Cheeky Monkey Toys

• Magna-Tiles 100 pc. set. Valtech! Co.
• Kettrike Air Navigator. Kettler
• Sofie The Giraffe. Vulli
• Classic Walker Wagon. Radio Flyer
• Magna-Tiles 32 pc. set. Valtech! Co.
• Bakugan (various). Spin Master
• Train Letters. Maple Landmark
• EcoAquariums. Wild Creations
• Wind-up toys (various). Calif. Creations
• Bubber. WABA Fun

With sales “pretty flat” heading into the holidays, Cheeky Monkey Toys in upscale Menlo Park, Calif., was gearing up for the sales season by “doing things to keep sales in house,” said general manager Janelle Cedusky when contacted by Playthings late last month.

The 9-year-old toy store, purchased by its current owners in 2002, was putting the finishing touches on a revamped website scheduled to go live early this month and planned to unveil its first ever holiday catalog, produced with help from The Toy Collection. Overall, “we’re being conservative on holiday spending,” Cedusky said. “You don’t know what to expect—these are very uncertain times—but we’re looking forward to the holiday season.”

In a good economy the 4,000-square-foot store is often a holiday shopping destination by virtue of its selection of either bigger ticket items, like classic pedal cars, or exclusive products, such as its Lundby doll houses imported from Sweden. “We try to search out unique things,” said Cedusky, “but still find a happy balance between unique toys and toys that are more mass market—sometimes that’s a hard thing to do.”

The store also attracts customers with its focus on activity areas where kids can play with several Plan kitchens, baby doll accessories and multiple wooden train tables.

Kid’s Center

• Zoobie Pets Very Hungry Caterpillar combo. Zoobies/Alpha Source
• Egyptian themed sets. Playmobil
• Calico Critters. Int’l Playthings
• Creativity For Kids Shrinky Dinks Deluxe kit. Faber-Castell USA
• Sticky Mosaics Fairy Box. The Orb Factory
• Zingo. ThinkFun
• Working Trucks. Valtech! Co.
• Automoblox. Manhattan Toy
• Puppets. Folkmanis

Sales have been “very strong all year” at Kid’s Center in Tucson, Ariz., said owner Jim Davis. A 20-year-old, stand-alone store that’s half toy shop and half children’s bookseller with more than 15,000 titles on offer, Kid’s Center has been sheltered somewhat from this year’s economic storm by virtue of its popularity with area teachers.

“They spend a lot of money for their classrooms,” Davis explained, helped by a program called Adopt-A-Classroom that funnels donations—sometimes as large as several thousand dollars per teacher—directly to local educators, who then get to spend the funds on classroom supplies unconstrained by school budgets. “We’re very fortunate to have that customer base,” Davis said.

As for toys trending upwards, Davis said he’s excited for Bananagrams’ new Appleletters and Pairs-in-Pears games, the initial shipment of which quickly sold out.

CR Toys

• Rody ride-on horses. Gymnic
• Twilight Turtle. Cloud B
• Qwirkle. MindWare
• Jungle Speed. Asmodee
• Zarts. Zing Toys
• Perplexus. PlaSmart
• WOW preschool toys. Ravensburger
• Automoblox. Manhattan Toy
• OgoDisk sets. OgoSport
• Birds, Bugs & Beans. R&R Games

“Our bottom line is alright, and that’s the main thing,” said Connie Hoeft, owner of CR Toys in Kearney, Neb., when contacted on the eve of the store’s 16th anniversary.

Located in a shopping mall and surrounded by big box retailers, the 1,475 square foot specialty toy shop carries “a little bit of everything,” Hoeft said, but has built a particular niche by focusing on family games and by encouraging business from local teachers.

To encourage educators to see the store as a resource, Hoeft gives presentations about how best to use games in the classroom.

To kick-start her holiday sales to general consumers, she holds an annual anniversary sale. This year’s event was held on October 21. The by invitation only opportunity was offered to her email list for three hours, with everything in the store 20 percent off. Open to adults only, the event saw the store’s mall entrance closed in favor of back door-only access to its discounts and raffles—and to its wine and cheese.

“We’re in a small space, so it gets pretty crowded,” Hoeft said, “but it’s a good start to the holidays for us.”

1. Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster Funhouse. Cepia
2. Bananagrams. Bananagrams
3. Zhu Zhu Pets Add On Garage. Cepia
4. Zhu Zhu Pets Add On Hamster Wheel. Cepia
5. Bakugan 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid. Spin Master
6. Mindflex Game. Mattel
7. Brilliant Basics Baby’s First Blocks. Fisher-Price
8. Lego City Advent Calendar. Lego
9. The Settlers of Catan. Mayfair Games
10. Slice and Bake Cookie Set. Melissa & Doug
11. Live Butterfly Garden. Insect Lore
12. Lego Star Wars Anakin’s Fighter. Lego
13. Leapster 2 Learning Game System (Green). LeapFrog
14. Playskool Busy Ball Popper. Hasbro
15. Ultimate Build Set. Lego

Source: Amazon.com top sellers for Sept. 15–Oct.15