Pretty Persuasion

Touch is so important. And so Theresa Manahan, owner of The Wishing Well Toy Co., a toy shop in Omaha, Neb., always makes sure she has an open sample of each doll she sells; for business, that's all she needs. When it comes to selling softer dolls, look and feel are the most essential features, she says—though doll outfits and other accessories are still popular, add-ons don't necessarily affect purchases. Simplicity sells.

Today's kids still crave simple dolls that they can drag around, and for parents, soft dolls continue to be a perennial purchase. In fact, more than 50 percent of mothers with toddlers own soft dolls, according to a recent study by the American Baby Group, an infant and juvenile research team in New York. Soft dolls can cross all age groups, from infant to toddlers, appeal to both boys and girls and satisfy children's need to nurture, all at price points that are usually lower than the more collectible dolls on the market.

"Soft dolls in general are a trend," Barbara Isenberg, president of North American Bear Co. (N.A. Bear), Chicago and New York, tells Playthings. "The child responds to the look and feel. Parents again are looking for something sweet. There's a real need for that. There are lots and lots of hard dolls on the market and not too many soft dolls."

In Wishing Well's 2,500-square-foot store, Corolle is one such popular brand that customers count on. Headquartered in France's Loire Valley with a U.S. office in Grantsville, Md., Corolle has several popular soft dolls on the market, including the new 16-inch Melodie Pink doll with pink velour pigtails and a soft cotton dress.

Manahan says that part of the reason why Corolle has been so popular are some of the extras that keep customers coming back. Aside from in-store displays, signage and consumer brochures, the company also offers retailers a Let's Play Demo kit packed with doll samples from key categories, dolls out of box for store play areas and gift-with-purchase items to offer customers. Manahan gives away a baby nursery set—20 per store are available—that includes a bottle, bib, blanket and other accessories as well as sample dolls.

Linda Breler, marketing manager of Corolle USA, tells Playthings that the new Melodie dolls—and most soft dolls in general—are special, because, "[It's the] look, feel, accessories that enhance the pretend play possibilities and allow a child to take care of their baby doll around the clock, the way they see real moms take care of theirs."

Corolle dolls also sell well at The Bowerbird of Old Lyme, Conn., but the Groovy Girls in-store boutique is a key hot spot. Owner Jennifer Torgersen, who opened her 4,500-square-foot shop in 1989, says that the staple line from Minneapolis-based Manhattan Toy, as well as its new poseable dolls and life-size versions, are some of the top attractions in her store, which is one part toy shop, the other part gift shop. "It's still very strong," she says. "The Groovy Girls has its own area, a Groovy Girls Boutique. We also use Manhattan [Toy] fixtures. That's good for all Groovy product, but when it comes to other dolls, we try to cross merchandise and put some other dolls in other sections. All princess things go together, new baby dolls are merged in with baby product. Softer dolls go in both places."

Torgersen's soft doll section includes the Language Littles; soft dolls from Small World Toys; the Rosy Cheeks velour baby dolls with sweet, embroidered faces from N.A. Bear; and Manhattan Toy's Baby Stella and Cuddle Dolls, which are similarly soft and embroidered. "We try to carry them all, but we like to stick to some dolls with pretty faces and soft dolls," says Torgersen. "Kids like that. We don't sell much of the vinyl since mass market has a lot of that out there. Being specialty, we want really quality dolls that are cuddly and sweet."

Groovy Girls are such a hit at Toy Jungle in Manhattan Beach, Calif., that owner Meredith Zellweger offers her customers Groovy Girls play dates. Kids can come in and take Polaroids in front of a Groovy Girls backdrop with big pictures of the dolls, decorate cookies and paint their nails. Manhattan Toy provides all the props including goodie bags and raffle prizes. The two events Zellweger has hosted already were very successful, she says. "It's nice and gives me exposure. We can make something that we sell at the store. People really appreciate when you give activity and an experience to their children."

Zellweger—who owns two other Toy Jungle stores, one in Hermosa Beach, Calif., and a third store opening this summer in Scottsdale, Ariz.—notes that she includes both a soft doll section in her store that can branch off into her in-store library as well as other sections throughout her shop where dolls can fit in well. And for the Goetz dolls, distributed by Parsippany, N.J.-based International Playthings, Zellweger stages a mini fashion show to showcase new outfits in the doll line. The Toy Jungle window display currently includes a mannequin with dolls arranged around it just like a fashion show runway. Other girly items like Alex's sewing machine are in the mix.

