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What's Selling for the Holidays

Pamela Brill -- Gifts and Dec, 12/1/2011 2:00:00 AM

BEAVER, PA
CASTLE TOYS AND GAMES
This neighborhood specialty shop - located just west of Pittsburgh - serves a community which has affectionately dubbed it as "the best toy store in Beaver County." Owner Linda Lyden shares her customers' current favorites:

FyrFlyz. Schylling. 978.948.3601

Balloon Pumping Station from Pumponator
Bilibo from KidO
Moose, Pig and Dino Popper from Hog Wild
Fashion Headbands from Creativity for Kids
Assorted activity books from Klutz
Playfoam from Educational Insights
After a decent summer with sales "slightly above last year's," Lyden remains hopeful for a prosperous fourth quarter. "We are noticing that customers are a lot more conscious of what they are buying," she says. "They are not only looking at price, but at the play value and how long they think a toy, game or puzzle will last." With this in mind, Lyden reports the store's layaway program being in full swing, have already surpassed the entire 2010 layaway season.

GRUENE, TX
GOT TOYS
A relative newcomer to the toy business, this 2-year-old specialty store offers an eclectic mix of high-end baby toys, as well as gag gifts for grown-ups and everyone in between. Owner Jen Johnson reveals which items are tops with her customers:
Angry Bird Plush from Commonwealth Toy
Mr. Mouthy Mouth from Basic Fun
Hand Boilers from Westminster
Teeth Pacifiers from Billy Bob Products
Kaleidoscopic from Can You Imagine
Hexbug Larva from Innovation First Labs
To kick off the shopping season, Johnson puts out a 10-percent-off coupon for her Facebook fans. "Facebook is a great tool for us; when we put something on there, people come looking for it," she says. The first weekend in December, the community hosts its annual Christmas festival; a themed show is held right in front of the store. "That is our biggest weekend for sales," says Johnson, adding that the free gift wrap service is a big draw.

SAN MATEO, CA
TALBOT'S TOYLAND
A northern California mainstay, this mom-and-pop shop has been serving the Bay Area since 1953. General manager Keith Schumacker, who has been with the store for 20 years, notes the top-grossing toys as of late:
Hexbug Ant from Innovation First Labs
Stomp Rocket from D&L Co.
Assorted yo-yos from Duncan Toys
Lacing Beads in a Box from Melissa & Doug
Beyblades from Hasbro
Talbot's holiday shopping season starts the day after Thanksgiving when Santa rides into town on a fire truck. Last year, the store went with a new Santa, and Schumacker recalls over 2,000 people waiting in line to see him. "People aren't going to buy presents with their kids there in front of them, but they'll come back," he says. Things really heat up a week or two before Christmas "when people don't want to buy online and deal with the high cost of shipping. It's up to specialty stores like us to provide them with a pleasant, unique experience," says Schumacker.

BROOKFIELD, WI
LEARNING EXPRESS OF BROOKFIELD, WI
With its first year in business, this specialty chain store, situated inside a suburban Milwaukee shopping mall, has been experiencing a steady stream of walk-in traffic. Owner Mary Lewis, who also runs a sister Learning Express in Kenosha, reveals which toys are ringing up sales:
No! Button from Zany Toys LLC
Fastrack from Blue Orange Games
Air Swimmers from WMC
PlasmaCar from PlaSmart
Fashion Headbands from Creativity for Kids
Just days before Halloween, this Midwestern shop was already seeing a surge in holiday shoppers. "We are wrapping for Christmas," reports Lewis, adding that "anything Angry Birds" is on everyone's lists. This year, she is particularly excited about taking part in special Learning Express promotion that rewards customers for their purchase with a gift card good at The Children's Place. "There's one here in the mall, so it helps with the cross-traffic," adds Lewis.

Mattel Acquires HIT Entertainment
El Segundo, CA - Major toy vendor Mattel Inc. entered into an agreement to acquire HIT Entertainment for $680 million in cash from a consortium led by private equity firm Apax Partners' funds. HIT Entertainment owns preschool brands Thomas & Friends, Barney, Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam and Angelina Ballerina. The transaction is expected to be financed with a combination of cash and debt and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012. The acquisition does not include HIT Entertainment's interest in the Sprout cable network station. NEWS ROUNDUP
     HIT currently earns more than $180 million in revenues. Mattel currently markets many Thomas & Friends toy products under a license from HIT which extends through 2014. Mattel's global sales of Thomas & Friends diecast and plastic toys are more than $150 million. The current wood license expires at the end of 2012, at which time Mattel expects to add that line of business to its portfolio. Historically, the sales of wood-based toys have been around half the size of the plastic and die-cast business.
     Robert A. Eckert, chairman and CEO of Mattel, said in a statement, "With more than half of the Thomas & Friends revenue generated from non-toy products, this transaction will marry Mattel's global marketing, distribution and brand management capabilities with HIT Entertainment's global programming and licensing expertise to accelerate growth of the combined portfolio."
     Rumors of the deal first broke in the Wall Street Journal.

