What's Selling

Kites were still flying as the holiday season approached in Boulder, Colo., and, while they may not be soaring as high as summertime sales, consumers were still flocking to specialty retailer Into the Wind. The store, which is known for its Web site and catalog of kites, was also seeing strong sales for family board games, dice, novelties and marbles. "I haven't noticed any big trends yet this year," said Dean Densmore, assistant manager, who added that novelty products like noise putty were among strong movers.

Down the road at Grandrabbits Toy Shoppe, Harry Potter products were all but magically disappearing off the store shelves—a trend also being witnessed at the Crossroads Mall's KB Toys and PlayFair Toys. Grandrabbits, with its zoo-sized plush area, which is reported to be the largest selection in Colorado, was continuing to see cute animals finding good homes for the coming winter. Specific product lines that were doing exceptionally well were Thomas the Tank Engine, Rescue Heroes, Bob the Builder and Groovy Girls—but it was the boy wizard who was already making holiday magic.

The surprise seller at KB Toys were scooters and the foot-powered riding toys rolling out of the store. And while Harry Potter was moving off shelves, *NSync's action figures couldn't find a good home and had been recently marked down. The store's selection of Barbie was well stocked and waiting for an army of young girls to arrive. On the video game front, Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube had been selling as quickly as they came in, said the store's assistant manager.

Games of the board variety were also picking up for the holidays at It's Your Move, a chain retailer specializing in board games, puzzles and role-playing books. Dungeons & Dragons, now in its third edition, has become a huge hit. "The game has undergone a total resurgence," Dan Blodgett, regional manager of the store, told PLAYTHINGS . "The other surprise hit is Risk 2210. (Hasbro) has really addressed some of the problems in the game, and it has really been selling fast."

In addition to the magic of Harry Potter, educational toys are still fast sellers at PlayFair Toys, a boutique shop located outside the Crossroads Mall. Store manager Jay Heimgartner said that Stomp Rockets and Hop Balls were the strong sellers, adding that no one product stood out as a top seller in the store's toddler section. Heimgartner did say that the Lego Potter sets and other tie-ins were selling out almost immediately and added that he was expecting similar sales when the Lord of the Ring products arrived.

A stretch of coastline along eastern Florida that surrounds Cape Canaveral—renowned space shuttle launch site—comprises the appropriately named "Space Coast." The largest employers in the area are the military, NASA and other space-related companies. Families and retirees are plentiful and several small cities dot the beach and mainland. Mass market stores, big box retailers and specialty toy stores are well represented.

Competing mass marketers in Indialantic and Indian Harbour Beach, as well as Toys R Us and KB Toys in Melbourne reported selling out of Mattel's Barbie VW Beetle. Other Barbie winners included the Karaoke, ATM, Cash Register and Princess Bride items. Another common sell-out was the LeapFrog Learning Stations and books. "The Leap Pad is selling amazingly well. We can hardly keep them in stock!" said one mega-retailer representative. "Any toys that have to do with the military or rescue are also selling well right now, and anything Tony Hawk, especially the remote-controlled figure by Tyco RC," she added.

All major retailers unanimously reported selling out of the Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft Xbox systems. "We couldn't keep them in the store. We had no idea they would move that fast," said Cindy Cox, manager of KB Toys. Another unanimous high-seller: any Tony Hawk game for all systems (prices ranged from $19.99 to $59.00). Nintendo's Luigi's Mansion and LucasArts' Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II for GameCube were also selling well along with solid performer EA Sports' Madden 2002 and Activision's Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX games. Retailers said Sony's PlayStation 1 and 2 games were still the biggest sellers but predict sales for the new systems will increase as more games are released. Toys R Us Store Director Paul Rozic said Nintendo's Game Boy Advance system and games were also mega-sellers.

Across the board, Lego's Bionicle were still sold out and Hasbro's Bob the Builder merchandise, Rumble Robots (by Trendmasters) and Jakks Pacific's BattleBots continued to move steadily. A surprise at KB Toys was the quick sell-out of Hasbro's E-kara, a karaoke machine that plugs into a TV, allowing the viewer to see the words on-screen.

Multiple retailers reported that Harry Potter merchandise sales had steadily picked up the pace since the release of the movie, as did Hasbro's Monsters, Inc. items.