Soft dolls in general are still a strong category for her and have been since she opened shop five years ago, Zellweger adds. "I think a simple doll has a huge amount of play value," she says. "Parents like that kids can still use their imaginations. And all little girls want to nurture. They can take care of [dolls] like younger siblings; it's a way to be active like their moms."

Groovy Girls is also a strong seller for Jenny Berger, retail consultant for Frogs and Pollywogs in Albany, Ore., where the Groovy Girls are the most popular line overall as well as the only soft doll line sold in the store. "With Groovy Girls, it depends on the little girl. Some like the softness. They have modern outfits that they can change, great accessories, clothing and beds. With our soft dolls, a lot of the time, families get into them and they come back and purchase more."

The Bowerbird's Torgersen agrees that sometimes accessories help sell dolls, such as the backpack that comes packaged with Manhattan Toy's Stella doll, and the furniture, horses, clothing, pets and other add-ons currently available for the entire Groovy Girls line.

From the Käthe Kruse Studios in Donauwörth, Bavaria, located between Munich and Nürnberg, Andrea Christenson, owner of the German doll company, agrees that accessories are popular, but notes that this is more a U.S. phenomenon, and that overall, girls relate to a doll because it has something they have.

"In the American market, definitely accessories are a big thing," she says. "Mom and girls shop for that. Here in the German—and even the Dutch—marketplace, we have not developed much of that, but kids love accessories. The more lifelike [the dolls] and the more accessories that they have in real life, the more they like it."

Christenson tells Playthings that there are two styles of Kruse dolls for kids. One is a line of soft vinyl dolls, Lolle, for older girls, who are more attracted to clothing and accessories and anything with a sense of fashion, she says. The company has several new dolls this year in the Lolle line, which all feature long, soft hair; sporty outfits for horse riding, ballet and other fitness activities; and accessories to match. The Waldorf dolls, meanwhile, are created especially to appeal to toddlers around 18 months and up. All the dolls in the Waldorf line are handcrafted out of cloth, and feature hand-embroidered faces and soft yarn hair. They are available in familiar themes like mermaids, elves and pirates, which Christenson says are popular for spring and summer sales.

At Detroit's Once Upon a Time toy store, Goetz, Corolle and Manhattan Toy's Groovy Girls are all some popular soft doll lines, according to senior sales representative, Carole Wiencek. She tells Playthings that the dolls just sell themselves. "It's a certain look, feel or quality that comes across," she says. "[Kids] just look up and say, 'that's the doll for me."

As a result, Wiencek says the biggest tactic that they rely on is simply displaying the dolls for the youngest customers to see at a glance. "We're a small independent store with our own marketing and displays that show them off to best advantage," she says. "We use two or three on a rack, so when you walk in you see a nice display of dolls. There's no signage. The way that they are in the display, people can come in and really see the dolls."

She adds that soft dolls also cross genders—it's not always girls who are attracted to dolls. With more male characters available these days, like the Groovy Girls' Groom Gavin and skateboarder Josh, younger boys can feel comfortable picking out dolls of their own. Girls will also buy them to add to their collections. New York-based Language Littles also has Hebrew and Spanish boy character dolls.

Brooke Arnold, an employee at Sweet Pickles in Laramie, Wyo., tells Playthings that the Groovy Girls boy characters sell out just as fast as the girls. "They're really soft, really colorful, flashy. They're modern too, hip. They're just fun," she says. "The Josh doll character, we sold all of him around Christmastime. We have another guy, Gavin, the groom. We haven't done promotions for dolls. The soft dolls are always here, and people always know about them."

Being a centrally located toy shop in a small town doesn't hurt business either, Arnold notes. "We're in a really small community and keep a really good relationship with customers. The owner has had the store for 15 years and knows everybody, and everybody knows about our store. It's right in the downtown area, so visitors or tourists stop in."

