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.

With no sales tax, Portland is a haven for commerce where a specialty gift shop or toy store can be found on just about any corner. According to Margaret James, the store manager at Child's Play, fairy products by Manhattan Toy and Folkmanis Puppets are going through a cooling off period but Z-cards by California Creations are really hot! She said, "Books in general are great add-on purchases and Groovy Girl dolls do very well." She also added that Ryan's Room Dollhouse by Small World Toys is a big seller.

Here's a toy store name you don't hear everyday: Dr. Tongues 3D House of Collectible Toys. Second City fans might understand where this is coming from. For those who aren't familiar, Mark Tedersen, store owner, was a big fan of the old Second City play on horror shows and opted to use the name for his store. The Web site explains it all: drtonguestoys.com. Tedersen told PLAYTHINGS Simpson's figures by Playmates have been hot since the beginning. He also noted that Funko Wacky Wobblers, a version of bobble head dolls, around since 1989, are still selling well. Tedersen said, "I believe the longevity of the fad is due to the parallel marketing idea, similar to what Ty did with Beanie Babies, where they introduce characters for a short period of time and then retire them." These characters have names like Stinky Fink, Freaky Tiki, Funny Face, etc. Lastly, Tedersen commends his Japanese imports for high volume sales of Kubrick figures by Medicom. He said, "they look like Lego but involve licensed figures from Reservoir Dogs, Amelie, Planet of the Apes, as well as other licenses."

According to Excalibur Books and Comics storeowner Peter Fagnant, the hottest selling comic books are still Ultimate Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man by Marvel Comics. Toys R Us store manager Tony Ngo, confirmed Super-Man is still going strong as Toy Biz's Spider-Man Web Blaster is currently one of the toughest items to keep in stock. Four-year industry veteran, Ngo gave us a glimpse into what he has seen happening this year so far. He said, "Last year it was all about robotic animals. But this year we have gotten away from that and have yet to really identify any specific trend. There has been nothing to indicate one thing or another is happening." He did substantiate that PlayStation 2 was in the lead for video systems with Xbox and GameCube following behind. He also indicated that Madden NFL 2003 by EA Sports was the game to own for PS2 while the highly anticipated Super Mario Sunshine by Nintendo, just introduced, was hot, hot, hot for GameCube. He noted the new E-Reader has sparked sales for Game Boy Advance. "It is the ability to play through cartridge-less games just by swiping a card," quipped Ngo. Finally, Ngo believes the Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards are doing much better than the add-on line of Yu-Gi-Oh toys.

Mass market retailer, KB Toys store manager Ashley Rix, gave credit to Transformers and Play-Doh by Hasbro, Barbie and Hot Wheels by Mattel, Fisher-Price Rescue Heroes and Hasbro's Star Wars action figures as top sellers this month. Specialty shop Finnegan's Toys said Lego, Brio Trains, Thomas the Tank, and Playmobil are their biggest selling items.

Boston means New England winters, and long winters mean customers are looking for holiday toys that will go the distance. For toys that will entertain for countless hours of indoor play, specialty stores are looking to fantasy toys such as Papo figures and mass retailers are stocking up board games. Meanwhile, comic stores are awaiting new Superman and Batman products by DC Direct coming out for 2003 with about as much patience as kids waiting for the holidays to arrive.

FAO Schwarz turns the store into a winter wonderland of toys by stocking up on necessities in every category and a variety of new items. "Everyone comes in looking for classic board games," said Kerry D'Arrigo, predicting good sales of board games all around. She adds that FAO's own exclusive products will be holiday sellers.

For the younger crowd D'Arrigo points to new Olivia products such as backpacks and change purses as hot sellers. "Olivia was huge last year but should be even hotter this year with all the new products," she said. Cassandra Miller, manager of specialty store Henry Bear's Park agrees with D'Arrigo, pointing to the new Olivia plush by Gund and the Olivia Saves the Circus book, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, on the shelves. Both Miller and D'Arrigo also expect that Spybotics by Lego and the Screamin' Serpent Roller Coaster by K'nex will be popular with the older crowd.

When PLAYTHINGS visited Henry Bear's Park recently, Miller said that fantasy items like Papo figures, with characters such as knights and Robin Hood, Playmobil sets, especially the Pirate set, and Harry Potter merchandise have been popular with the Newton Centre crowd. For fantasy play with a technological twist, Miller carries Undercover Girl spy kits by Wild Planet. Especially popular right now are the Secret Listener and Talk Time kits.

