a myth, says the retail marketing veteran. “Over the last 24 years, retail sales have been flattening out across the quarters, with the declines in the fourth quarter pretty evenly distributed to quarters one, two and three. While a skew toward more sales in the fourth quarter remains, it is no longer the make-or-break quarter as popularly believed.”

Christmas accounts for slightly less than half of a typical gifter’s total annual budget, she says, based on Unity Marketing research.

That’s because gifters divide their budget into

two categories: Holiday Gifting, and gifting for occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, new babies), which occur throughout the year. Holiday Gifting, which includes Christmas, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, etc., accounts for 56 percent of the budget compared to 44 percent for Occasion Gifting.

Obviously, retailers need to make gifting a year-round business-building opportunity. Right now though everybody’s concentrating on the holidays.Here are some of the trends you’ll see.

More Spending

According to a survey, consumers will spend an average of $1,007.24 this season, says the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. It’s an increase of 4.1 percent over last year. The total encompasses three categories: gifts ($636.67); food, decorations, flowers, cards ($215.04); and other non-gift purchases that take advantage of deals ($154.53).

Consumers who are increasing their holiday spend are doing so because of these reasons, according to RetailMeNot’s survey results.

47 percent earned more income this year; 33 percent are more excited about the holiday season this year; 35 percent will be shopping for more people; 33 percent feel better about the economy; 26 percent paid off debt this year; and 18 percent received more money through tax cuts this year.

22 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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Printed Catalogs

“Catalogs still have a hold on holiday marketing,” proclaimed a recent article from Retail Dive. One of the reasons for their current popularity is that digital marketing has “numbed shoppers.”

“Shoppers get inundated daily with emails from brands they like, brands they love, and brands they shopped from once for a gift for their mother-in-law, and never intended to purchase from again,” writes reporter Cara Salpini. “It’s not that shoppers don’t enjoy getting relevant emails from their favorite brands or retailers – some have had great success with the channel. But many emails go ignored.”

Fifty-five percent of shoppers ignore email marketing messages because of inbox overload, says Retail Dive, citing a study by Yes Lifecycle Marketing. Other people delete them because they feel they are irrelevant, have uninteresting content, or don’t include discounts or special offers.

“Catalogs are in some ways more personal than digital marketing methods now and that personal touch

could help retailers cut through some of the deal-based noise over the holidays,” Salpini notes. “It’s a problem catalogs used to have, but the pendulum has swing back in the other direction over time.”

“What you’re trying to get when you have catalog marketing is a reason to pull consumers into your product selection,” explains Greg Portell in the article.

He’s lead partner in A.T. Kearney, a global consumer and retail firm. “Glossy paper tends to be able to do that in a way that an email – one of 100 in an inbox – doesn’t really do.”

In Store and Online

Holiday shoppers are comfortable moving across shopping channels, says RetailMeNot, with 27 percent of consumers surveyed shopping mostly in store, 28 percent shopping mostly online, and 45 percent shopping half in store and half online. “While Millennials are savvy mobile shoppers, data shows they also want in-store experiences. This makes convenience, ease of use and good customer service important.”

e

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retailers recommend

Fabulous Products

3 b4adventure.com

by Tina Manzer

2 puttyworld.com

4 odysseytoys.com

Ellie Lee Tate, Marketing & Events Manager, Wonder Works Toys in Charleston, South Carolina “Marky Sparky’s Faux Bow 130 (1) is perfect for younger kids. It has reduced string strength so children as young as 6 can use it, but it still shoots more than 130 feet! Parents like that the tips of the ultra-light foam arrows make them bounce off whatever they hit.

“The Neon Set from Crazy Aaron (2) includes five tins of the brightest Thinking Putty we’ve ever seen. We love that they’re packaged as a gift set with a retro vibe.

“B4Adventure’s Obstacle Course Set (3) comes with 37 pieces and diagrams for creating custom courses. They can be created for different ages and skill levels, so whole families are playing with it. It’s been endorsed by real American Ninja Warriors.

“Upshot (4), also by Odyssey Toys, is a smart bow-and-arrow set for kids ages 8 and up. It uses augmented reality to take gaming to the next level. Its gaming apps test accuracy and skill. Targets – ducks, dragons, and more – show up on a phone screen.

