They said it last year

During the year Playthings has the opportunity to chat with many industry figures. We call upon retailers, manufacturers, or anyone who has an interesting opinion, story or idea regarding the toy industry. Here are a few interesting responses to questions posed by the editors of Playthings in 2004.

January, 2004

Playthings: Can you think of a period during the past two decades when the toy industry was in as fragile condition as it is today?

Joe Diaz, president of Learning Express: Learning Express has been in the toy industry since 1987, and we have not seen anything that approaches the current conditions. The combination of retail consolidation, a poor economy, hypermarkets and price clubs selling for under cost, high retail rents, and the lack of hot toys, are all factors that have made profitability a challenge for even the best-run stores.

Playthings: Can retailers “grow” in this environment?

JD: This question is somewhat difficult to answer because there is such diversity among retailers. Certainly, there will be small retailers who are doing a great job and are in the right location, who will continue to grow. Others will not be able to overcome the pricing practices of Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us.

In spite of the challenging environment, we opened 12 Learning Express stores in 2003 and we expect to open 20 new stores in 2004. We have learned a lot from the past three difficult years, and we will open smaller footprint stores with as much uniquely wonderful product as possible.

Learning Express stores will offer the best selection, customer service and convenience possible, but we will also be careful to provide value to the growing segment of the population for whom finding a bargain is essential.

May, 2004

Playthings: How does Hallmark's toy selection differ from traditional toy stores? Is it through product exclusives or some other premium?

Caryn Cato, specialty retail group buyer for Hallmark Cards: Hallmark's SRG is always looking for exclusive product, and we work closely with our vendors to develop these on an ongoing basis.

For example, the Hallmark Gold Crown stores currently have an exclusive Beanie Baby from Ty. This piece is being promoted via the Hallmark Gold Crown mailer, which arrived in homes on April 15.

June, 2004

Playthings: As a toy buyer, what things do you look for in a new item? How many new SKUs do you typically order per buying season?

Karen Smith, buyer for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store: We look for quality and family-oriented items, such as Dream Pets from Applause and Wooly Willy. Both of these items were popular in the early 1960s. So many of our guests stop in their tracks when they see these on our shelves. We want our toys to create what we call the “Aww Effect.” That's when a guest walks by the display and says “Aww, I remember that when I was a kid!”

We try to add new items for each of our seasons. We're not so focused on a number, but more on what's a good fit with our brand. The common thread for our toys is that they bring back memories of playtimes past.

September, 2004

Playthings: In 1999, when you began manufacturing the magnetic rods and balls, it was a rather unusual product. How did you get the market to accept the concept?

Edoardo Tusacciu, president of PlastWood: Well, people really couldn't understand the product, so I knew I needed a marketing plan and to advertise. I entered into a partnership to prepare a $200,000 TV campaign. I mortgaged my house to the ad agency and money came from the cork factory [the family's business in Sardinia]. Some help did come from our vendors, though, through credit and agreements for longer payment terms, which was very helpful. We came to Toy Fair in February 2000 and had a small booth—Sharper Image was one of our first customers. At the time, we had one machine manufacturing 6,000 rods per day. Today we manufacture 1.5 million rods per day. But in two months following Toy Fair, the first “copies” of our product appeared on the market; we were being knocked-off.

Playthings: What are the challenges of marketing in the United States?

ET: It is a difficult market. The biggest concern consumers have is to get the best price. But this is the most important and biggest market in the world. It's the leader. If a product works here, it will work anywhere. So far our focus has been on the specialty market, but we want to go into the mass. It is important to us, of course, to choose a way so that specialty will not be hurt. In 2005, we want to be in all shops in the United States.

October, 2004

Playthings: How did you get started in the business of kid's programming?

Josh Selig, Emmy-winning children's TV writer: I began my career in preschool television as a child-actor on “Sesame Street.” I was three years old and I used to tell my friends at school that Big Bird was just as nice in person as he was on TV. I returned to Sesame Street in my early twenties, first as a writer, then as a filmmaker, and finally as a producer for Sesame Street International. Now I am forty, and I make preschool shows of my own through my Tribeca-based production company, Little Airplane Productions. I still believe in Big Bird, and I know firsthand that great preschool shows can change a child's life. They certainly changed mine.

November, 2004

(Sir Paul McCartney, who recently had his children's animated shorts—Tales of Wonder: Music and Animation Classics Presented by Sir Paul McCartney—re-released by Pixar, discusses doing future children's videos)

Scott Hettrick, chief editor of Video Business, sister publication of Playthings: Would you be interested in working on a feature film project with Pixar or DreamWorks or Disney?

Sir Paul McCartney: Sure, yeah. Definitely. I mean, our big man has always been Harvey Weinstein. He has had a great faith in Geoff (Dunbar) and what he calls our signature style. He's really always for years—since we made the first “Rupert” thing—he's always been calling us and I've become quite a good friend of his, you know, over the years. Someone like he, I think would be pretty keen to work with us. So, you know, I think we'd hook up with somebody to do it.