Keeping Cool
By Karyn M. Peterson -- Playthings, 9/1/2007
Summertime is beginning to wind down, but sales at specialty toy stores in the last few weeks showed lots of late-season interest in both beach and pool toys and travel-appropriate playthings, such as games and impulse items. Webkinz are also still making their presence known, a trend that is expected to continue through the fall and holiday season.
BostonBoing! JP's Toy Shop
- Beach/pool toys. Marlon Creations, Long Island City, N.Y.; Mutual Sales, Derry, N.H.; and Swim Buoy, Miami
- Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker. Industrial Revolution, Redmond, Wash.
- Bilibo. Active People, Binningen, Switzerland
- Gobblet. Blue Orange Games, San Francisco
- Bananagrams word game. Bananagrams, Cranston, R.I.
- WOW preschool playsets, vehicles. Ravensburger, Newton, N.H.
- GeoPuzzles. GeoToys, Neenah, Wis.
- Zoomorphs. River Dolphin Toys, New York
- Wedgits. ImagAbility, Diamond Springs, Calif.
- Shadow Magic and Star Theater Home Planetarium. Uncle Milton, Westlake Village, Calif.
- Uglydolls. Pretty Ugly, Kenilworth, N.J.
- Science kits. Scientific Explorer, Seattle
“Summer is a slower time” at Boing! JP's Toy Shop, owner Elaine Hackney tells Playthings, although beach/pool toys and Boston Red Sox fan merchandise still sell pretty well. Hot new additions to the store include GeoPuzzles and Bananagrams; sales of the latter have been “phenomenal,” she says. “It's a great little game.”
Malibu, Calif.Toy Crazy
- Tetris Cube. Imagination Games, New York
- Rubik's Cube. John N. Hansen Co., Millbrae, Calif., and Winning Moves, Danvers, Mass.
- Rubik's Revolution. Techno Source, New York
- Beat the Count. Winning Moves
- Set card game. Set Enterprises, Fountain Hills, Ariz.
- Rush Hour. ThinkFun, Alexandria, Va.
- Kanoodle. Educational Insights, Rancho Dominguez, Calif.
- Activity books. Klutz/Chicken Socks, Palo Alto, Calif.
Brainteasers and games are tops at Toy Crazy, both in Malibu and at its Santa Monica, Calif., location, owner Melissa Moore tells Playthings, especially with tourists seeking fun travel toys. Tetris Cube in particular “is just exploding as far as games go,” she says. “We have one sitting out, and it's one of those things that drives you crazy, and you buy it because you think, 'I'm going to solve this!' [But] there are 9,839 solutions—and you can't get one!”
Moore also recommends the electronic Rubik's Revolution. “That was my big pick of the year at Toy Fair. I loved it, and it's going to do great,” she says.
Lawrence, Kan.The Toy Store
- Webkinz. Ganz, Cheektowaga, N.Y.
- Bubble toys. Little Kids, Providence, R.I., and Toysmith, Auburn, Wash.
- Kites. Premiere Kites, Hyattsville, Md., and Go Fly a Kite, Clinton, Conn.
- Do-A-Dot activity books, markers. Do-A-Dot Art, Westlake Village, Calif.
- Colorcube. Ikoso, Eugene, Ore.
- Gassy Gus. Fundex Games, Indianapolis
- Diggity Dog. International Playthings, Parsippany, N.J.
- Magna-Tiles. Valtech, La Grange, Ill.
- Zoomorphs. River Dolphin Toys, New York
- Playsets. Lego, Enfield, Conn.
- Mighty World sets. Int'l Playthings
In addition to specialty staples, extra categories like children's books and candy are key to sales at The Toy Store's 10,000-square-foot store in Lawrence, and its 20,000-square-foot Topeka location, owner Margaret Warner tells Playthings. Picture, board, cloth, bath and interactive books—along with parenting titles—are all popular, Warner says, adding, “We don't devote a lot of space or money to our candy category, but it's way high up there on the list. People don't hesitate to buy.”
Warner's 31 years at The Toy Store offer her some unique insights—and confidence—in specialty. “When we expanded six years ago [from 5,000 square feet], I was really worried. Would we become like a big box? Would we lose our specialty appeal? But I discovered that we didn't lose anything. It's a wonderful concept.”
Casper, Wyo.Toy Town
- Webkinz. Ganz
- Flingshot Flying Monkeys. California Creations, Tustin, Calif.
- Farm animal Figures. Schleich, Ottawa
- Max Liquidator Eliminator pool toy. Prime Time Toys, Pompton Lakes, N.J.
- Rubber band guns. Magnum Enterprises, Rapid City, S.D.
- Science kits. Scientific Explorer and Norman & Globus, El Sobrante, Calif.
- Bath toys. Alex, Northvale, N.J., and Int'l Playthings
- Rush Hour. ThinkFun
- BeamO. Stuff Design, Sebastopol, Calif.
- 500-piece puzzles. Great American Puzzle Factory, Norwalk, Conn.
“Thinking games, like Rush Hour, seem to be catching on again,” Toy Town owner Dalene Lockhart tells Playthings. “People have been coming back to that this last month, because they're sitting around and it's hot out!” Jigsaw puzzles have also been a favorite warm-weather activity for her more house-bound customers, Lockhart says, adding that when temperatures climb into the triple digits, “Water toys are popular ... we can hardly keep those in stock.”
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