“Gizmo (5) by Odyssey Toys is the markysparkytoys.com season’s must-have gadget.

The artificially intelligent puppy responds to voice commands and also dances to the beat of the music he plays via Bluetooth speakers. His embedded educational feature helps kids learn their alphabet and numbers.

He responds to praise and petting!”

1

Alex Rojas from Amuse Toys in Baltimore, Maryland

“Anything from Jellycat (6) sells like crazy. Their plush figures, made in the U.K., appeal to a wide range of ages. They’re safety standards are very high, so the plush characters are even safe for newborns. The eyes are pressed into the fabric so they can’t be pulled or chewed off.”

“Parents who are paying attention to the STEM trend are buying Ozobot robots (7) from Evollve Inc. They introduce children to coding.

“Occupational therapists come in all the time to buy Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty (8).

They use it to help people increase hand strength or dexterity, and to teach relaxation techniques.

It’s not your typical medical therapy putty. People enjoy the many different colors they can get, plus the special effects like glow-in-the-dark.

“Kids love to collect them, too.”

24 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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jellycat.com/us

6

5 odysseytoys.com

7 puttyworld.com

7

ozobot.com

9 maddcappgames.com

Nancy Teed, Once Upon a Time Toys in Stowe, Vermont

“I’m always looking for new, different, and unique products to bring in, so the animal-shaped puzzles (9) from Madd Capp Games are perfect. There are 100-piece puzzles for kids ages 5 and up – everything from a fox to a flamingo to a sloth and more. The 550-piece and 700-piece jigsaw puzzles are poster-sized when complete. The largest ones are the elephant head and moose head, but there’s also a bear, a horse, a longhorn, a panda … you name it!

“Parents love the Colour-A-Capes (10) from Great Pretenders, especially the superhero ones.

They come with markers. After kids color them and wear them a while, parents can put them in the greatpretenders.ca/us/ washing machine and they can be colored again.”

10

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New True Fantastic Beasts Perilous Pursuit from USAopoly is a magical game of chase and chance. Several magical beasts escape and run loose in New York City to take players on an exciting adventure.

By collecting sets of dice, they can draw cards, shield each other, and try to return all the beasts to Newt’s suitcase before havoc ensues. For ages 8 and up. usaopoly.com HyPars, a geometric building toy for the experienced builder, provides a hands-on way to teach critical thinking, communication, innovation, and other valuable life skills. Featuring both education and retail lines, HyPars are the perfect fit for anyone wanting a challenge! For ages 7 and up. hypars.com

Meet Hudson, a motion-activated glow rattle that responds to the way a baby shakes it. Lean his green legs back to see him glow green. Lean his red legs forward to see them glow red! Hudson’s 4-inch textured legs are just right for teething babies. The soft rattling sound entertains and stimulates the senses. For ages 6 months and up.

800-524-4263 Playmonster.com

Clockwork Dreams from The Lazy Dog & Co. is a new line of whimsical toys that feature moving cams, gears, and ratchets. Designed by artists, they have an intricate toy top and exposed mechanisms in the base. Once assembled, turn the crank to make the models come to life!

201-771-0039, info@thelazydog.co

With 96 magnetic tiles and an 8- by 8-inch steel activity board, Fractiles Travel Edition provides a perfect STEM activity on the go, and a creative break from screen time! It’s a great gift for every member of the family. Imagine the possibilities! fractiles.com

26 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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Madam Malkin’s and Florean Fortescue’s 290-piece Ice Cream puzzle is part of the new Wrebbit3D Diagon Alley Collection. It’s an essential piece for Harry Potter fans who want to create their own alleyway, two shops at a time. Two other models are available. Your customers will want to collect them all! sales@wrebbit3d.com, wrebbit3d.com

Kids will love creating their very own Sentosphere Bath Bombs with this kit! A subtle mixture of cosmetic products enriched with almond oil and glycerin are compressed into different mold shapes.

Once hardened, the creations can be used for a delicately colored and sparkling scented bubble bath. sentosphereusa.com sentosphereusa@comcast.net

Fun holiday-themed activities from Wikki Stix are not FOR Christmas, but BEFORE Christmas to keep restless little ones entertained while they wait for Santa.

