Assembly Required
Manufacturers are breaking down barriers as they build up the construction toy category
by Kelly Maxey -- Gifts and Dec, 10/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
The road sign, if there were one, might read, "Manufacturers at work, continuously." Companies in the construction toy category are turning out new offerings by the truckload. In fact, increased competition within this category, notes Michael McNally, senior brand relations manager for Lego Americas, has been "spurring other players to be more innovative with their own construction products."
The end result is a plethora of choices, from traditional blocks to multipiece construction sets, enabling retailers to showcase expanded offerings. But in some cases, stores are left wondering on what shelf to put the diversity of product. In the case of construction toys, innovation is indeed, making the definition of the category more challenging by the day!
Block by block
Whether simple or complex, a true construction toy is one that "encourages long-lasting creative play," according to Nancy Raup, head of marketing for K'nex Industries. She makes a distinction between toys that require a single assembly and "toys that you can put together again and again and rebuild into something different every time."
Kay Thomson, senior product manager for Brio Corp., says a real construction toy is one that can be re-assembled again and again. It is "a toy that allows a child to build anything he or she can imagine and then can be played with. It's not something that you build and then it just sits there."
Similarly, Jonathan Traub, president and Chief Executive Officer of Atollo Construction, says that his company believes in enhancing a child's imagination. By developing products that are "compatible with all major construction toys sets in the market today," Atollo "allows children to expand their current sets and opens up a door to new possibilities."
No matter the construction toy, children are interested in seeing the fruits of their labor. "Kids like construction toys because building is fun," Raup tells PLAYTHINGS. But most of all, "they like to see what they can make the products do and become after they've been built." She cites the 'Wow, I made that happen' factor as the reason kids keep returning to their construction toys.
By the same token, parents "want to know that the product is fun, but they also want it to be educational," says Brio's Thomson.
Traub says that parents also want a product that is easy to store, durable, easy for their child to use and that will capture and sustain their child's attention for a long time.
The building plan
The continuous introduction of new product is keeping the major category players on their toes. McNally tells PLAYTHINGS how Lego has "blurred the lines of innovation" by developing products that aren't restricted to any single toy category. He points to the Bionicle line, launched in February 2001, which is a construction toy, but also can be considered in the action figures category. A newer release, Clikits, has a place in both the arts and crafts and building toy sectors, according to Lego.
McNally sees two emerging trends in construction toys: one toward "more scientific, more complex toys that take longer to build" and another toward "more simple toys, like Clikits and Bionicles."
Traub has seen the construction category evolve "from a basic box of blocks, to themed sets, to more complex products and models." Even though the market has expanded to include "more complex and scientific products targeting a niche group of children," Traub tells PLAYTHINGS that "Atollo and other leading brand construction sets continue to keep the building concept simple." Simple models, he says, "appeal to a broader market. Children who have basic building skills can enjoy them as much as those who have already tackled the most complicated construction set."
Nevertheless, Mega Bloks is offering products with "added features," creating so-called "hybrid" toys that "merge both blocks and other toy concepts together," says Susan Spiegel, the company's director of marketing communications. Adding features "with electronic components such as music and recognition systems" has "allowed us to extend the play pattern, making [the toys] more complex." It has also "add[ed] to the overall play experience," notes Spiegel.
Vic Bertrand, executive vice president and COO of Mega Bloks, says that the company employs "a combined strategy of category expansion and differentiation" to generate more demand for its products. He notes that Mega Bloks remains competitive by "ensuring that our product lines are diverse in theme."
While competition drives innovation, so does the consumer, says Brio's Thomson. "Kids don't just want a product that they can pretend flies," she says. "They want a product that really flies."
Children are also being "teased by technology," says Raup of K'nex. One of the biggest challenges manufacturers face, she tells PLAYTHINGS, is making toys that satisfy a generation accustomed to high-tech products. "We used to find a way to sell what we could make. Now it's about finding a way to make what we know we can sell," she says.
Even though some construction toys appeal to more "advanced builders," manufacturers claim that there will always be product for every age and skill level. In fact, manufacturers are trying to attract younger consumers to the category. "The construction category is about simple play for young builders," adds Raup.
Brio's Thomson agrees. "More young children are getting involved," she notes. Whereas the company used to have products for ages 8 and up, it now produces toys for ages 4 and up.
Atollo targets children ages 5 and up. Says Traub, "At this stage, a child's mind is at an exciting new level in learning and they want to experience new things. Their imagination is truly beginning to take off."
With shelf space at a premium, retailers are looking to manufacturers for help in sorting out the diversity of construction products. And they are getting it!
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K'nex encourages retailers to create visual displays of product because they are "better than anything the box could ever present," says Raup.
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Brio provides stores with pre-built models of its Erector products, "so parents and kids can see what the model looks like," says Thomson. The company employs sales representatives with "extensive knowledge of the products" who travel around the country to host in-store workshops, thereby exposing consumers to the Erector line.
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Mega Bloks will supply retailers with a bevy of in-store promotional materials, including valences, shelf strips, power signs, blades and brand flags, banners, posters, logos, window stickers, floor stickers, shelf acrylics and floor displays, among other tools. "We are always looking for creative ways to highlight our product and this fall, we will feature more in-store presence than ever before," says Bertrand.
