Gearing up for T.M.X. Elmo
By Cliff Annicelli -- Playthings, 9/12/2006 9:38:00 AM
PITTSFIELD, Mass. and WAYNE, N.J.—Fisher-Price’s still-top-secret 10th anniversary version of Tickle Me Elmo will be unveiled to the public next week and toy retailers KB Toys and Toys “R” Us are reading their stores for the expected demand.
In preparation for T.M.X., Elmo's arrival, KB Toys is holding shelf space aside for its order of furry friends and has touted the release date through in-store calendars counting down until the toy's arrival. The retailer has been offering Elmo fans a chance to pre-order their T.M.X. Elmo for pickup at KB Toy stores on September 19, its day of release.
“Our T.M.X. Elmo pre-sale has been met with great enthusiasm and with the buzz this top-secret toy is already creating, we expect it will be a huge hit in September and incredibly popular for the holidays," says Bob Weinberg, KB Toys’ senior vice president, merchandising and product development.
Not to be outdone, Toys “R” Us has also been publicly counting down the days to T.M.X. Elmo’s launch in its stores, while offering pre-sales both in-store an online. Sales have gone “extremely well,” Kathleen Waugh, TRU’s director of public relations, told Playthings.
On launch day, TRU will debut the toy at an event at its Times Square store, where it will be “all Elmo, all day,” says Waugh.
The store will open an hour earlier than usual and host a ceremonial arrival of the first units of the plush toy. TRU associates, bedecked in Elmo T-shirts, will demo the toy all day while the store’s wrap-around digital façade promotes the toy exclusively. Fisher-Price executives will be on-hand for the toy’s arrival and the first 500 customers at the store will receive free Elmo T-shirts.
“We believe [T.M.X. Elmo] will be one of the very best selling toys of the holiday season,” Waugh says. “Pre-sell was better than anyone expected and expectations were already high.”
If all goes according to plan, managing the follow up to those expectations will be Fisher-Price’s next task. Tickle Me Elmo was synonymous with holiday shortages in 1996 and retailers are angling to avoid a repeat performance 10 years later.
“Since we’re in the toy business 365 days a year, we expect to be in stock throughout the holiday season,” says TRU’s Waugh.
Fisher-Price, though, doesn't sound nearly as confident. Gina Sirard, an F-P vice president, recently explained that if consumer demand greatly exceeds expectations, it may be particularly difficult to fill retailers' re-orders this year given the sophisticated engineering involved in the toy. "However," she said, "we do expect to be making deliveries right up until Christmas and into 2007."