More than 25 fun activities are included for 3-D ornaments, garlands and a delightful reindeer. Comes with 36 Wikki Stix, made in the USA. 800-869-4554 info@wikkistix.com

Small enough for babies to grasp, Baby Paper is a must-have sensory toy to help keep little ones happy and busy! Also available are Fidgety Paper (for larger, fidgety hands), super-soft Crinkle Cuddlers (providing the same Baby Paper “sound”), and NFL-licensed Rally Paper.

847-272-5588, babypaper.com

Kala’s Makala Shark uke – pictured here in Surf Green, one of seven fun, aquatic colors – is known for high quality and value. Learn how to play! Each of our ukes comes with free online lessons and our free app with more than 1,700 songs and a built-in tuner! kalabrand.com

November/December 2018 • • • • • edplay.com 27

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New True Crafted in the USA, ToppleRocks Challenge is designed for multiplayer fun. It’s easy to learn, fun to play, and a challenge to win.

Each player takes turns stacking as many ToppleRocks as they can before time runs out.

The highest score after five rounds wins.

985-900-2424 topplerocks.com

The holidays are approaching quickly and this squish from The Toy Network is a perfect stocking stuffer. Their soft and slow-rising texture makes these little characters perfect for squeezing, so make this Christmas a Squishmas!” thetoynetwork.com/toys/squish

Fractiles Large Edition includes 192 magnetic tiles and a 12- by 12-inch steel activity board. The magical geometric art fascinates kids and adults alike as they explore STEM skills. Create sevenfold snowflakes, starbursts, spirals, butterflies, animals, and more. A great gift and a creative alternative to screentime on electronic devices! fractiles.com

Arrgh yee ready for some fun with Pirate Pong? It’s harder with one aye! But put on your patch, grab your paddle sword and start the action with this portable table tennis set from Cortex Toys.

706- 232-8938, sales@cortextoys.com

“Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have Magna-tiles Stardust under my tree tonight!”

Stardust 15-piece set.

708-246-7209 valtech@magnatiles.com magnatiles.com

28 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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10/5/18 10:09 AM 11/7/18 12:35 PM

Seventy Years of

Spielwarenmesse And Toy Trends for 2019

by Tina Manzer

“Ready, Steady Play”

Nuremberg’s renowned international toy fair, scheduled for January 30 through February 3, 2019, will span nearly 2 million square feet of exhibit space sprawled across 12 exhibit halls. In 2018, the massive show featured 2,902 exhibitors and hosted 70,348 total visitors.

The immensity of the event could not have been imagined by representatives of the German toy industry who, in 1949, planned a much-needed trade fair exclusively for toys.

It was a risky proposition then for German entrepreneurs who were rebuilding businesses after World War II.

The first German Toy Fair was held in Nuremberg in March of the following year. It featured 351 exhibitors and 4,321 buyers – 600 of them from abroad.

An obvious question arose: should international exhibitors be welcome as well, or should it remain German-manufacturersonly? The issue was hotly debated for years. It was resolved at the opening of the 1957 fair, when Germany’s Federal Minister of Economics declared, “I don’t want to see the word ‘German’ here next year!”

It wasn’t. The 1958 International Toy Fair Nürnberg featured 830 exhibitors, including 60 from abroad. The number doubled the following year and continued to rise.

Seventy years later, about 75 percent come from 68 different countries, including the U.S. with about 150 exhibitors.

The fair’s rapid growth during the 1960s resulted in a move to a new location.

For the first time, there

was enough space to divide the exhibits into categories. Four years later, visitor numbers exceeded 30,000. Growth continued and the rest, as they say, is history.

For its 70th anniversary, Spielwarenmesse has reworked some if its categories – combining some, moving others, and introducing new ones. For 2019, the show’s category list looks like this.

• Lifestyle Products • Wooden Toys (and others made from natural materials) • Electronic Toys – making its debut • Festival, Carnival and Fireworks (where “groundbreaking changes are afoot.”)

• Dolls and Soft Toys • School, Stationery and Creative Supplies • Model Railways and Construction • Games, Books, Learning and Experimentation • Baby & Infant • Tech, Educational, and Action Toys • Sports/Leisure/Outdoor • The Multiproduct Area

“Toys for Kidults”

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Where the trends are

Each October, in anticipation of the 1 million or so playthings that will be presented at Spielwarenmesse, the show’s organizers and its International TrendCommittee announce a short, curated, toy trend list. Based on their most recent research, they have chosen three categories – “Ready, Steady, Play!” “The WOW Effect” and “Toys 4 Kidults.” Products that support these trends, along with other product innovations, will be highlighted in the fair’s TrendGallery.

