Unless otherwise noted, all prices listed are retail prices.
It's no wonder people are sleepless in Seattle: Everyone appears
to be toy shopping! From the forever-trendy Groovy Girls to the new
wave bingo game, Zingo, the toy market is an open forum for
innovation and creativity with no one particular plaything stealing
the corner market.
In specialty stores
According to specialty toy retailers, Groovy Girls are always at
the top of the hit list without question, and with each season comes
more fun and more funk. Manhattan Toy recently added the "B" series
of Groovy Girls to the doll lineup and a plethora of fashion-forward
clothing and accessories. Let us not forget, there are even more
Groovy Furniture and more Groovy Pets as well. It's all groovy good,
according to Kevin Byrne, sales associate at Imagination Toys.
Brio is another all-time hot ticket item and, it seems, Brio
pirate sets have taken over the maiden ship for the time being. Is
this perhaps a new trend on the heels of the recent movie release,
Pirates of the Caribbean? It's hard to say…Entertainment
Weekly gave the movie only a "C" rating. Nonetheless, Brio is
getting an "A" rating at the specialty gift stores, along with Lego
Creator and crafts by Curiosity Kits. Wendy Frank, ordering and
receiving clerk at Top Ten Toys, tells PLAYTHINGS that she puts Brio
as well as Playmobil on her list of top sellers. She said her store,
which sells "mostly classic and traditional toys and no electronics,
has very consistent sales throughout the year on several items and
there is no one item over another that is particularly hot."
Creativity for Kids craft projects, Creative Education of Canada's
Dress Up clothes and Folkmanis fairy puppets were also at the top of
her list. Frank added, " Zoobs, the connecting toy based on how
nature and living things work, were gone for a while but now they
are back and we are very excited to have them on order."
Zingo from Binary Arts seems to be the game to play. According to
Ann Walker, store manager of Curious Kidstufff, "Zingo is a tough
game to keep in stock." Byrne listed Tiny Tag by
SeanO Toys as the latest
game craze. Walker added, "While D&L Company's Squeeze Rockets
were great sellers all summer, customers getting ready for school
are increasing sales on Trend flashcards.
