The Wow Factor

Big-ticket items are beginning to move as expected ahead of the holidays, with customers seeking out large Playmobil sets, dollhouses, ride-ons, baby dolls with special features and expensive science kits. Specialty retailers surveyed by Playthings also reported solid sales in recent weeks for classic toys and product lines specifically made in America.

The Toy Factory

• Playsets. Playmobil, Cranbury, N.J.
• Chubbies vehicles. Viking Toys (International Playthings), Parsippany, N.J.
• Games. Ravensburger, Newton, N.H.
• Bilibo. Active People, Binningen, Sweden
• Calico Critters. Int’l Playthings
• Wooden solid drum, push/pull toys, dollhouses. Plan Toys, Palo Alto, Calif.
• Snap Circuits. Elenco, Wheeling, Ill.
• “My First” boxed science kits. Scientific Explorer, Seattle
• Plush. Manhattan Toy, Minneapolis

Playmobil has been a top brand recently, Toy Factory owner Errol Noel says. “It’s across the board. I’ve been reordering like crazy.” He attributes the line’s strength (and that of eco-friendly Plan Toys) at least in part to concerns about recalls of China-made toys. Books (activity, picture, chapter and especially board books) and science kits have also been hot, he says.

Kiddly Winks

• Hyper Dash. Wild Planet, San Francisco
• Aftershock! Educational Insights, Rancho Dominguez, Calif.
• Dodge Discs. Wild Planet
• Lift-off Rocket. Int’l Playthings
• Khet. Innovention Toys, New Orleans
• Webkinz. Ganz, Cheektoaga, N.Y.
• Sock Monkey. Curiosity Kits (Action Products), Orlando, Fla.
• Imagibricks Giant Building Blocks. Smart Monkey Toys, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
• Tidoo dolls. Corolle, Grantsville, Md.
• Sticky Mosaics, Magnetic Mosaics art kits. The Orb Factory, Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Bananagrams word game. Bananagrams,Cranston, R.I.

Active toys like those from Wild Planet are current big sellers at all three of Kiddly Winks’ brick-and-mortar store locations (in Canton and West Hartford, Conn., and Longmeadow, Mass.), according to the retailer. Classic toys and domestic role-play items (such as kitchen tools and accessories) and multi-leveled strategy games (like Aftershock! and Khet), which can be played by kids of different ages and adults, have been steady movers. Specialty staple brands like Corolle dolls, Ganz’ Webkinz and the Imagibricks cardboard blocks are also holding their own as we head into the holiday season.

Imagination Station

• Romans, knights, pirates, airport playsets. Playmobil
• Calico Critters. Int’l Playthings
• Do-A-Dot activity books, markers. Do-A-Dot Art, Westlake Village, Calif.
• Puzzles. White Mountain, Jackson, N.H.
• Building sets. Keva Planks, Harrisonburg, Va.
• Slinky. Poof-Slinky, Plymouth, Mich.
• Silly Putty. Crayola, Easton, Pa.
• Games. Gamewright, Newton, Mass.
• Baby dolls. Corolle
• Aquini Gotz dolls. Int’l Playthings
• Groovy Girls Minis. Manhattan Toy
• Science kits. Scientific Explorer

Made in America is a big deal now for toy shoppers at Imagination Station, according to retailer Sue Barr. “People are coming in and looking for Made in the USA, so Do-A-Dots have been really selling,” she tells Playthings. “We carry the White Mountain Puzzles, Keva Planks, little things like Slinky and Silly Putty, all USA-made, and Gamewright games. That’s what people want. We have a whole section with USA toys, and that’s what people look at first, so I’m scrambling to find even more than what I have.”

Barr adds, “We’re right in the middle of a GM town and [people] are fed up with China. That’s my major focus next year. I’m looking for USA-made first and European second. My customers are really concerned—and it’s the grandparents more than anyone.” European-made Playmobil and science kits for older kids are also doing very well, Barr says.

Kaleidoscope Toys

• Bananagrams. Bananagrams
• Diggity Dog. Int’l Playthings
• Khet. Innovention Toys
• Romans, airport playsets. Playmobil
• Webkinz. Ganz
• Lia, Calin dolls. Corolle
• Deluxe Wooden Princess Castle. Melissa & Doug, Westport, Conn.
• Calico Critters. Int’l Playthings
• PlasmaCar. PlaSmart, Ottawa, Ontario
• Lift-off Rocket. Int’l Playthings
• Zoobie Pets. Zoobies, Provo, Utah
• Stomp Rocket Jr. D&L, Porterville, Calif.
• SmartGlobe 3D Interactive Globe. Oregon Scientific, Tualatin, Ore.
• Milestones in Science kit. Thames & Kosmos, Portsmouth, R.I.
• Tasty Science kit. Scientific Explorer
• Dollhouses. Plan Toys; Ryan’s Room (Small World Toys), Culver City, Calif.; Top Shelf Toys, Richmond, Va.
• Dollhouse dolls. The Little, Little, Little Toy Co., Germantown, Wis.

“Bananagrams are awesome, says Kaleidoscope Toys’ owner Terry Myers. “They’re my number one selling game right now. It’s like Scrabble, except you don’t need to wait your turn and you don’t need the board! People like word games, and games are big in my area.”

Playmobil is still a big seller, and Myers considers it a top line. “Sales are up 40 percent this year. I think it’s because the two new themes, airport and Romans, are really good,” she says. Other tried-and-true brands include Webkinz—sales of which are strong, with no waning in sight, Myers says—Melissa & Doug, Corolle and International Playthings.

Science toys, dolls and dollhouses are also bestselling categories for Myers at the moment. “It’s going to be a dollhouse year,” she says. And on the store’s website, Prince Lionheart’s BeBe Pod Plus and Wheelie Bug are moving steadily, along with Kettler’s Caterpillar and other ride-ons.