Ready, Steady, Play highlights the kind of toys and games that get kids up, moving and having fun.

They are especially important in today’s world where the profusion of “things” – from smart devices to escalators and elevators – tend to make us all more sedentary.

This trend is not new to the specialty toy industry.

As active-play advocates, specialty toy retailers have always sold swings, scooters, sleds and sliders; balls and kites; ride-on and bouncy toys; balance skill-builders; Air Pogo; “Ninja” obstacle course components, and much more. Spielwarenmesse’s TrendGallery may surprise us with something new.

“The WOW Effect”

The WOW Effect is – surprise! – toys that provide a reveal. They’ve been entertaining adults and children for years. “Not knowing what’s inside adds to the excitement,” the Spielwarenmesse committee explains. “It may be packaging that conceals the collectible inside or a product that only reveals its functions and play options on closer inspection. More and more manufacturers are delighting children by adding an element of surprise to their products.”

The Toys for Kidults is a trend that’s been brewing for awhile. In 2016, Diverse Marketing’s (continued on page 38)

ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCTS to thousands of retailers throughout all of 2019

The Original

Specialty Toy Magazine

since 1994 November/December 2018 • • • • • edplay.com 31

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for your business information Soho is New Testing Ground for Amazon

Everything sold at Amazon’s store in New York’s Soho neighborhood is rated four stars or better, is a top seller, or is new and trending on the website, reports Retail Dive.

Each product sports a digital price tag that lists its average star rating and the number of customer reviews it has received, along with the Amazon Prime price, list price, and the savings through Prime, says the article. NonPrime members can sign up for a free 30-day trial to receive the better price in-store on items that include games, kitchen appliances, electronics, and an assortment of Echo and Fire products.

Amazon’s star rating system with customer reviews is one of its greatest strengths online. In-store, the system features additional designations:

“Most-Wished-For” (items that most often land on Amazon.com’s wish lists), “Trending Around NYC” (popular products ordered in the New York City-area), and “Frequently Bought Together.”

Amazon is not a brickand-mortar novice, Retail Dive points out. It operates bookstores, cashier-less convenience stores and the Whole Foods Grocery chain. But it is not a brick-and mortar veteran, either. Everyone is watching to see if the factors that brought it success online will translate to brick and mortar, or if Amazon will “get” how stores connect with customers, Retail Dive referred to an article written

by Doug Stephens, CEO and Founder of Retail Prophet, who pointed out that Amazon’s website isn’t fun to shop.”

In a column for online resource Business of Fashion, Stephens described the Amazon shopping experience as being “as elegant and enjoyable as a chainsaw.” But its purpose – to deliver the largest selection of products with the greatest level of speed and convenience – makes it a “sharp tool” if a shopper know what she’s looking for.

Closed-onThanksgiving Stores Make Most Shoppers Happy

More than 70 major retailers have confirmed their stores won’t open on Thanksgiving Day this year, according to BestBlackFriday.com. Before the holiday arrives, it expects the list to climb to more than 100.

Among the stores that will close are BJ’s Wholesale, Costco, Crate & Barrel, Dillard’s, H&M, Home Depot, Ikea, Marshalls, Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack, Patagonia, PetSmart, REI, Sam’s Club, Staples and TJ Maxx. Other big stores like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Macy’s are expected to be open.

Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine prohibit stores being open on Thanksgiving.

According to the results of a BestBlackFriday survey on September 30, around 25 percent of Americans favor stores staying open on Thanksgiving, while nearly 48 percent dislike it.

In recent years, shoppers have realized they’re not missing any special deals because they can shop online throughout the day.

The result, in many cases, has been a negative backlash for stores that remain open.

32 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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Meet Today’s Consumers Transcend Traditional Stereotypes

In a recent blog post, Unity Marketing’s Pam Danziger listed nine demographic macro-trends for retailers. The information was based on insight she gleaned from an interview with RoxAnna Sway, executive director of Retail Intel.

