Not Your Grandma's Retro

Yes, the Baby Boomers are here. And while we may have had our fill of hearing about how they're “transforming retirement,” buying experiences not “things” (except for second homes, of course) and reinventing themselves — if you think the hubbub is going to go away anytime soon, think again.

Nearly half of the manufacturers surveyed last month by Gifts & Decorative Accessories reported that they would be targeting the Boomer demographic in '07. Additionally, 50 percent see the market for modern/contemporary heating up, and 27 percent see retro on the rise, with fashion designers, book/movie characters, adventure/lifestyle, nostalgic and pop-character licensing all on the upswing.

As for Americana? Well, apparently it is just too twentieth century! According to respondents to the G&DA “Trends and Forecasts Survey,” the great majority see it cooling off significantly. (Editor's Note: A full report on the survey will appear in the December issue of G&DA.)

In fact, one of our respondents told us, “Anything vintage is hot!” Another said there's increasing interest in retro toys, and still another said, “Licensed professional and collegiate sports is the number one gift in the male category.”

Taken together, this information indicates that specialty retailers might want to start reconsidering the “vintage” and “retro” categories in terms of the demographic that is walking around with the biggest wad of cash (or, more likely, plastic).

To Boomers, vintage and retro products are reminiscent of their own childhoods. It's no wonder, then, that the market is seeing some new types of licensing deals.

For example, what Boomer doesn't remember those 100-mile auto trips (without seat belts, of course) from which arose the legendary phrase: “Do I have to stop this car?” And along the way, Stuckey's family restaurant was a mainstay of the road trip. A Stuckey's pecan log roll soothed many a frayed nerve.

Now, for the first time it its 70-year history, Stuckey's has entered the licensing arena, engaging SloanVision Unlimited (SVU) as its representative.

“We have unique products” says Chip Rosencrans, Stuckey's vice chair and CEO. “Stuckey's is a premier brand, especially for nuts and confectionery-nut products, and we're continuing to open new Stuckey's locations and expand our distribution through top tier grocery chains.”

Lois Sloane, SVU president, notes that in addition to food products, the company “is also seeking manufacturers in gifts and collectibles, apparel and accessories, publishing and toys and games.”

Robert Tonner, Hurley, NY-based creator of fashion dolls, is also entering the Boomer licensing arena. Through an arrangement with DC Comics, Tonner Character Figures will create 16” articulated Wonder Woman and Supergirl figures — and they're headed for specialty retail icon F.A.O. Schwarz in time for the holiday season.

Wonder Woman and Supergirl were both inspired by art concepts from what is recognized as the “Silver Age” of DC Comics' comic books. “What we have created are not fashion dolls, or typical action figures, but a new type of hybrid,” says Robert Tonner, the company's CEO and head designer. The dressed dolls will retail for $124.99.

Tonner's timing couldn't be better. Not only are boomers out shopping for their own brand of nostalgia and vintage, according to consumer and retail information provider Port Washington, NY-based The NPD Group, retail sales of dolls, action figures and accessories exceeded $4 billion in sales last year, representing an increase of 1 percent in a soft retail market that experienced sharp declines in other categories.

Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is another company looking to penetrate the Boomer demographic, but on the younger end, recently striking licensing deals for manufacture of Breakfast Club journals, bookmarks and 8”x10” postcards with Import Images, based in New York and with Revell-Monogram of Northbrook, IL, for Battlestar Galactica unassembled plastic model kits.