Inside Out
Maria Weiskott -- Playthings, 1/1/2004
Imitation may be considered a sincere form of flattery, but many in the toy industry might agree that it is being way overdone. The latest to try to knock off the successful Build-a-Bear Workshop concept is Wal-Mart. PLAYTHINGS has learned that the retail behemoth is experimenting with a store-within-a-store called "Buttery Soft" where stuffed toys can be assembled by consumers. Price of a creation: $7.88. One of the experimental "labs" is situated in the Rynam, Mass. Wal-Mart—which just happens to be down the street from Steiff's U.S. headquarters. Ouch…Some familiar faces return to the toy biz: George and Peter Irwin, sons of the Canadian founding toy family. The Irwin name and logo were recently registered as itoys inc.…Other lost and found items: Robin Lehnert, formerly of Brio, has formed her own online toy store, dottoys.com; Alex Fazio, who had been with Chicco, is at Briarpatch; Mike Bennis, an Alex alum, is representing Tweber; and Scott Wisner is now with CoopSport, following tenure with Simba Toys.