1. The rate of U.S. population growth has reached its lowest level since 1937.

What’s more, the population is shifting south and west. Utah is currently the fastest-growing state, driven primarily by births rather than migration.

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2. The rich are getting richer. “They are taking an inordinate amount of the nation’s income, rising from 29 percent in 1970 to 49 percent in 2014. They are accumulating a greater share of wealth, more than seven times that of middle-class households in 2013, according to Pew Research,” said the post.

Today, about one in 10 children lives with a grandparent. An increase in multigenerational households makes for unpredictable household buying patterns.

The number of people moving from state to state has declined by half since the 1990s. Only 10 percent of Americans will move in 2018, down from 20 percent in the 1960s. Danziger calls it “sheltering in place.” Sway explains in this way: “Familiar surroundings provide insulation and protection from the unknown (both real and imagined) as Americans become more averse to risk-taking and more obsessed with security and safety,” Sways explains.

Today, there are more households with dogs than there are with children, 43 million versus 33 million.

There are more single adults in America – 124.6 million – than married. Sway predicts that one in four Millennials will remain single for life.

The economic recovery has created more jobs for men than women. Women’s presence in the workplace actually peaked in 2000. The number of women in the workforce has declined and will be lower than 1990 levels in the next two years. Boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day.

Car ownership among 18-to-34-year-olds has dropped by 30 percent in the past five years.

They’re using the money to buy digital equipment and smartphones, meaning more online shopping and less driving to a store.

Asians are now on target to surpass Hispanics as the largest foreign-born group in America by 2055.”

Visit unitymarketingonline.com for more information.

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for your business information New Adult Daycare Inspires Innovation

In an “Innovation of the Day” newsletter in October, Trendwatching discussed Glenner Town Square, a “memory village” for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients built inside a 20,000-square-foot industrial building in Chula Vista.

The 1950s-style “town” is a cutting-edge adult daycare center that opened in April. It offers visitors the opportunity to travel through 14 storefronts and stations to shop, have lunch, tinker on a car, get a checkup, fold and “iron” laundry and do some typing at the office. By doing so, it immerses visitors in reminiscence therapy; transporting them to the time of their strongest memories, usually formed between the ages of 10 and 30. Because it targets patients in their 70s or 80s, it replicates the 1953-1961 time period.

The organizations behind the experience – George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers and Senior Helpers, an association of caregivers – will open a second location in Baltimore in 2019.

Trendwatching suggests that other companies looking to innovate should take some cues from this idea, and offers these three thought-starters.

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34 edplay.com • • • • • November/December 2018

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1. “The Baltimore location will open in a former Rite Aid store in a suburban shopping mall. Many markets are witnessing a retail apocalypse, but changing consumer tastes and lifestyles will create as many opportunities as they destroy. Could you create a future-proofed business model that leverages currently underutilized resources?

2. “The best trend-driven innovators think expansively about which trends can apply across demographics and industries. We’ve heard far too many times that it’s Insta-hungry Millennials driving the Experience Economy. Well, now this trend is being applied to seniors, by the healthcare industry. And why not? Your challenge: look broadly and take inspiration from everywhere.

3. “We know reminiscence therapy is an accepted psychological therapy. If you’re dealing with new problems, perhaps you could turn to science fiction or other similarly unorthodox sources of inspiration for creative new solutions.”

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industry news On November 2, Kroger announced a partnership with Geoffrey’s Toy Box, a subsidiary of Geoffrey LLC, to bring exclusive brands from the former Toys “R” Us to nearly 600 Kroger stores for the 2018 holiday season.

The partnership results from a plan launched in October by Geoffrey LLC, TRU’s intellectual property holding company subsidiary. It called for a group of investors – led by the LLC’s existing secured lenders – to acquire substantially all of its assets. Once reorganized, it would control a portfolio of intellectual property that includes trademarks, ecommerce assets and data associated with the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us businesses in the U.S. and around the globe.

Among them is a portfolio of 20-plus toy and baby brands including Imaginarium, Animal Zone, Journey Girls, Edu Science, You & Me, and Just Like Home.

It is a selection of 35 toys from those brands

that will be offered in participating Kroger Family of Stores. The assortment varies by location, and products range in price from $19.99 to $49.99. Robert Clark, Kroger’s senior vice president of merchandising, said the company was excited to offer a selection of toys once exclusive to Toys “R” Us.”