Spin Master Agrees to $1.3 Million Civil Penalty
Washington, DC - Spin Master Inc. of Los Angeles and Spin Master Ltd. of Toronto, Canada, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1,300,000.
     The settlement resolves allegations that Spin Master knowingly failed to report the defect and hazard associated with Aqua Dots to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) immediately, as required by federal law, as well as resolving allegations that Spin Master knowingly imported and sold Aqua Dots, which were toxic and a banned hazardous substance, in violation of federal law.
     Aqua Dots contained TMG which, upon ingestion, metabolizes to the controlled substance GHB. TMG is harmful if swallowed, targeting the kidneys and central nervous system. CPSC staff alleges that Spin Master learned this, and received reports of children getting sick after ingesting Aqua Dots, in mid October 2007, but did not tell the CPSC until the Commission contacted them in early November. Federal law requires companies to notify the commission within 24 hours of learning of a hazard.
     In agreeing to the settlement, Spin Master denies CPSC staff allegations that it knowingly violated the law.
     The penalty agreement was accepted provisionally by the CPSC.

Uglydoll Comes to TRU
Wayne, NJ - Toys"R"Us will introduce Uglydoll products in Toys"R"Us U.S. stores nationwide, as well as an Uglydoll shopping environment online at Toysrus.com. Offerings will include plush characters such as Ox and Ice-Bat and the new Citizens of the Uglyverse collection.
Neil Friedman, president, Toys"R"Us, U.S., said, "Offering distinctive merchandise, like Uglydolls, serves to further showcase Toys"R"Us as a specialty retailer of toys for every occasion."
The Uglydoll assortment available from Toys"R"Us includes keychains; Little Uglys; Citizens of the Uglyverse, and 12- to 14- inch Uglydoll plush in classic and new styles, including a Toys"R"Us-exclusive Winter Edition Uglydog, books, figurines, pillows, hats, keepsake boxes, clocks, banks and tin toys.

CPSC Adopts Children's Products Third Party Testing Rules
Washington, DC - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved new independent third party product testing rules for domestic manufacturers, importers and private labelers.
     If there is a material change to the product, such as changes in the design, manufacturing process, or source of Bryan Stocktoncomponent parts, firms must re-test and re-certify that the product complies with federal safety standards. Firms must keep records on the testing and certification for their children's products. The testing and certification rule will go into effect 15 months after it is published in the Federal Register. Children's products that comply with the law may bear the label, "Meets CPSC Safety Requirements." Labeling is voluntary.
     To reduce the burden on affected firms, the Commission also voted to allow firms to use component part and finished product testing conducted by their suppliers, effective 30 days after the rule is published.
     The Commission also voted to move forward with a notice of proposed rulemaking on representative samples. Under this proposal, firms could use product samples for periodic testing that are known to be representative of all the product manufactured or imported since their last periodic or certification test. Manufacturers would be required to document their testing and keep those records. CPSC also voted to publish a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on opportunities to reduce the cost of third party testing requirements, as required by Congress.

New Licensing Showcase to Co-Locate with Toy Fair
New York - The Toy Industry Association (TIA) is launching a new Brand & Entertainment Showcase in February 2012. The Showcase will be co-located with the 109th American International Toy Fair, which runs February 12-15, 2012, at the Jacob K. Javits Center. Content providers will be able to use small, private meeting spaces or large, public theatres for their presentations. For more information about participating in the Brand and Entertainment Showcase, contact sales executive and producer Jennifer Coleman, jennifer@jcinc.biz.
Coleman, founder of JC Inc., previously served as senior vice president of marketing and new business development for the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA). She has worked on brands such as Chanel, Thomas & Friends, Discovery Zone, Country Road Australia and Broadway's WICKED.

Mattel CEO to Retire

El Segundo, CA - Robert A. Eckert informed the board of directors of major toy manufacturer Mattel Inc. of his decision to retire as CEO effective December 31, after 11 years with the company. The board named Bryan G. Stockton, who has held the position COO for the past year, to succeed Eckert as CEO, effective January 1, 2012. Eckert will continue in his role as nonexecutive chairman of the board, and the board elected Stockton as a member of the board, also effective January 1, 2012.
     "Simply stated, I have loved working at Mattel, and it has been my privilege to work alongside the most talented and dedicated people in the toy business. Our employees have built this company into what it is today. While my decision to retire has not been an easy one, I am confident that we have the momentum in the marketplace and the leadership in place to take the company to the next level," Eckert said in a statement.
     Said Stockton, "This is an exciting time to be working at Mattel, as we evolve the company from toy to play; from product management to franchise management."
     Stockton joined Mattel in 2000 as executive VP of business planning and development. He gained responsibility for International in 2003 and became president of International in 2007.

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CPSC Adopts Children's Products Third Party Testing Rules

Oct 21, 2011

Mattel Acquires HIT Entertainment

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