Touch me, babe

There are millions of dollars of inventory in dolls at retailer Annette & Friends in the Westminster, Calif. While the business of selling quality dolls to collectors is a tough one, according to owner Annette Watkins, in order to stay in the doll business, you need dolls that are different—not the same-old, same-old month after month. And display dolls are important. Customers have to see and touch before they buy. According to Watkins, when it comes to dolls, you can't sell them through a box.

Within the 3,000-square-foot store are dolls from Madame Alexander, Adora, Pauline Co., Charisma, Tonner and others. Watkins says she always does well with Madame Alexander and currently has preorders on the Candy fashion dolls, originally designed in 1962 by Charisma. Watkins tells Playthings that the Madame Alexander dolls continue to be top sellers with the Cissy fashion doll, the 8-inch Wendy dolls, and the baby line all doing well.

What's different these days, Watkins says, is that she has more luck with presales if customers can get a first-hand glimpse beforehand of a upcoming design, preferably with prototypes. “It used to be that we would get lots of preorders with companies that had the hot product of the moment, but it's not that way anymore,” she says. “Customers want to wait and see.”

For Adora, working directly with retail is of utmost importance. Each year, the Edison, N.J.-based doll company has several retail events, including an upcoming preview show, part of a series started in 2001 where prototypes of several dolls are showcased to store owners, customers and Adora doll club members. The company then takes design, outfit colors and other suggestions and uses them to finalize dolls for the new year.

Adora currently has 1,500 retailers in the United States and part of the company's dolls' appeal, according to David Linn, president, is that they don't have that “doll-doll” look, instead they're more life-like. “When we sculpt we reference real people,” he says. Linn hopes in-store events can reintroduce young girls to dolls again. The annual Adora Make Your Own Baby event brings customers in store to design their own Adora doll using different outfits and accessories provided by the company to different retailers. There are currently 80 to 90 retailers who take part in this program, which runs from September through December.

Personal time

In-person visits work for Tonner Dolls president Robert Tonner when it comes to the company's liaison with retailers. For the 15-year-old company, in-store promotions and personal visits help show customers that the company literally stands behind their dolls. “We're dealing with adult collectors who know what they're looking out for and can tell the different between silk and polyester and crystal beading from plastic beading,” Tonner tells Playthings.”

This fall and holiday season, the Harry Potter line will include new dolls and accessories, followed next year by a version of villain Draco Malfoy.

Coming up, Tonner Dolls will launch a DC Stars Collection, including 16-inch versions of Supergirl and Wonder Woman this fall and possibly Superman by December. Batman is planned for 2007. The dolls are part of the Tonner Character Figure line, a hybrid between dolls and action figures. The line features three to six new dolls each year based characters from DC's comic book worlds. Each doll is fully articulated, faces are hand-painted, and the clothing is highly detailed (for example, Supergirl and Wonder Woman's boots have real zipper closures).

“No one in the action figure industry is doing anything quite like this in such limited editions, which is why we feel our hybrid product warrants its own category,” says Tom Courteney, visual and merchandising director, Tonner.

Retro, modern or somewhere in between, the ever present appeal of dolls is something very simple. “It makes you feel warm inside,” says Annette & Friends' Watkins. “It reminds you of childhood.”