Owner Claire Hungerford of Beachside Toys, an independent specialty toy store in Indian Harbour Beach, reported that traditional toys and games were her top sellers. "Thomas (the Tank Engine) Trains are just flying away. Dolls, dollhouses and dress-ups are selling well and Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls by Applause are also selling," said Hungerford.

"The only toys that are really selling are Japanese action figures and Dragonball Z," said the manager of Famous Faces and Funnies, a comic book and collectibles store in Melbourne. The store orders very selectively and the manager predicted "the new Star Wars items will go through the roof when the movie comes out in May."

Diverzions in Melbourne Beach specializes in strategic thinking games. Owner Nancy Fieldman said a strong seller was the Gigamic series from France and that, "the Klutz series is a number one seller for birthday gifts. They're well-made and well-priced." Other hot sellers included Cranium, Traffic Jam and Rush Hour by Binary Arts, jigsaw puzzles and traditional games like dominos, backgammon and the Brio series. Also popular were lighted globes, which Fieldman attributed to current world events.

The post Sept. 11 environment was still having a negative impact on business in late fall. Nevertheless, products like Ty's red/white/blue bears, Lego's and Hasbro's Star Wars figures and construction toys from Rokenbok and Geo-Mags, an Italian producer, made the short list of orders. Squaresoft's Final Fantasy X for PS2 was also making the order books.

That the September tragedies hammered sales was hardly challenged by toy stores. While an owner whose store is near the San Francisco airport was clearly distressed by the recession and by the events of Sept. 11, a Los Angeles-based toy retailer pointed out that although his downtown L.A. store was suffering from a dearth of Japanese tourists, his two outlying stores were enjoying higher traffic from local visitors.

At the same time, a Hollywood-based comic book store said he believed Sept. 11 helped sales. "People now stay home and read books such as Marvel's Heroes book," a store spokesman contended, "because, for one thing, it features firefighters and rescue workers."

A Ravensburger puzzle that spotlighted the Twin Towers and the Statue of Liberty sold out for a Palo Verde toy store that is optimistic about construction toys. Other current sellers, related an executive, were Lego's Bionicle and Learning Curve's Thomas the Tank Engine ensemble.

Business had brightened somewhat for the L.A.-based store, however, with November's arrival of Hasbro's plush figures from the film, Monsters, Inc. Additional successful arrivals, recounted an executive, were Lego's Harry Potter line and Mattel's Harry Potter action figures. Ty's Beanie Babies, Rokenbok, Lego's Bionicle— if you can get it—and Lego's and Hasbro's Bob the Builder products completed his current best-seller list.

Meanwhile, a San Mateo toy store that regards the San Francisco Airport as a neighbor, listed Bob the Builder lines from Hasbro, Lego and Brio as current movers. Kettler's tricycles and Little Tikes' outdoor products such as playhouses and ride-ons were also included on his top sellers list as were art materials, namely crayons from Binney & Smith.

The Mendacino Village toy store owner, who figures that 90 percent of his customers are tourists, described Lights Camera Interaction!'s wooden puzzles and LeapFrog's Leap Pad as leaders. Still others were Brio's wooden, magnetic trains, Breyer horses and Gund plush, above all, bears.

Ty's Beanie Babies and Mattel's Hot Wheels assortments led current sellers for the store near LAX. Further movers were Brio's wooden trains and Lego construction sets, including Life on Mars and Star Wars.

This retailer was hoping that her American-flag colored bears would arrive before Christmas, but a west Los Angeles video game store knew that its long-awaited Final Fantasy X game for PlayStation 2 would not emerge until January.

Four other games for the Sony console, a spokesman continued, were Grand Theft Auto 3 from Rockstar Games and Capcom's Devil May Cry and Ace Combat 4 from Namco (all at $49.99). Konami's creepy Silent Hill 2 was also selling well, noted a spokesperson for a Pasadena sister store. The first spokesperson suggested Doom from id Software for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance. He said Halo from Microsoft is a good bet for that company's new Xbox.

The Hollywood comic book store that maintains the September attacks boosted business, meanwhile, pointed to Marvel's mini busts of Captain America as top performers. Ditto for its Spider-Man mini busts.

Bachmann's Harry Potter Hogwarts Express and LGB's Christmas train set, in the meantime, were November highlights for a Burbank model train store. Two others were the Lionel train set and MTH's starter set. As for the future, a spokesperson predicted that more model train sets will be O-scale, like the ones mentioned above.