The reorganized company owns rights to the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brands in all markets globally, with the exception of Canada. (See the related article on page 3).

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industry news

A Play Your Part (PYP) event will be held in Boston on Thursday, December 13, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the headquarters of Local 103 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Dorchester.

PYPs, held previously this year in Los Angeles and Chicago, are an initiative of The Toy Foundation (TTF) and its national partner Court Appointed

Special Advocates (CASA). It enables toy industry employees from companies of all sizes to spend time playing with children who are in the foster-care system.

Industry professionals can volunteer to help bake holiday cookies, create custom tree ornaments, or take pictures with Santa. Or, they can sponsor a game or activity station.

Each PYP features music provided by a DJ, lunch, activities and a toy distribution.

Tens of thousands of toys are then shipped to CASA programs around the country so that it can serve foster children in additional states. To date, the toy industry has donated nearly $4.5 million dollars’ worth of toys and served nearly 300,000 children since it began its partnership with CASA in 2013. CASA provides services and support to children trying to

navigate the complicated court system by ensuring that these children have advocates, or “CASAS” to supply them with critical information, advocacy, love and guidance.

To sign up, email TTF Senior Manager Elizabeth Max at emax@toyfoundation.org.

The Toy Foundation was established in 1961 and relaunched by the Toy Industry Association in 2003. It represents the North American toy industry’s efforts to impact the lives of children who have had their lives disrupted by a devastating natural disaster, or who are undergoing complicated medical procedures, enduring temporary home placements in the foster care system, suffering from abuse or neglect, or experiencing separation from a deployed military parent.

While most consumers are familiar with LEGO’s 2-by-4-inch brick, they may not understand the depth of the company’s product line. This holiday season, AI is about to lead them through that maze when LEGO becomes the first toymaker to tap into IBM’s ad unit that delivers hyper-personalization at scale.

By using the tech company’s new Watson Ads Omni, customers will be guided to the best LEGO gifts based on their perceived needs and desires. Because the AI is trained on the knowledge of 35 different LEGO products, it can create distinct, personalized responses to specific questions from consumers.

The ad was previously available only on The Weather Channel app and weather.com.

Museum Store Sunday will take place on November 25.

More than 700 stores in museums and other cultural institutions located in every state and all over the world will offer relaxing and inspired shopping.

Museum Store Sunday is managed by the Museum Store Association based in Washington, DC, in partnership with the United Kingdom’s Association

for Cultural Enterprises and the Museum Shops Association of Australia and New Zealand.

Participation in Museum Store Sunday is open to all independently operated museum stores and nonprofit retailers located at museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, historic sites, and other unique cultural institutions in the United States and internationally.

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The DADS are Coming! (continued from page 17)

If you have to stay late the Friday night two weeks before Christmas to revamp your displays and signage just for the dads, do it. The time and effort will pay off in droves.

DADS WANT TO MAKE A BIG SPLASH!

Men have an innate need to be the hero. We want to fix what is broken. We want to solve the problem. We want to be the provider and the protector, the strength and the rock of our family. And nothing says hero more than playing the ultimate role of Santa. We believe it is not only our duty but our right as the man to play this role. Therefore, Christmas morning is as big a deal to us as it is to the kids.

One of the obstacles I always faced with selling to men, however, was the debate between having a huge pile of cheap toys under the tree or one really big item. Many dads saw the huge pile as the win. They didn’t understand that the lack of play value in the cheap toys meant the excitement would be over for the kids before the new year even began. They would brag to me about the huge pile of crap they bought at Dollar General or Walmart. I would brag back how my sons were still playing with the toys they got for Christmas – and it is Valentine’s Day!

We used signage and advertising to educate our dads on Play Value, pointing out that the true cost of a toy was the cost-per-hour of play. We showed them that the true big splash was the big core item – the Playmobil Castle or Thomas the Tank Train Set – that they played with for hours and hours.

Show us dads the big stuff, the sets that have add-ons and accessories for future birthdays and good-grade gifts. Show us the biggest stuffed animals, the scooters (and helmets and knee pads), the mega-sets, the easels, the kitchens, and the trains.

Show us dads the value of buying the biggest and best, how the child will play with your toys for months on end, and how we dads can make it new again with a simple add-on item.

