Inside Out

Mattel last month celebrated Hot Wheels’ 40th anniversary with a three-week, six-city, cross-country road trip. The trek made stops at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah; Speed, Kansas; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum in Indiana; and the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit, before culminating in a grand finale celebration on September 5 in Watkins Glen, New York, site of the famed road racing track. At each stop, Hot Wheels hosted a free public event featuring life-size Hot Wheels cars, historic Hot Wheels memorabilia, kiosks for kids to create custom Hot Wheels drivers licenses, die-cast races and autograph sessions with Hot Wheels designers. “We wanted to be able to celebrate this milestone with our fans and bring a unique experience to their neighborhoods,” said Geoff Walker, vice president, Wheels and Games Marketing, Mattel Brands … In other anniversary news, 4Kids Entertainment recently launched a website dedicated to the upcoming 25th birthday of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The site gives TMNT fans the opportunity to register for anniversary-related information and locations for special events, as well as the chance to win rare collectibles and prizes. And Wham-O named John Bisbal III of East Northport, N.Y., the winner of its 60th Anniversary Kid Inventor Contest. His prize-winning design, an indoor/outdoor toy that “tests the user’s skill and aim by catapulting balls from a specially designed launcher,” will next be reviewed for inclusion in Wham-O’s 2010 toy line. If chosen, Bisbal will receive a portion of the profits … The Beijing Olympics may have been top of mind for most in August, but Jakks Pacific was still thinking about this spring’s earthquake in China and cyclone in Myanmar. Last month the toymaker donated $54,000 to support ongoing relief efforts by the Red Cross in those countries. The donation included $27,000 collected from the toymaker’s U.S. and Hong Kong-based employees, plus an equal match by the company. In other charity-related moves, Back to Basics Toys said it would donate more than $20,000 in toys to Kids Wish Network this holiday season as a way to commemorate the catalog and online retailer’s 20th anniversary.

The economy may be in the doldrums, but that’s not stopping specialty toy store franchisor TT&B from opening new Brilliant Sky Toys & Books stores in Rochester Hills, Mich., and Des Moines, Iowa. Both are expected to open in October. In much less happy news, the latest store closings we learned about were of Penny Whistle Toys of New York City and Pound Ridge, N.Y.; and Mitchell’s Trains, Toys & Hobbies, a 55-year-old institution in the Wilmington, Del., area. All’s not lost, though: two long-time Mitchell’s employees are planning their own shops. Toy department manager Joe Mitchell Jr. will open YoYoJoe’s Toys & Fun in November and model railroad department chief Doug Arnold is looking to build his own hobby shop in the area ... In chain retail news, Tween Brands last month said it would convert all 560 of its Limited Too stores across the country to its more value-oriented Justice brand in a move the company hopes will “drive growth and profitability.” The switch should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009. Both Justic and Limited Too sell apparel and lifestyle products designed primarily for 7- to 14-year-old girls ... Delta Children’s Products’ Atlanta-based Simmons Kids Furniture division has teamed with fashion and furniture designer Jessica McClintock (pictured) to introduce two collections of infant furniture starting this December. The “romantic and traditional” collections will include toy boxes.