Another hot mover at Sweet Pickles is Madame Alexander's My First Baby dolls line, which they can't keep on the shelves, Arnold says, noting that they have had to reorder the dolls twice since they started selling them last November. The line includes the Sweet Baby Nursery doll with soft body and soft vinyl face, a Jingle Baby (with a rounder body that jingles) and a Blanket Baby (which is half doll, half blankie).

Known for its highly collectible dolls, New York-based Madame Alexander's new line for newborns through 18 months and older is a timely expansion to its adult customer base; the Toy Jungle's Zellweger, for example, says she is looking into adding some additional soft-doll lines for her customers, including this new line from Madame Alexander.

Jane Abrahams, director of marketing for Madame Alexander, tells Playthings that there are many factors that add to the appeal of softer dolls, such as accessories, removable clothing and hairstyling. She also notes that, "offering the most huggable friend contributes to the child's appeal of playing and interacting with their doll."

A strong relationship with retailers that has helped Madame Alexander with its collectible lines extends to its softer doll lines, with the company offering promotions that range from in-store events around new doll launches to designer signings and exclusives. Moving forward, Abrahams tells Playthings that the company is definitely keeping an eye on trends in the marketplace in order to stay true to its original, simpler designs for children "With the introduction of the Sweet Baby Nursery Collection, we capitalized on the baby/play market's increasing trend to capture the new parent while her child's still in the newborn stage," she notes.

Time of the season

Dolls can also sell seasonally and by holidays, which is how retailers usually sell them in Europe. For example, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Easter, Back to School, Christmas, and even Halloween are growing in popularity in Europe. Käthe Kruse is working to develop special Halloween-themed dolls this year, Christenson says. "Halloween has not been big in Europe, but in the last five to six years more decorative items, catalogs and magazines are geared towards Halloween. The market has changed and adapted. Last year, for the first time, we had 22 kids come to my door to trick-or-treat. We're going to try to find some old-fashioned concepts that work on the other side of ocean." Käthe Kruse offers both special displays and brochures for retailers. This fall and holiday, they are working around holiday themes like heaven, angel and elves, as well as two new baby lines that feature more wintry looks.

And George Irwin, chairman and CEO of itoys, Toronto, is getting ready to launch a new category of dolls next month, Baby So Real, softer vinyl dolls that will come with options like curly, red, blonde or dark hair and will feature lifelike wrinkled skin and other features of a newborn, such as weighted bottoms and heads that make each one feel like a real baby. "It's soft and cuddly, so you can hold it and squeeze it," he says. "To us, it allows so much imagination. When my brother and I restarted the company, we always knew we wanted to find a doll for a product line, since Irwin was big in dolls in years past. Everything we saw was hard plastic and wasn't hitting a button for us. When you travel around, you always see kids dragging around a soft-bodied doll."

Unlike most of Irwin's other toys, such as its handheld Deal or No Deal electronic game, Baby So Real doesn't have any interactive features.

"The special thing about this is that there are facial features for Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American," says Irwin. "There are four or five different hair colors and eye colors. The matrix is 200 or some odd different features. It captures the imagination of little girls, because each doll is different, and number two: it's something that reminds them of themselves. For parents, it's nothing pretentious, and there's no gimmick. What you see is what you get. It's a gorgeous look at a popular price."

Kids can also get accessories, outfits, strollers and booties for their "newborn" dolls. "Kids will be able to dress up and play as they will. Nothing can go wrong. [There's] nothing to malfunction, which is an important feature," Irwin says.

Also new this year for soft doll fans are a number of expansions to N.A. Bear's lines of soft dolls, including an Alice in Wonderland/Queen of Hearts and a Mermaid/Princess in the Topsy Turvy small doll line, in which each doll transforms into another when turned over. The Fancy Prancy Fairies and soft ballet dancer dolls are also available, and for younger kids, the Rosy Cheeks dolls are made of soft velour with embroidered faces, and each comes with an I.D. bracelet that can be personalized.

"When a child looks at the dolls, they respond to the soft material," N.A. Bear's Isenberg says. "There are so many amazing new ideas in toys inspired by animated cartoons, but a lot of times, parents are just looking for something simple that has an appealing face. Simple is not always easy," she notes.

"It's such a traditional toy," Toy Jungles' Zellweger adds. "It's one of those things that's not going away. Dolls will never be a fad. They've been made since the beginning of time. It's a category I don't ever see waning."