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Atollo provides a point-of-purchase package to stores that place a minimum product order. The package includes Atollo wobblers, shelf strips, posters, header signs and displays. "We also encourage in-store Atollo play days and will provide kits to enable the stores to hold these events," says Traub.
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Besides providing visual displays, Lego is currently sponsoring a "What Will You Make?" tour. The company encourages children around the world to compete for becoming a Lego Apprentice MasterBuilder. The contest winner has the chance to observe and participate in the creative process for developing the next MasterBuilders' Lego display. McNally notes that "it is very important to get the experience in the hands of the kids."
The assembly line
Meanwhile, with or without manufacturer assistance, retailers themselves implement a combination of strategies to promote construction products, they tell PLAYTHINGS. Strategies include:
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in-store play days,
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use of in-store displays,
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offering product samples,
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displaying product according to skill levels, and
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displaying product according to age categories.
"Lego is the most popular," says Karen Heath, owner of The Toy Chest in Latham, N.Y. She is particularly fond of the Lego buckets. Instead of following a set of instructions and "building what they tell you to build," these buckets let kids "use [their] own imagination." The products that sell in her store are those with unique packaging, those that foster "free play" and those that "have been advertised on TV, like the Harry Potter Legos."
In addition to Lego, The Toy Chest carries products such as Lincoln Logs from K'nex, Tumble Tree Timbers from Maxim Enterprise and basic building blocks from Melissa and Doug in its construction section. Heath has observed that Matchitecture from BJ Toys, a set that uses matchsticks to build towers, "sells really well with the older kids."
Heath notes that, despite the growing availability of complex building toys, basic blocks are "a big part of my inventory." In contrast, The Toy Store in White Bear Township, Minn., features sets from Lego, K'nex, Educational Insights and Brio Erector. "The more advanced sets sell better," says store owner Lynn Melchior.
Lego is also a major player on the shelves at The Learning Express in Saugus, Mass., according to owner Carol Kessel. "People will always want to build things," she says. "They like to do things that are hands-on and see the results of their work." Kessel adds that building toys keep kids well-occupied.
The construction shelves at this Learning Express are filled with products: K'nex, Playmobil and Progressive Trading.
Unlike other retailers, Day Dreams & Playthings in Amarillo, Texas, has no shelf designation for the category. Instead, construction products from Lego, K'nex, Rokenbok, Playmobil, Brio and RC2 Corp. are "spread out" to "pull customers all through the store," says store manager Amber Trayler. The retailer uses visual displays to draw attention to the products, such as the K'nex Musical Ferris Wheel and a Pirate Ship from Playmobil that hangs from the ceiling.
Giggles: Toys & More in Bozeman, Mont., carries a mix of both simple and complex construction toys. "Basic blocks are a must," notes store owner Shanna Frieling, "but [they] are not a big part of my selection." The store carries "constant sellers" from Lego, K'nex, Tinker Toys, Progressive Trading and Brio. Though she isn't sure "how many people see it as a construction toy," Magz-X "just sells and sells," she says. Frieling also tries to incorporate lesser-known manufacturers into the store's construction product mix.
Mass-ive displays
In-store displays are a popular merchandising tool at Toys R Us in Carle Place, N.Y. PLAYTHINGS visited the store and saw K'nex models cascading from the ceiling, including an Overdrive Monster Truck, an airplane, R/C Dragster Burnout and a model from Fun Set. A K'nex Musical Ferris Wheel was also displayed on the shelf. Markus Anderson, assistant director at the store, said that the multiple K'nex displays are the primary reason the products sell. "They [kids] see it in the store and they want it," he explains.
The shelves at TRU were teeming with Lego products, including an end cap with the company's new line of sports-themed construction toys. The Lego Clikits, however, were strategically placed on a shelf that bordered both the construction and the arts and crafts sections of the store.
Large portions of shelf space were also devoted to plastic building blocks from Mega Bloks, K'nex Lincoln Logs and other assorted K'nex products (for both beginner and intermediate builders), and Tonka Search and Rescue and Built to Rule Action Building Sets from Hasbro. A small portion of real estate was devoted to helicopter and army construction sets from Best-Lock Construction Toys, Tinker Toys Construction Sets from Hasbro and one Rokenbok Starter Set.
Lego, Mega Bloks, Playmobil, K'nex and Hasbro were also major players on the shelves at Target in Westbury, N.Y. Surprisingly, K'nex products were nowhere in sight at a Wal-Mart in Uniondale, N.Y. Instead, shelf space was dominated by Lego, including the Sports sets, Harry Potter Legos, Star Wars sets, Bionicle and Lego Creator, Explore and Designer Sets. Mega Bloks' construction toys were prominently displayed and included multi-piece building sets for younger children and Blok Bots and Dragons for the more advanced builders. Tinker Toys Construction Sets from Hasbro and Kid Connection Building Blocks rounded out the selection.
As the category of construction toys continues to develop, does the future ensure a harmonious co-existence of traditional building blocks and multipiece construction kits on store shelves? Given the breadth of product coming to market, manufacturers are clearly focusing on construction sets targeted to children of different ages and skill levels or that "can grow with a child," says Traub of Atollo. "A 5-year-old can start by building a little figure and by the time they are 10, they could be building a 3-foot dragon."
With a wealth of choices, appealing to both novices and experienced builders, kids will have enough opportunities!
We would love your feedback!
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