Toys bubble over

Unless otherwise noted, all prices listed are retail prices.

It may the smallest state in the country, but kids are clearly big on toys in Rhode Island. This area of New England is still experiencing a Groovy Girls craze, as young females continue to flock to stores for the newest dolls and accessories in Manhattan Toy's line. At the same time, many area retailers attest to a surge in the board games category and told PLAYTHINGS that shoppers are in search for more products that foster family time.

At mass market

Bubbles are big business at KB Toy Works in Cranston this spring. The store manager pointed to such top-selling items as Funrise's Bubble Blower and Imperial's Miracle Bubbles, which were positioned front and center. He told PLAYTHINGS that Hasbro's Zoids are continuing to sell strong, as are Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards from Upper Deck. Interestingly enough, he remarks, boys and girls alike favor these collectible cards.

Doll sales have slowed down noticeably at this KB, especially since Bratz came on the scene, the store manager continued. "We sell more of these dolls than Barbies," he admits, pointing out that Cloe is one of the more popular characters in MGA's line. Of Mattel's famous fashion doll, the Happy Family line does well for this store.

R/C cars are hot purchases especially during spring and summer, said the store manager. He noted that Jet Stream by Manley Toy Quest is a favorite with young boys. They also can't seem to get enough of Hasbro's Beyblade tops, which, he reveals, the store can hardly keep in stock.

In the infant/preschool sector, Fisher-Price is the brand of choice. He said that Rescue Heroes are quite popular, as are vehicles from the Little People line ("We sell more of them than the playsets.")

At Wal-Mart in Warwick's Rhode Island Mall, Lego's Creator series was positioned on an end cap and on sale for $19.97. Also selling well were the Lego Sports line, featured on dedicated shelf space. Three young boys were eyeing these NBA collectible figures, priced at $7.88 and excitedly discussing which ones they wanted to buy. Also in this section were Bionicles—continuing to sell well—and Lego Racers playsets featuring two cars. These toys were priced at $13.82 and $38.88, respectively.

LeapFrog commands a strong presence at this retail location. On another end cap were the LeapStart Learning Table at $39.98 and the Quantum Leap-Pad at $48.88. Just around the corner, other assorted products produced by this company were on display, including the LeapFrog Bake a Shape Sorter at $14.83.

A host of toys bearing the Kid Connection name—a Wal-Mart brand—dominated the aisles. Select items included: a Sing Along CD Playset, bearing a striking resemblance to a similar product by Chicco, and marked down to $10, as well as the Wooden Building Set, which looked like a Lincoln Logs product, and reduced to $14.88. The Kid Connection brand spanned other categories, including R/C boats, nature discovery playsets and even jack-in-the-boxes. In the infant/preschool aisle, the name lent itself to a range of musical items, early learning toys and electronic playthings, and product was nestled alongside the likes of items from Fisher-Price and Playskool.

In specialty stores

At Juggles of East Greenwich, Groovy Girls continue to dominate the scene. Store owner Idanna Smith noted that while they are not as hot as when the dolls first hit the market, they continue to drive sales. Case in point, on the day that PLAYTHINGS visited this store, Juggles had hosted a themed arts-and-crafts activity and offered shoppers 20 percent off Groovy Girl purchases.

Smith has noticed a tremendous surge in the board games arena, a trend that is fueled not only by families spending more time at home together these days, but by local schools conducting game playing as part of classwork. "They use the games as tools for teaching strategy," she explained.

As such, Juggles conducts a game loaning program in which kids can take a new game home for five days and play with it at no charge. "It works really well [in terms of sales] because the teachers recommend the games and parents are happy that these items are being used in school," she adds. Top-selling picks include Rush Hour Traffic Jam Puzzle from Binary Arts (now Think Fun) and Gobblet from Blue Orange, which the local junior high uses in the classroom.

