Toy cash registers

The toy 'giants'—the industry's 50 largest retailers—outpaced the industry in sales for 2001 according to exclusive research by PLAYTHINGS magazine. The giants had combined 2001 sales of $29.6 billion, a 7.7 percent increase over the group's 2000 sales. Retail sales of toys, dolls and games as a whole increased by 6.3 percent according to Commerce department figures.

Sales in the discount channel grew faster than the Top 50; 9.1 percent over 2000. Led by the retailing behemoth Wal-Mart, discount department stores in the ranking (Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, Meijer, Ames, ShopKo, Big Lots, Fred Meyer, T.J. Maxx/Marshalls, Kohl's, Family Dollar, Tuesday Morning and Dollar Tree Stores) had $13.8 billion in toy sales in 2001, nearly half of the Top 50 total.

While Build-a-Bear Workshop had a spectacular year and KB Toys outpaced the rest of the Top 50 by a good margin, 2001 was a struggle for the other five toy specialists—TRU, FAO Schwarz, Learning Express, Vermont Teddy Bear and Family Toy. As a group, the seven toy specialists on the list totaled $9.2 billion in sales—the same as in 2000.

The popularity of video and computer games among youngsters was borne out by the whopping 34.5 percent increase in sales among the entertainment and electronic specialists (GameStop, Electronics Boutique, Best Buy, Circuit City, Musicland and RadioShack) on the list. Spurred on by Sony's Playstation 2 and Nintendo's GameBoy Advance, this channel comprised 11 percent of the Top 50's sales.

Direct-to-consumer retailers (Mattel, Toysrus.com, QVC, Fingerhut, Amazon.com, Avon, Discovery Toys and Lillian Vernon) also had their problems in 2001, posting only a 4.8 percent increase over 2000 sales.

The top five, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, KB Toys, Kmart and Target, accounted for nearly three-fourths of the giants' sales and garnered $21.0 billion in 2001 toy sales.

While the Top 50 experienced a 7.7 percent increase in sales, several players out-performed the list, having a stellar year. Build-A-Bear Workshop, ranked at number 21, led with 199 percent sales growth in 2001. Its enormous success was due to the opening of 30 new stores, bringing its year-end count to 70 units. Build-A-Bear continued its growth spurt in 2002, opening its 101^st store this past October.

Proving that the Internet as a retail vehicle still holds promise, Toysrus.com also fared well with its new combination site, posting a 54 percent increase.

Also in the fast-growing category are GameStop, with a 48 percent increase and Circuit City, with a 40 percent increase. Both specialize in electronic games.

New to the Top 50 this year is Vermont Teddy Bear, ranked at number 49, with 2001 toy sales of $38 million. The Shelburne, Vt., retailer manufactures and sells its handcrafted teddy bears through two factory stores, catalogs and online. Another newcomer to the Top 50 is Rider's Hobby Shops at number 50. This regional toy and hobby shop, which is based in Ann Arbor, Mich., sold $33 million in 2001 toy sales and added five new stores.

Several retailers are absent from this year's Top 50 list. They include eToys, now part of KB Toys; Zany Brainy, now part of FAO, formerly known as The Right Start. Lost to bankruptcy were Bradlees, Play Co. Toys & Entertainment and Store of Knowledge.

Next year the ranking will lose two more because of bankruptcy woes: Ames Department Stores and Family Toy. Stay tuned to see who will take their places.

To purchase the complete report, including the Top 50 retailers, with detailed notes for each retailer, the fastest-growing retailer and an alphabetical listing of the Top 50, please go to www.playthings.com for more information.