What's Selling

If you're a retailer and would like to take part in PLAYTHINGS' monthly survey of what's selling, e-mail the editors at dgerardi@reedbusiness.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all prices listed below are retail prices.

In a city boasting 4 million people, more than 100 different nationalities, 8,778 sq. miles of land, Houston, the city capable of putting man on the moon, doesn't have a problem when it comes to locating specialty gift or mass retail toy stores. The only trouble comes in knowing where to begin shopping in this diverse metropolitan melting pot.

Nancy Neville, manager at Child's Play Toys (www.childsplaystore.com) said, "At this time of year, it is the Air Pogo that no child can live without." Air Pogo designed by Air Pogo, Inc. is best described as a pogo on a rope. When hung from a tree it gives kids a bounce in the air instead of on the pavement and it is hot, hot, hot at Child's Play Toys. Neville added Magz and Mega Magz, the geometric magnetic toy by Progressive Trading, Binary Arts travel games, Wild Planet pool toys, Klutz books and Beam-o as big sellers this time of year. "Of course, Thomas the Tank engine is always a hot staple for us," said Neville.

Charlie Romo, manager at KB Toys said, "On the top of my hot sellers list is Hasbro's Star Wars Episode II. After that, it's all about fun in the sun with backyard pools." The 144-inch diameter octagon Neighborhood Swim Center retailing for $69.99 topped the pool choice list, followed by Color Whirl Swim Center Pool retailing for $14.99 and finally the 76-inch Dinosaur Spray Pool at $19.99 (all by Intex). Rounding out choice toys at KB Toys were Sony PS2 memory cards and Toy Biz Spider-Man figures.

FAO Schwarz manager, Jose Cintro agreed that Toy Biz Spider-Man and Hasbro Star Wars Episode II figures made his top 10 list, although, he had Spider-Man taking the lead ahead of Star Wars. Cintro noted that Fisher- Price's Grow to Pro series has taken off with summer weather well underway. With the release of Warner Brothers' Scooby Doo The Movie, Daphne Barbie is on the top of the Barbie must have list at FAO. Cintro added that he has noticed a trend towards higher sales of preschool items but was surprised by the lack of sales from Manhattan Toys' new Dr. Suess line.

Toys R Us manager, Gwenn Jones claims, "Everyone is asking for Upper Deck's Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards, Spider-Man, and Star Wars Episode II figures." She said, "The hot movie right now is, of course, Harry Potter, and video games are going through their big mark-down clearance to get ready for the holidays."

Trudy's Hallmark looks at toy sales from the collector's perspective. Sales Associate Jeannie Appelget said Ty Beanie Baby bears were number one but homegrown Christian teddy bear manufacturer, HolyBears, closely followed them. "HolyBears special occasion bears and 'God Bless our School' bears do very well for us," said Appelget. Big Foot Animals by Brewster and Baby Gund items also top the plush sales lists.

Mitzi Davis, owner of Mitzi's Gift Shoppe agreed that hometown favorite HolyBears was, "definitely popular, especially the Armed Forces series and God Bless Texas bear." Davis added, "Anything Angel, especially Ganz's Angel Cat as well as anything USA, are making the top 10 list of sales." Davis continued, "Believe it or not, Ganz monkeys are a hot commodity. Recently, a (developer) came in and bought several to decorate with." Overall, Davis had this to say, "I believe that 9-11 was a wake-up call to the consumer. It awakened them to how much they already have. People are more inclined to buy only what they need and will always buy for the children but are very particular about their purchases." Davis noted that the doll market seemed a little quieter these days. She said, "I think little girls are more into sports and not so much into dolls anymore." —Jacki Ralph

Across the pond many toys on the shelves look familiar, but there are some local items that find favor among U.K. kids. Last month in the countryside town of Knutsford, situated in Manchester's commuter belt, Spider-Man figures from Toy Biz and Beyblade tops from Hasbro were among the top sellers at the specialty retailer Hal Whittaker. Proprietor Ken Andrew said they also do a nice catalog business selling trampolines—in sizes they couldn't house in the store. Otherwise, nothing has been completely selling out. While Spidey was having a good summer, Star Wars items languished on the shelves except for light-sabers. Andrew added that Brio and Plan Toys wood sets are continuing to sell well. "If you can get the price right," he said, "people will always buy wood over plastic."