After games, infant toys are the second strongest category for Juggles, especially in the last year or two, notes Smith. "Customers that grew up with us are now having babies of their own," she explains. Strong sellers include items in both the Tolo and I.Q. Baby lines from Small World Toys, the Early Years line from International Playthings and the Lamaze collection from Learning Curve. "The new packaging and colors are wonderful," she enthused of the latter.

This time of year, outdoor toys are usually tops at Juggles, but because of a cool Easter, weatherwise, Smith is waiting to see that category pick up. Top items include Brio's brightly-hued pails and shovels, assorted kits from Go Fly a Kite and balls from International Playthings featuring creative designs, like one decked out in fish and covered in a real net.

In the playsets arena, Playmobil is a favorite among shoppers and continues to do well for the store. While Juggles carries a comprehensive line of product, the new Viking ship and castle are current best sellers. "We also tend to sell a lot more of their boats because of our location [near the water]," Smith told PLAYTHINGS. Like many independent shops, Juggles has dedicated real estate for both Brio's Bob the Builder and Learning Curve's Thomas the Tank Engine railway systems. Smith revealed that while sales of the larger components have been relatively slow as of late, the Thomas cars are still popular. She does not see many new customers for Bob as much as she once did.

Arts-and-crafts kits have held their own at Juggles, including Creativity for Kids' take-along travel-sized sets for tweens and Dr. Seuss-themed kits for younger boys and girls. When PLAYTHINGS visited the store, plans for a Mother's Day event centered on a design-your-own-flowerpot theme were being finalized.

Similar to Juggles, games were doing well also at nearby Toys Ahoy in Barrington. Top picks include Rush Hour Traffic Jam Puzzle from Binary Arts (now Think Fun) and Rat-a-Tat Cat and Slamwich both from Gameright.

According to sales associates, outdoor toy sales have been very hot as of late and are expected to continue throughout the summer. Specifically, kites from Go Fly a Kite, balls from International Playthings and Bubbler Tumblers from Little Kids are all the rage.

In the dolls category, Groovy Girls are a perennial best seller. According to sales associates, the dolls and clothes tend to sell more than the furniture does. "We sell at least three items a day in the Groovy line," said a sales associate. She also notes that sales in the Corolle line had died down as of late, and that Toys Ahoy used to carry Madame Alexander. Currently, Small World Toys' All About Baby brand is doing exceptionally well.

Wooden toys command noteworthy attention at Toys Ahoy. The store's sales associate says that Ryan's Room is a particularly strong brand across the board, as is the Melissa and Doug brand of puzzles. "Woodkins had leveled off for us, but since more and more people began asking for them again, we're going to be re-stocking them soon," she says of the PDI brand.

Toys Ahoy also has great success with Maxim's Tumble Tree House. "We had initially positioned it at the register and kids came in the store and played with it," the sales clerk tells PLAYTHINGS . "We sold the five units we had in stock very quickly."

Consumers who drop by any toy store in Madison, be it specialty or mass market, find very few similarities in what's selling and what's on display. Making generalities in this market can be a dangerous thing! Retailers here chalk it up to the fact that customers in Madison tend to be diehard loyalists to their store of choice. Plus, customers have different tastes and desires that store owners must keep up with.

At mass market

It's easy to tell it is almost summer here when walking into the local Toys R Us: Inflatable and plastic swimming pools, sand toys and bubble toys greet customers in the front quadrant of the store. The manager says the Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants inflatable pools by Kidz Kraze are selling well at $19.99.

It was also Bike Month at Toys R Us when PLAYTHINGS visited, so all bikes were on sale and assembly at an additional cost of $10 was available along with a one-year warranty. Barbie and Disney models were doing well, but Rescue Heroes was slowing down after selling well in the spring. Inline skates from Variflex, Fisher-Price and Disney, along with an assortment of balls—namely, basketballs from Baden and Spalding, 34" Bigens Yellow Play Ball from Sport Fun and Grow to Pro Basketball from Fisher-Price—were also prominently displayed and selling well.

