Selling Science
By Karyn M. Peterson -- Playthings, 3/1/2008
Sales at specialty toy stores remained slow but steady during the heart of winter, with indoor activity items (particularly science kits and craft kits and supplies) continuing to sell well, according to retailers who spoke with Playthings. Outdoor items (such as snow sleds and toboggans) and popular games also saw steady, if not spectacular, gains.
Pentwater, Mich.Pentwater Toybox
- Victorian Dollhouse. Melissa & Doug, Westport, Conn.
- Colorku. Mad Cave Bird Games, Grand Rapids, Mich.
- FunSlides Carpet Skates. Simtec, Irwin, Pa.
- Snow Chuck Snowball Launcher. SnowChuck Canada, Calgary, Alberta
- Science kits. Various manufacturers.
- X-zylo. William Mark, Claremont, Calif.
- Sleds/toboggans. Various manufacturers.
- Dig-And-Play Dinosaur World game & figure set. Toysmith, Auburn, Wash.
- Big Bad Booming Bugs Giant Bug Projector. Little Kids, Providence, R.I.
- Baby Buzz.Small World Toys, Culver City, Calif.
- Push/pull toys.Melissa & Doug
- Domino/classic games.Fundex, Indianapolis
- Puzzles.Buffalo Games, Buffalo, N.Y., Great American Puzzle Factory (Fundex), Melissa & Doug, Ravensburger, Newton, N.H.
Let it Snow! In Michican, winter is a time both for outdoor fun as well as indoor activities, Pentwater Toybox (and Air Fun LLC kite store) co-owner Susan Castor tells Playthings. “We've had 102 inches of snow,” Castor says, noting that the ongoing wintry weather has boosted recent sales of sleds and toboggans and the Snow Chuck launcher.
At the same time, games and other items that pass the time indoors have also been quite popular in the post-holiday period. Hot movers for Castor in this category include the FunSlides, Colorku, domino sets, classic games and lots and lots of puzzles.
DallasThe Toy Maven
- Karito Kids dolls, books and accessories. KidsGive, Los Angeles
- Sticky Mosaics, Magnetic Art Kits. Orb Factory, Halifax, Novia Scotia, Canada
- Rat-a-Tat-Cat, Sleeping Queens. Gamewright, Newton, Mass.
- Puzzibits. Manhattan Toy, Minneapolis
- My First Dino. Scientific Explorer, Seattle
- Other science kits. Scientific Explorer
- Butterfly Garden, Butterfly Bungalow. Insect Lore, Shafter, Calif.
- Ty Girlz dolls. Ty, Oak Brook, Ill.
- Kites. New Tech Kites, Austin, Texas
- First Goal Soccer Set, Jr. Lacross Stix Set. Coopsport, Carlsbad, Calif.
- Build-A-Fort. Be Amazing, Salt Lake City
- Knight, dragons, dinosaur figures. Papo (Hotaling Imports), Sherrill, N.Y.
- Playsets.Playmobil, Cranbury, N.J.
- Groovy Girls. Manhattan Toy
- Children's books. Various publishers.
“A lot of our hottest games are from Gamewright,” Toy Maven owner Candace Williams tells Playthings. Building sets and science kits have also been doing well—especially the Puzzibits, which have had “a tremendous reponse,” she says. Other hits include dinosaurs, which remain “huge” for the preschool set, as well as a number of outdoor toys, given the warmer weather in her state.
Rolling Hills, Calif.Small Wonders
- Grow-A-Head novelty kits. Sourcing International, Signal Hill, Calif.
- Rubik's Cube.Winning Moves, Danvers, Mass.
- Playsets. Playmobil
- Soft play dolls. Corolle, Grantsville, Md.
- Palos Verdes Monopoly. Small Wonders
- Science kits. Various manufacturers
- Arts & crafts kits. Various manufacturers
Novelties like Grow-A-Head bugs as well as the Tinies, little glass animals that kids can collect, have been quite popular lately at Small Wonders, along with a self-produced version of Monopoly for the local Palos Verdes community, which sold 4,000 copies in less than a month, according to the owners. Steady sellers in the post-holiday period also included all things Playmobil as well as science and crafts kits.
Cary, N.C.Learning Express
- Snap Circuits. Elenco, Wheeling, Ill.
- Twilight Turtle. Cloud B, Torrance, Calif.
- Name mugs. John Hinde, Oxnard, Calif.
- Zingo. ThinkFun, Alexandria, Va.
- Bananagrams word game. Bananagrams, Cranston, R.I.
- Stomp Rockets. D&L, Porterville, Calif.
- Make Your Own Lip Balm, Sweet Shop Lip Balm kits. Creativity for Kids, Cleveland
- Do-A-Dot Art activity books, markers. Do-A-Dot Art, Westlake Village, Calif.
- Blokus. Educational Insights, Rancho Dominguez, Calif.
- Science kits. Scientific Explorer
- Paper Fashions activity book and kit. Klutz, Palo Alto, Calif.
- Other activity books and kits. Klutz
- Illustory Make Your Own Story Kit. Creations By You, Denver
Educational toys for ages 3 to 10 are the focus of inventory at William Meredith's Learning Express franchise in Cary, N.C., so products in those categories are always steady sellers to his clientele, he says. Interest in science kits, in particular, has “really picked up,” he notes.
In addition, popular games like Blokus and Bananagrams—as well as craft kits—have continued to move briskly after the holidays.
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