Posts Tagged ‘Toys’
« Older Entries |This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Moshi Monsters Signs 100th Partner
Friday, October 21st, 2011
Mind Candy announced its “monstrous” licensing program for Moshi Monsters at Brand Licensing Europe. Mind Candy has more than 40 UK licensees on board and another 60 signed internationally.
For the UK, licensees for Moshi Monsters include Vivid as master toy partner, Penguin for publishing, Topps for trading cards, Winning Moves for Top Trumps, Ty for Beanie Babies, Activision for Nintendo DS, Mega Brands for construction blocks, E-max for claybuddies, Gemma International for greeting cards and party wear, H Grossman for wheeled products, and more. The U.S. program now has more than 50 partners for softlines, toys and games, hardlines, publishing, novelty, activity, back-to-school, and celebration, with more category announcements coming soon.
Moshi Monsters has also announced that a court injunction has banned the planned release of a music single from one of its Moshling characters, Lady Goo Goo. The injunction was granted to Lady Gaga, preventing Mind Candy from “promoting, advertising, selling, distributing, or otherwise making available to the public ‘The Moshi Dance’ or any musical work or video which purports to be performed by a character by the name of Lady Goo Goo.” Lady Gaga’s lawyers argued that the pop star and character singer were too similar.
Tags: licensing, Mind Candy, Moshi Monsters, Toys
Posted in Licenses, New Products, News | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Top Toy Trends This Holiday Season, According to Target
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
This holiday season there will be nearly 7,000 toys featured in Target stores and on Target.com. Stephanie Lucy, vice president of merchandising at Target, shares what she thinks will be the five key toy trends this season and the hot toys that match them.
Interactivity
“One of the key items we selected is Fijit Friends. You look at Fijit and the ability to put it in dance mode, and the voice-recognition and built-in responses. Also, Let’s Rock Elmo is interactive for a much younger child, but we believe interactivity is important.”
Tags: Barbie Designable Hair Extensions, Cars 2, Cars 2 Charge Ups Charge ‘N’ Race Speedway, Disney-Pixar, educational, Fijit Friends, games, Hasbro, holiday season, interactivity, LeapFrog, LeapPad, Let's Rock Elmo, Mattel, merchandising, movies, personalization, Scrabble Flash, Simon Flash, Stephanie Lucy, Target, Toys, trends, Yahtzee Flash
Posted in Articles, Licenses, New Products, News, holiday season | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
From Factory to Shelf: An Inside Look at Target’s Holiday Toy Merchandising Strategies
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Walking into the toy section of a store like Target during the holiday season can be overwhelming for shoppers, who are faced with toy aisle upon toy aisle of great products to choose from. Thousands of additional products can be found online. Those that make it onto store shelves during the season are often thought of as the crème de la crème, and being chosen for Target’s shelves can bring tremendous success to a toy manufacturer.
Stephanie Lucy, Target’s vice president of merchandising, chats with Elizabeth A. Reid of The Toy Book to talk about holiday merchandising strategies, how it makes its toy selections, and what Target is doing to become a top destination for holiday shopping.
The Toy Book: Let’s paint a picture of how great toys get to Target. How far in advance do you plan for each holiday season?
Stephanie Lucy: We actually start looking for content for the holiday season in September or October the year before. For example, we are going to market right now to look for products for next holiday season.
TB: So, how do you pick the toys? When you are at market, what do you look for?
SL: First of all, it starts with us evaluating what is currently working at Target—what’s selling and what’s not—and ensuring that we understand what the guest is interested in. Beyond that, it really is strong partnerships with our vendors. We do business with the largest toy manufacturers around the world. So, it’s sitting down with them and understanding what they believe the hottest toys are going to be, and what they believe content should look like for the year to come.
Tags: Christmas, holiday season, merchandising, Target, Toys
Posted in Articles, Exclusive, New Products, News, holiday season | No Comments »
This post was written by Jackie Breyer
Garanimals Toys at Walmart
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
This summer, Garanimals will debut a new array of infant plush exclusively at Walmart. Inspired by the Garanimals newborn and infant apparel, the collection will include 28 soft, cuddly, and cute plush items available in a variety of colors and prints for boys and girls, as well as gender-neutral options. Prices range from $5-$12.
At Walmart in June, Garanimals is also introducing a wide-range of toys and accessories for infants through age 2, including activity gyms, crib mirrors, finger puppets, mini o-balls, rattles, soft squeakers, teethers, wood toys, and more. The toys range in price from $1 to $12.
The new lines will be available in the infant department of Walmart.
Tags: Garanimals, infant, low price, Toys, Walmart
Posted in 0-2 | 2 Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Kids Wish Network in Need of Dolls and Toy Cars
Monday, April 12th, 2010
Kids Wish Network, a 501 (c) 3 organization that serves children with life-threatening illnesses, is in desperate need of donations of dolls and toy cars. Despite the demand for high-tech gadgets, dolls and toy cars remain on the top of the list of the most desirable toys. Playing with a toy is a calming and relaxing activity for kids who are suffering from illnesses, distressed while dealing with harsh circumstances like homelessness, or trying to cope with other traumatic situations such as abuse.
Through its gift giving Holiday of Hope Gift Bank program, Kids Wish Network distributes thousands of dollars worth of toys and games directly to children within approximately 150 hospitals and child care facilities per year across the country; there are no middle men involved.
Tags: cars, dolls, donations, Kids Wish Network, Toys
Posted in News | 1 Comment »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
NPD Announces 2009 Toy Sales Results
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
According to The NPD Group, U.S. retail sales of toys generated $21.47 billion in 2009 compared to $21.65 billion in 2008, a decline of less than 1 percent. In the fourth quarter of 2009 (October through December), although revenues were flat, unit sales were up 4 percent compared to the same period in 2008.
Tags: 2009, NPD Group, sales, Toys
Posted in Financial, News | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Spain Proposes to Ban Kids’ Meal Toys
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Spain’s Health Ministry is proposing legislation to ban restaurants, food manufacturers, and fast food chains from including toys and prizes with their meals. Read more in this Time article.
Tags: Kids meal, Spain, Toys
Posted in News | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
The Toy Book’s Toy Report 11/24/09
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Catch up on last week’s news! Read The Toy Book Toy Report for 11/24/09.
To view click here.
Tags: ALEX, Babies R Us, Cookie Jar, Craft & Hobby Association, Discovery Bay Games, FAO Schwarz, Free Shipping Day, gift cards, Harris Interactive, Meijer, National Retail Federation, phthalates, Scientific American, Sears, Target, The Big Toy Book, TOTY, Toy Industry Association, Toy Safety Certification Program, Toys, Toys R Us
Posted in Financial, Licenses, New Products, News, Newsletters, People | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
California Orders Products Off Shelves for Excessive Lead
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
California Attorney General Jerry Brown has ordered Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, TJ Maxx, and other retailers to pull products from their shelves after the state said it found illegal amounts of lead in items. Brown said that seven toys and other products tested by the Center for Environmental Health were found to have more than the maximum lead amount of 300 parts per million (ppm) allowed by California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act.
Tags: lead, Toys
Posted in News | 2 Comments »
