Specialty Surge

Although specialty stores continued to reap the benefits of toy recall concerns—a jump in foot traffic and higher sales of mass-market alternatives—a few China-produced staples, like Thomas and Webkinz, still showed up on our lists this month. European brands like Playmobil remained tops with everyone, with activity books and crafts also selling well.

King Arthur's Court

Romans, hospital playsets. Playmobil, Cranbury, N.J.

Webkinz. Ganz, Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Boccerball table games. Regent Sports, Hauppauge, N.Y.

Knight figures, castle playsets. Papo (Hotaling Imports), Sherrill, N.Y.

GeoPuzzles. GeoToys, Neenah, Wis.

Perler Beads activity kits. Dimensions Crafts, Reading, Pa.

Snap Circuits. Elenco,Wheeling, Ill.

Mission to Mars, castle playsets. Lego, Enfield, Conn.

Moon In My Room. Uncle Milton, Westlake Village, Calif.

King Arthur's Court carries all of the most popular specialty toy brands—including Webkinz, Breyer, Brio, Melissa & Doug, Madame Alexander, Kettler, Carrera, Rokenbok and Thomas—plus play tables and other furniture and games and gadgets for teens and adults, according to owner Miles Altman. Many of the top movers overall are consistently from the collectible figures and playset categories, including Playmobil, Papo and Lego, he notes. In addition, the GeoPuzzles have been “phenomenally successful” recently, he tells Playthings. Big-ticket gift items like Regent Sports' Boccerball tables, which are included in the store's own customer catalog, also have been pretty hot lately, he says.

Let's Play

Thomas & Friends wooden trains, playsets. RC2, Oak Brook, Ill.

Knights, pirates, farm, Romans and micro travel playsets. Playmobil

Wooden Sound/Peg Puzzles. Melissa & Doug, Westport, Conn.

Set. Set Enterprises, Fountain Hills, Ariz.

Blokus. Educational Insights, Rancho Dominguez, Calif.

Apples to Apples. Out of the Box, Madison, Wis.

Puppets. Folkmanis, Emeryville, Calif.

Snap Circuits sets. Elenco

Test Tube Science Kits. Be Amazing Toys!, Salt Lake City

Scratch Magic. Scratch-Art, Avon, Mass.

Activity Books. Klutz, Palo Alto, Calif.; Dover Publications, Mineola, N.Y.; Lee Publications, Louisville, Ky.

Pirate dress-up. Various suppliers.

Stomp Rockets. D&L, Portersville, Calif.

Toy Box of Ashville

Knights, pirates, Romans figures and playsets. Playmobil

Webkinz. Ganz

100% Cool Badge Maker. Fashon Angels Enterprises, Milwaukee

Sticker Factory. Alex, Northvale, N.J.

Fashion/jewelry design and craft kits. Creativity for Kids, Cleveland

Activity Books. Klutz

Blokus. Educational Insights

Ruckus. Funstreet, Northfield, Ill.

Set, Quiddler, Five Crowns. Set Enterprises

Stomp Rockets. D&L

German-made Playmobil continues to do well at the Toy Box, owner Gary Green tells Playthings, noting, “The new Romans line has generated a lot of interest.” Green stocks a number of other European-made brands, as well as those made in America. “We love the Berlin Flyer wagons from the Amish in Berlin, Ohio; the Yomega yo-yos and K'nex,” Green adds. Though he has always provided this wide selection, it's beginning to attract more customers looking for alternatives to China-made toys, Green says.

Green also directs customers to “really great, quality stuff” like Haba's Germany-crafted wooden toys (though its cloth toys are still China-made) and Plan Toy's eco-friendly products. “All of it is made in Thailand but it's a very green company, very sensitive to environmental issues,” he says of Plan. “I think that type of company is getting a lot of attention, especially by some of the new people coming into the store.”

Magical Moon Toys

Marbles. House of Marbles, Devon, England; Mega Marbles (Fabricas Selectas USA), Wichita, Kan.

Play Foam. Educational Insights

Chubbies vehicles. Viking Toys (International Playthings), Parsippany, N.J.

Rocks, gems. GeoCentral, Napa, Calif.

Quiddler, Five Crowns. Set Enterprises

Knights, princess playsets. Playmobil

Blink. Out of the Box

Webkinz. Ganz

Killer Bunnies. Playroom Entertainment, North Hollywood, Calif.

Impulse toys. Toysmith, Auburn, Wash.; Play Visions, Woodinville, Wash.; Castle Toy, North Hollywood, Calif.

Wooden Railway sets. Melissa & Doug

Ticket to Ride. Days of Wonder, Los Altos, Calif.

Settlers of Catan. Mayfair Games, Skokie, Ill.

Thomas & Friends trains. RC2

Although Magical Moon does “a lot of business with Playmobil and Bruder and a lot of German companies” the store's “number one department is games,” owner Steve Shelton tells Playthings. And as categories, marbles, rocks and gems and impulse toys are also big sellers. “I sell thousands of marbles a month,” he notes.

Thomas & Friends is usually another big line for the store; although sales have slowed marginally since the recent recalls, his clientele overall remain unfazed, Shelton says. “My customers are kind of sick and tired of mass market toys as it is ... I don't know how many years it's been since Learning Curve last had another recall, but most of [my customers] are willing to accept it for what it was.”

Next up for Shelton is the launch of a new e-commerce site, which should be active soon. “We'll have nearly every item in our store for sale on there” arranged by department, brand, age and price, Shelton says, plus a newsletter, events page and bestseller list.