Shoppers say 'aloha' to collectible cars

Unless otherwise noted, all prices listed are retail prices.

Hot sellers in Hawaii ran the gamut, as the holiday season approached, from video games to toys in assorted categories that are imported from Japan and other parts of Asia. Toys not previously stocked in Hawaii, such as Dub City and Import Racer from Jada Toys, are beginning to gain momentum at retail venues across the state.

The Muscle Machines collectible vehicles, manufactured by Funline Merchandising Co. Inc./Action Performance Companies, are popular, as are Mattel's Hot Wheels. Other hot sellers include Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards, Bandai's Gundam action figures and GLA's IQ Concept Puzzle Game.

Uniquely Hawaiian merchandise, such as Aloha Bear's 1-2-3 Wipe Clean Workbook and Hawaii ABC Book, commands a presence in the specialty niche.

At mass market

According to Tery Amano, sales manager at Toys R Us in Aiea, the current top sellers include: Hasbro's Video Now Player assortment ($49.99), Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Gift Tin ($24.99), Sony's PlayStation 2 System ($179.99), Microsoft's Xbox System Holiday Bundle ($179.99) and Hasbro's Go Go My So Real Pup ($49.99).

"We run weekly advertisements, offering merchandise at discounts through Christmas, either in store or in the local newspapers," Amano tells PLAYTHINGS. "We have exclusive products, such as Barbie and The Simpsons, which are done with manufacturers at the national level."

Toys R Us in Aiea sells a higher volume of Japanese anime merchandise, such as DragonBall Z, than the Mainland. Sales are markedly higher in Hawaii because of peaked interest specific to the islands, Amano reasons.

Lawrence Greenleaf, department manager at Wal-Mart in Waipahu, reports which toys are currently flying off shelves: The Hawaii Five-O New Bright Industrial Co. Ltd.'s remote control Hummer ($108.88), Fisher-Price's Hokey Pokey Elmo ($23.46), Hong Kong Distributors' Hulk Hands ($14.88), Mattel's Barbie Swan Lake ($16.88) and Hasbro's Video Now Player ($129.99).

Various toys are discounted at different times during the course of the year. "We have all the inventory of toys in for the approaching holiday season," Greenleaf tells PLAYTHINGS. "The specialty collectible cars, such as Muscle Machines and Hot Wheels, are selling well."

In specialty stores

"We specialize in video games, collectibles and Japanese toys," says Jason Ng, retail manager at Toys n Joys in Honolulu. Among his store's most popular picks are: The Socom Part II from Sony USA ($49.95), Gundam models (Bandai in Japan, $19.95 to $289.95), Zoids (Tomy in Japan, $14 to $89) and Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Cards (Konami, $3.95, English version; and $5.00 for two, Japanese version).

"We run specials at between 5 and 20 percent discounts," Ng says. "Our Japanese toys are unique to Hawaii." In fact, he reveals that his store receives a high volume of online orders from Japanese customers. Naruto (Bandai in Japan, $6.95 to $100), along with Transformers (Japan), are also flying off shelves. ($14.95 to $89.95).

According to Matthew Cho, operations manager at Thinker Toys in Honolulu, top sellers are: Infant Learning Company's Your Baby Can Read! Video Set ($59.95), IQ GLA's Concept Puzzle Game ($15.95), Leisure Learning's Mighty Mind Deluxe Wood ($17.95), ThinkFun's Rush Hour Traffic Jam Puzzle ($5 to $15.95) and RC2 Corp.'s Sodor Road Crew ($16.95).

Thinker Toys also sells unique Hawaiian playthings, like Aloha Bear's 1-2-3 Wipe-Clean Workbook ($4.99), Hawaii ABC Book ($26.95) and Hawaii Opposite Book ($14.95). Cho reports that USAopoly's Surfing Monopoly ($35.95) has done well for his store too.

In the City of Brotherly Love, the girls are Groovy in specialty stores, but they are most definitely Bratz at mass.

But that's not all: Spin Master's Mighty Beanz are jumping off store shelves, while in the electronic learning sector, LeapFrog's LeapPad and Fisher-Price's PowerTouch are taking off in leaps and bounds in both big box and independent retail venues.

At mass market

At Wal-Mart, the most popular toys items fill displays in the store's Toyland aisles. Finding a home in this section are: MGA Entertainment's Bratz dolls ($11.83), merchandised near the Bratz Formal Funk Limo, which is discounted to $59.88. Hasbro's Beyblades tops are declared a top seller, along with a Tonka dump truck.

The Fisher-Price PowerTouch Learning System is promoted as a top seller (reduced to $39.88), strategically positioned near LeapFrog's LeapPad Plus Writing at $48.88. In the under a dollar camp is Mattel's Hot Wheels single-car package at 67 cents, while on the big-ticket side, the John Deere off-road two-seater from Peg Perego is available at $248.78.

A Toys R Us sales associate tells PLAYTHINGS that the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game from Upper Deck is flying off the shelves, as are any Beyblades items.

All the Bratz dolls products are doing well, while sales of Hasbro's Video Now are "off the wall," she says. Mattel's Polly Pocket, along with Hokey Pokey Elmo and Learn Through Music—both items from Fisher-Price—round out the top sellers.

Hokey Pokey Elmo is also dancing his way over to the cash registers at KB Toys. In the mall, Beyblades products are strong sellers, says Mike Herman, store manager. He also tells PLAYTHINGS that Spin Master's Mighty Beanz and Hasbro's Go Go My Walkin' Pup, the latest in FurReal Friends line, are favorites with shoppers. "Anything Bratz sells well, too," he adds.

And available only at KB are the Zodiac Girlz, a line of fashion dolls that Herman points out are a proprietary product for KB. These exclusive dolls are targeted at girls ages 7-13.

In specialty stores

At Zany Brainy, (which is due to close), the LeapPad Plus Writing is a top seller, according to a store manager, as are Peek-a-Blocks preschool toys from Fisher-Price. The company's PowerTouch Learning System is showing promise, she tells PLAYTHINGS, while Manhattan Toy's Groovy Girls are in the groove. New and selling briskly are Geomag construction sets from Plastwood, one of the hottest companies she has noticed lately.

Five Below is a new chain in the Philadelphia area started by Zany Brainy co-founder David Schlessinger. Designed to appeal to older kids with their own pocket money, the stores feature an inventory of items all priced at $5 and under. Lava lamps can be had for $5, while Captain Underpants books from Scholastic are a mere $3.

According to a store clerk in one mall location, the most popular section for girls is the jewelry area in the rear of the store, featuring rubber bracelets and necklaces from Tilt Girls. Boys, on the other hand, gravitate toward such gag gifts as whoopee cushions from Fun Inc., which are positioned on the wall between the registers and the front of the store.

Michael McCredie, owner of a Learning Express strip mall franchise store, says Groovy Girls are selling well, as are Mighty Beanz collectible characters from Spin Master. "Kids ask for them every day," he says. But overall, he says, "there's nothing jammin' hot—everything is selling at a fairly even pace."