Classics that Click

Wooden toys, games and impulse items tailored to stores' local clientele dominated our list this month, with the independent toy retailers we surveyed overwhelmingly naming these categories tops with kids. Specialty staples like Playmobil, International Playthings' Calico Critters line and the PlasmaCar also were cited as solid sellers.

Annie's Toy Chest

• Impulse toys & gadgets ($0.99+). Toysmith; Auburn, Wash.
• Infant stackers & pull toys ($14.99+). Melissa & Doug; Westport, Conn.
• Pizza Party & Cutting Food sets($19.99). Melissa & Doug
• Impulse toys ($0.98+) & Jack-in-the-boxes($19.99). Schylling; Rowley, Mass.
• Dolls ($49.99+). Adora; Auburn, Wash.
• Kites ($8.95+). Premier Kites; Hyattsville, Md.
• Set, Quiddler, Five Crowns ($12.99). Set Enterprises; Fountain Hills, Ariz.
• Knight figures ($4.99+). Safari; Miami Gardens, Fl.
• Collectible horse figures ($10.99+). Breyer; Pequannock, N.J.

Impulse items are a huge staple at Annie's Toy Chest, owner and buyer Teresa Derry tellsPlaythings. Derry credits her location—a block from a local park in sunny Florida—for the popularity of this category.

“We have the people that are here all the time, but we have tourists too, and they want something smaller and lighter and not really that expensive,” she says. “They want to walk out the door with something and have it entertain them while they're on a ship, while they're flying, driving.”

Derry adds, “Games have been a top seller for six months. A line that seems to do well is the Set card games...I have people call from all over quite often. It's a great grouping.” Derry also stocks many classic games that appeal to her older clientele. “I carry all the dominoes, Cribbage, Yahtzee...I think that's part of the reason my games are so big.”

Sprout

• PlasmaCar ($72). PlaSmart; Ottawa
• Wooden fruits & vegetables ($1.50+). Haba (Habermaass); Skaneateles, N.Y.
• The Orchard ($40) & Sleepy Princess & the Pea games ($24). Haba
• Novelty boxed onesies & baby T-shirts ($22). Urban Smalls; New York
• Floor puzzles & wooden sound puzzles ($10). Melissa & Doug
• Infant stackers & pull/push toys ($15+). Melissa & Doug (pictured)
• Knight, wizard, dinosaur figures. ($6-14); Schleich; Ottawa
• Decorate-Your-Own Porcelain Piggy Bank ($6). Melissa & Doug
• Stikfas ($4.50+). Saizon; Montreal

PlasmaCars “are a pretty big year-round item” at Sprout, according to owner and buyer Kristin Vailliencourt. “The floor of our store is a really smooth surface. We keep one out and people buy them for their basements and take it indoor/outdoor.”

The shop also carries a number of wooden toy lines, such as Haba. “We have their whole fixture of fruits and vegetables, and we give a free little linen grocery bag when [kids] buy six food items,” Vailliencourt says. “It's kind of fun—like market day!” In addition, Sprout offers a wide range of Melissa & Doug, including the “awesome” wooden Ice Cream Set and the “really cool” Sushi Slicing Box, Vailliencourt says. “We're an urban store, we're downtown, and we have hip parents, so [it] sells pretty well.” M&D large plush also moves steadily.

And for older kids and adults, the collectible, snap-together Stikfas figure sets are an unexpected hit, she says.

Belmont Toys

• Webkinz ($10.95) & Lil' Kinz ($8.95). Ganz; Cheektowaga, N.Y.
• Calico Critters ($8+). International Playthings; Parsippany, N.J.
• Aqua Raiders playsets ($5-50). Lego; Enfield, Conn.
• Zeus on the Loose($10). Gamewright; Newton, Mass.
• Rat-a-Tat-Cat ($10). Gamewright
• GelGems window clings ($5-10). Design Ideas; Springfield, Ill.
• PlasmaCar ($75). PlaSmart
• Figures & building sets ($3-60). Playmobil; Cranbury, N.J.
• Spy Gear ($5-30). Wild Planet; San Francisco

Webkinz continue to rule the roost at Belmont Toys, general manager/buyer Gage Brownell tells Playthings. “Definitely nothing has been selling like Webkinz right now,” he says. “We have probably 15 different ones in stock. The good thing about it is that it's boys and girls buying them, and up to a fairly older age—10 and 12. It's not evenly split between boys and girls, but there's definitely boys buying them. I'd say 30 to 35 percent.” Games and building sets are another reliable mover for Belmont Toys, Brownell says, with Gamewright's line of quick-to-learn games and Lego's Aqua Raiders line the standouts at the moment. “The birthday-party-priced ones between $10 and $20 are the ones that always sell the best,” he notes of Lego.

Other steady sellers include Calico Critters, plush and impulse items. “Calico Critters have become a very good staple,” Brownell says, noting that penguin plush and figures also continue to be popular. “We sell tons of them.”

Child's Play

• Castle & pirate ship building sets($10-60). Playmobil; Cranbury, N.J.
• Play/activity tables ($200). Nilo Toys; Oceanside, Calif.
• Blokus ($30). Educational Insights; Rancho Dominguez, Calif.
• Charm It! bracelet/necklace charms ($5). High Intencity; Fair Lawn, N.J.
• Calico Critters ($8+). International Playthings
• Uglydolls ($10-50). Pretty Ugly; Kenilworth, N.J.
• NameTrains wheeled letters ($5). Maple Landmark; Middlebury, Vt.
• Foam Maverick Pogo Stick ($30). Flybar (SBI Enterprises); Ellenville, N.Y.
• Surefire Compound Bow ($22). Monkey Business Sports; Portland, Ore.

Playmobil is still a mainstay at Child's Play, store manager Margaret James tells Playthings, noting that sales have been “awesome” recently. “We did better with castles and pirate ships,” she says, adding that the larger, more comprehensive sets in the line were particularly popular.

Games are another strong category for the shop, James says, with Blokus, Blokus Trigon and a few other titles moving steadily off shelves.

“Uglydolls as a general group was huge for us, all sizes,” James adds. “People buy them for their babies, for their teenagers, teenagers buy them for themselves, adults buy them for themselves...we have people calling already wondering when the new ones are going to come in. It's really neat. They're so soft and cuddly.”

Impulse items like Oregon license plates are also hot, James says.