Build us up to feel like the hero for not only buying the big-splash item, but also doing something good for our children’s development. Play to that desire of all guys to be the Santa of his children’s dreams.

THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT THE BUDGET!

It isn’t that we dads don’t have a budget. It is just that we are far more willing to bust that budget if it makes our kids happy and makes us look like a hero.

You aren’t gouging or soaking your male customers when you show them the top ticket items in your store. You’re helping us do what we set out to do. You’re helping us be the Santas that we want to be.

Dads will let you know when you’ve gone beyond their budget. (Hint: it is almost always significantly higher than what we originally told you.

This is our kids’ happiness we’re trying to buy!)

Start us at the top and work your way down from there. We’ll find that value point and make the leap.

Finally, remember that we want to feel good about our purchases. Men may be impulsive

and willing to stretch the budget, but we do it to bring smiles to our kids’ faces. We do it to be the hero, the Santa, in our children’s lives. So make us feel smart about our purchases by reminding us (not telling us) the benefits of the items we are buying. It helps us justify these purchases to mom.

Make us feel good about our purchases by praising our choices. A little praise goes a long way not only toward this purchase, but also for getting us back into your store next year or sooner.

Make us look like the hero.

If you have free gift-wrapping, extra bows, or anything else to take some of that extra work off our plate (or more importantly, our spouse’s plate), please provide it. Think of me as your Paul Revere riding through the night reminding you, “The DADS are coming! The DADS are coming!”

Merry Christmas my friends!

As the former owner of Toy House and Baby Too in Jackson, Michigan, Philip C. Wrzesinski understands the challenges faced by independent merchants.

Today, the speaker, author, and retail educator uses the lessons he’s learned in a lifetime of retail to help others find their success.

You can learn more about Phil at PhilsForum.com.

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Seventy Years of

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(continued from page 31)

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Welcomes Two New Advertisers!

Babies love the soft feel and paper crinkling sound of Baby Paper.

(Retailers – the company will custom print your logo on them for a storebranded product.) It’s entertaining and soothing. Babies can scrunch and chew on this simple and unique multisensory toy all day long. Baby Paper is just the right size for babies’ hands, but a larger version, called Fidgety Paper, is also available for kids and adults craving sensory stimulation. Coming soon from the Illinois-based company are Crinkle Cuddlers pets made from super soft plush over a sensory crinkle body.

HyPars takes its name from its glossy, curvy geometric building pieces.

They’re saddle-shaped “hyperbolic paraboloids.” (Think Pringles.) With Hypars, you can make geometric animals, dinosaurs, “Flowers and Blooms,” and more. “Pick them up and you’ll see how far you can curve your creativity,” says the family-owned company in Colorado. Its kits, made in the U.S., come in a range of sizes. The make-a-blue-dragon kit, for instance, comes with 36 HyPar Pieces and 38 round, slotted connectors. The classroom kit includes 800 HyPars and 1,200 connectors, all in eight different colors.

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Steve Starobinsky wrote in edplay, “I believe that a new customer has evolved and entered our galaxy – the Kidult. These consumers are 18- to 35-year-old males and females who are huge pop-culture enthusiasts. Kidults don’t shop out of necessity, but rather for amusement. And I believe they love neighborhood toy stores.”

Steve had just returned from the San Diego Comicon, where he spotted parents and their children in full theme cosplay. “It illustrates that fandom has transformed the traditional family-time experience.”

This trend reminds us that toys are not reserved for children only. “The Kidult possibilities are endless, ranging from decorative toys and sophisticated construction sets to rare collectibles and retro licenses,” says Spielwarenmesse.

Treasure hunting

Like the Launch Pad on Level 1 of New York’s Toy Fair, Spielwarenmesse’s New Exhibitor Center (NEC) is the place to discover first-time exhibiting companies and never-seen-before products. As booth locations go, the area is in high demand reports Speilwarenmesse. By October, nearly 40 companies from 19 countries had already booked a booth there.

“Trade visitors see the NEC in Hall 3A as a valuable destination in their search for inspiration and new ideas,” says the show’s Press Officer, Scarlett Wisotzki.

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For travel information, or to find out about accommodations in and around Nuremberg during the fair, email visitors@spielwarenmesse. de, or call +49 911 99813-88.

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