Because of the huge success of Manhattan Toys' Groovy Girls merchandise, Henry Bear's Park planned a fall Groovy Girls Pajama Party. From 7 to 9 pm the store was closed to shoppers but open to kids invited to show up in their pjs, sing karaoke, make "groovy" munchies and play games. For post-party fun Miller stocked items from the new Groovy Girls child-sized furniture line during the winter.

In the pop culture center that is Harvard Square, Matt Reyes, manager of New England Comics is excited about long-awaited Superman and Batman action figures by DC Direct coming out this winter. Reyes predicts the Batman and Robin two figure pack "with the old fashioned look" will be a hit in his store. While sales of Spider-Man figures by Toy Biz have died down somewhat, Reyes believes the new additions to the Superman and Batman lines that will debut in the coming months, such as Supergirl and various villains, will carry these characters' sales long into the spring. Reyes is also packing the shelves with current customer favorites such as Simpsons figures and play sets by Playmates and the latest series of Authority figures by DC Direct.

Kazuki Takahashi, one of Japan's foremost comic artists, gave life to a comic character named Yu-Gi-Oh in 1996. The animated version spawned a mania in Japan in 2000 boosting record sales. 4Kids Entertainment brought the popular property to the United States in 2001 and Upper Deck earned the right to distribute the card game that took over the Pokémon craze. It's all true. Pikachu has stepped down and Yugi and his friends have taken over the card collecting throne. Since March 2002, toy stores throughout the United States are having a difficult time keeping Yu-Gi-Oh product in stock. Why should Chicago be any different? It's not! Galt Toys, FAO Schwarz, KB Toys as well as Toys R Us listed Yu-Gi-Oh at the top of their hit list this year. Rich Sternickle, store manager at Toys R Us said, "The popularity of the card game is due to the high degree of strategy involved, a strategy that surpasses Pokémon."

Tantamount to the familiarity toys stores have with Yu-Gi-Oh is the knowledge that this Nov. 14 marks the 100^th anniversary of the teddy bear. According to Katie McKay, general manager at FAO Schwarz, this anniversary has increased sales of "the best mohair bears in the world, made by Steiff." She said, "Steiff and Gund collectible bears have been very popular with adult collectors and Gund's line of children's plush bears are quite popular as well." Minya Oh, store owner of Galt Toys, however believes, "Our strong sales of Steiff bears is not so much about the anniversary but more to the fact that we have taken the Steiff bears out of their glass case display and put them on the shelves where buyers can actually touch them and fall in love." Oh said her sales in the infant category have been very high including product made by Manhattan Toy, Meyer Group and Sassy.

Tony Rivera, store manager at The Right Start, agreed that the infant category was where the action is and he listed a plethora of good choices for the coming season. Fisher-Price Finger Paints for 9 months and up? "It's a gel screen that works similar to Magna Doodle. When the infant touches the screen a burst of color appears as well as musical sounds and a side slide bar clears the slate for another turn at making music as well as art," explained Rivera. Anything from Mister Whoozit by Manhattan Toy, Tiny Love 3-D Activity Gym, Music Blocks by Neurosmith, Tomy's Ball Party, Fisher- Price's IntelliTable and Chicco's CD Player were all at the top of Rivera's bestsellers list.

Rivera noted that even classic wooden toys in the baby category were making a comeback, such as wooden beads and wooden shape sorters. McKay agreed, "Today's trend is towards the classics: Lego building blocks, wooden toys and traditional board games like Scrabble, Backgammon and Chess." What about classic dolls? Galt Toys said Alexander and Corolle dolls were good sellers while KB Toys noted MGA Entertainment's Bratz Dolls as a hot property. Still, Toys R Us and FAO Schwarz put Mattel's Barbie as Rapunzel at the top of their list.

Remember the holiday season of Tickle Me Elmo? Well, according to Latisha Nance, store manager at KB Toys, "Anything Elmo, and our customers are buying it." She said Sing and Snore Pooh is getting his share of attention as well. Speaking of holiday seasons, Abe Blumberger, owner of Jewish Educational Toys, said, "This is our biggest selling time of the year, the Hanukkah season." Jewish Educational Toys (jewisheducationaltoys.com) manufactures and distributes its own line of toy novelties for Hanukkah. "All types of dreidles, Hanukkah necklaces, coloring books and craft kits do very well for us this time of year."