Aside from summer gear, the new Nintendo GameBoy Advance SP, $99.99, with a backlit screen is blowing out of the store. The stores receives 12 units a week and sells them all within a couple days.

Yu-Gi-Oh! from Upper Deck is still a top draw at TRU: The front corner near the cash wrap is dedicated to booster and starter card decks, action figures and game accessories. "It's the No. 1 thing guests ask for when they walk in," a manager says. Deluxe Starter Sets are $24.99; action figures are $3.99 for small and $7.99 for large sizes.

Hasbro's Trivial Pursuit 20^th Anniversary Edition, $34.99, was displayed on an end cap, and the manager said it has been a very strong seller since before Christmas. This store doesn't even stock the traditional Trivial Pursuit anymore because of the popularity of this edition.

While Hulk movie merchandise is doing well, customers are already looking for Finding Nemo products in advance of the Disney movie's premiere. Plus, 200 pre-sell orders had already been placed for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on VHS and DVD.

Meanwhile, in the "pets" section, ThinkWay Toy's Neopets, as well as Hasbro/Tiger Electronics' FurReal Friends and FurReal Kittens, are all favorites with shoppers.

At Wal-Mart, prices were up to 10 percent and 20 percent less than at TRU. Missing from the lineup were Yu-Gi-Oh cards and summer gear.

But Finding Nemo was making a big splash—apparently, the products surrounding this movie were shipped to Wal-Mart before TRU. Nite-Brite Nemo, a plush item whose eyes light up when he's squeezed, was selling for $23.73. Plush Nemo, Dory and Squirt were $9.88 and three sets of plastic figurines from Hasbro were $9.88 each. Since Wal-Mart was the only place in town with stocked product, they were selling well.

Other entries from the entertainment world were also flying off shelves: X-Men United actions figures were priced at $6.77 and Battle Action Nightcrawler or Wolverine at $16.42. These were displayed along with an array of Hulk movie merchandise, like the Electronic Rage Cage for $23.74 and Smash & Go Hulk with Tank Smashing Action or with Punching Action for $6.54. All were from Toy Biz, licensed by Marvel.

Other movers included a special Zoids 4-piece Value Pack from Hasbro for $9.97, Spring Break Blitz style of Lil' Bratz by MGA Entertainment for $9.88 and Trivial Pursuit 20^th Anniversary Edition at $29.96.

In specialty stores

At The Learning Shop, a six-store chain of teaching supply/specialty toy stores, there was almost a complete absence of licensed or movie-related merchandise. The top sellers included: sidewalk chalk and jump ropes; Thomas the Tank Roundhouse from Learning Curve; Live Butterfly Pavilion from Insect Lore (demonstrating live pupae about to transform at the cash wrap—very exciting!) at $29.99; Apples to Apples and Apples to Apples Jr. from Out of the Box Publishing at $16.99 and $10.99, respectively; and Hand-y Tees from Access Wear at $14.99.

The tees are preprinted with Best Mom/Dad/Grandma/Grandpa In The World declarations, and the kid(s) can apply the included paint to their hands and make their "mark" on the T-shirts.

At UTOYpia, the discounts were significant as compared with most specialties, and much of the store's business is now done through UTOPYpia's Web site. Best sellers included: Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards; Design 2 and 20-Model sets from Erector priced at $23.95 and $31.95, respectively; Thomas the Tank Round-house from Learning Curve; Plan's new City Station Set, $67.95 and Playmobil's Viking Longboat for $31.95.

At Playthings, another specialty shop (with no relation to this publication!), top sellers were: Papo Knights and Castles from Hotaling Imports; Schleich rubber animals; assorted fingerpuppets from Manhattan Toy; costume, novelty, birthday candle and cake, wizard, princess hats from Jacobson Hat Co., Inc. and Elope; and water yo-yos from Schylling.