Out of the Toy Box   

I, for some crazy reason, thought that kids were watching less television. What with so many distractions like the Internet, cell phones and video games, I assumed that television watching among children was in a steep decline. No more glossy stares; no more drool  and no more incoherence as they laid on the couch watching yet another cartoon show.

Wrong! Kids are watching more television than ever. At least that is what a New York Times article aptly entitled, “Children Watch More TV Than Ever” had to say: “Nielsen reported last week ...Read More

I have written in the past about the enormous impact that toy inventors have on society. Toy inventions have a steady and prolonged impact on children and they can therefore help shape the future of the world.   Adults choose careers and even clothing styles based upon the toys they favored as children. (If you doubt this, take a minute to talk with an architect and ask them what they played with as children. I bet an Erector Set, Lego or some other construction toy will immediately and passionately be mentioned).

Reuben Klamer, this year’s Toy and Game Inventor Lifetime Achievement Award winner, has had such an...Read More

Toy Nation needs to attract the best and the brightest if it is too grow and prosper.  That is why it was so great to read Sharon Diminco (CEO of Learning Express) state in a October 23, 2009 Daily News Tribune article that the Learning Express “…franchising model has been a magnet for bright entrepreneurs who were either forced out or decided to leave jobs at big companies. The store owners enjoy working for themselves for a change, and they become passionate ambassadors for the products.”

This comment was particularly pleasing to me as...Read More

Soupy Sales died this week. He is survived by “Black Tooth,” “White Fang,” “Pookie the Lion” and a ton of “used to be” kids who loved his pie in the face sense of humor. 

Soupy, whose real name was Milton Supman, was born in North Carolina. According to Wikipedia, “Sales got his nickname from his family. His older brothers had been nicknamed "Hambone" and "Chicken Bone"; Milton was dubbed "Soup Bone," which was later shortened to "Soupy." Other sources say that it was simply a play on his last name. Whatever the cause, it was a somehow...Read More

First, let me be very clear.  I do not normally read the Luann comic strip.  

My eye was, however, caught by what seemed to me at least a surprisingly interesting puzzle idea for an enterprising puzzle company. 

So, we are going to go multimedia today.  Please look at the Luann comic strip which I have pasted below.  When doing so, I am going to ask you to only pay attention to the puzzle idea and not to the very, and I mean very, lame and not entirely intelligible bran muffin joke.  And ...Read More

Kmart must have been on to something last year when it went old school with a layaway plan last seen in the 1970’s. It seems that other retailers like the ideas too.

As I wrote at the time: “For those of you too young to remember layaway, it is a pre easy credit system in which a consumer picks out an item they want, makes a down payment on the item, and then makes a series of payments until the item is paid for. The retailer keeps the item in “layaway” and gives it to the consumer when the last payment is made.”

It looks like Kmart was on to something because sister company, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory and now ...Read More

Toys R Us is getting smarter. Thank God, we need a smart Toys R Us. Why, because the toy industry needs to give the American consumer a broader and brighter vision of the toy industry than the narrow group of sku’s they find in Wal-Mart.

A toy store or toy department needs to be about magic, excitement and surprise. Not the deadening experience that almost 25% of Americans g...Read More

I was very pleased to see the Wall Street Journal devoting a major article in its October 21, 2009 edition to the battle between Barbe, Moxie Girlz and Liv. The article, written by Ann Zimmerman and entitled “Mattel Hopes Barbie Facelift Will Show up Younger Rivals," provides a good analysis of what each company is doing. There are some good insights on the various strategies and product differentiators as well as some interesting spin from each company’s spokesperson.

This is the second big article on a toy c...Read More

One of the advantages of a trip outside of the US, particularly to a place one typically does not visit, is to get a perspective on the U.S. Dollar and its impact on exports and imports. That was one of the thoughts that hit me this week as I spoke with my clients, lawyers, financiers and marketers while in Australia.

From what I can see, hear and read Australia is coming out of the recession a lot faster than the US. The Australian dollar was, just a few months ago, worth roughly 65 cents to the US dollar. It is now nearing parity and some analysts here are predicting it will hit $1.10. That would be a 45 cent swing in value in just a few months; great for Australian imports, terri...Read More

I am currently in Perth, Australia for of a week of mostly work and a bit of enjoyment. I was invited by a client to speak to their company shareholders. There were roughly 150 people in attendance and it was nice to see that kind of broad support for my client’s business in particular and the toy industry in general.

Perth is an interesting and beautiful city as it is perched on the Indian Ocean with no other major Australian city within 1,000 miles. It was a long trip (25 total hours in the air) but worth it as this is a beautiful place.

I had a chance to walk around downtown for a little while today and it’s interesting to see the...Read More

Earlier in the year I posted a blog entry, "First Lady 1, Toy Industry 0." It was about Ty’s controversial  Sasha and Maya dolls. The dolls, which depicted the Obama children, upset the White House  and Ty withdrew the dolls from the marketplace.

It seems, however, that the toy industry is not through with the Obamas. According to a New York Times article, “The First Lady: A Toy Story,” the toy in...Read More

Is the weak performance of the GI Joe movie a fluke or is it a harbinger of things to come for boys’ action movies? This is no small question. The toy industry in general and action figures in particular, have benefited from a string of hit movies. Features like the Spider Man series, Transformers and even Iron Man have generated some very nice numbers.

It could be that the GI Joe movie is just not as good as the others or it could be that parents and maybe even kids are beginning to feel manipulated or even bored by what might appear as a too predictable  cycle of boys action films and seemingly mandatory movi...Read More