Boasting the second largest mall in Europe, Manchester has become a mecca for shoppers in Northern England, and toys are no exception. With several toy and hobby stores in the suburban Trafford Center, as well as the only Shelfridges outlet outside of London, consumers are able to find just about anything their hearts desire. Toy World, a major U.K. chain, greeted customers with a nearly life-size Harry Potter crafted from Lego blocks and displayed the latest Lego Star Wars: Attack of the Clones sets in the store window. The early summer season saw the store carrying Larami Super Soakers and science projects in an alternate window. Inside the medium-sized shop Barbie and Thomas and Friends took up prime real estate. Of local interest, reproductions of "Bobby" hats worn by British police were also stocked for kiddies wanting to play cops and robbers Scotland Yard-style.

Not surprisingly, at the Early Learning Center across the way, outdoor SKUs overshadowed educational items. A store representative stated that jungle gyms, soccer goals and balls (it was World Cup season, after all) were top sellers of the moment. The store also sells a lot of Bob the Builder and their private label soft toys. Other popular items included Thomas and Friends, traditional plush, wood blocks and the evergreen Mega Bloks.

In the Festival Village, a less trafficked area of the mall devoted to small specialty retailers, the Trafford Model Centre was busy selling plenty of models. "Things in this shop don't collect dust," Chris Stephens, senior sales advisor, said. The Model Centre was stocked to the brim with model cars, trains and planes of all brands and scales, with many favorites including Eddie Stobart brand models. A lot of remote control kits are sold, Stephens noted, particularly Tamiya Subaru kits. Also doing well were the Scalextric slot cars of various models, and limited edition models from the Eddie Stobart line. Prices on these models have continued to remain steady, Stephens added, due to manufacturing in China rather than Europe.

Also in the Festival Village area of the Trafford Centre, Dollies Bear-Gere carried Beanie Babies by the register. They remain good sellers for the store, despite relaxed interest in the States. While there were plenty of familiar furry faces on the shelves, the store does well with some local characters as with tourists who want to bring typically British characters home from holiday. Teletubbies were positioned in the corner at a discounted price, but other Brit favorites included Rupert, a character from a popular English cartoon series. Probably more popular among tourists than locals at this point, Paddington Bear, an old standby and often taken in by tourists who grew up reading about him, was on hand and waiting to find a new home. Martin, the store's manager, anticipated Bill & Ben (another British series gone plush) to be the next big thing.

Another bustling shop at the other end of the mall was the Bear Factory, where potential adopters can stuff, dress and even personalize bears of their very own. With plenty of models to choose from, there were several non-traditional shapes including tigers, lambs, lions and bloodhound and Dalmatian dogs. To dress them up, there were also plenty of options including a grouping of soccer outfits in various generic team colors.

In the downtown center of Manchester, the Arndale Shopping Center was quite busy, and ToyNation was a destination for many with a wide variety of action figures and collectibles. All merchandise was displayed in glass cases or on the wall, so shoppers wanting to handle possible purchases required the help of the store's busy salespeople. Though this was not much of a deterrent as plenty of bags were being filled with a variety of military 12-inch figures by bbi and Simpsons figures by Playmates.

In another corner of the Arndale Shopping Center, one of Games Workshop's own outlets was packed with hobbyists armed with paint brushes and dice. The store had a few tables dedicated to painting up recent purchases, and, once the paint dried, customers could test their armies' mettle on an assortment of terrain tables. The Arndale Games Workshop had tables crafted by the store employees, one imported from a Canadian store and a display-only table of an ominous Gothic-style building complete with fallen heroes of a recent battle.

Manchester's Forbidden Planet, a comic book and collectible destination, had an especially British flavor to it. Toys from the long running science fiction series Doctor Who were in great abundance, but the esteemed Time Lord faced competition from the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Simpsons. The most popular items, however, were tied to Spider-Man. The movie had just hit England, and fans of the Marvel comics hero were happy to get caught up in his merchandizing web. —Enid Burns