Toy buyers looking to nab the year’s hottest games, gear, dolls and other playthings have descended on the American International Toy Fair, which kicked off on Sunday.
Registration is up 18 percent from last year, according to the Toy Industry Association, and organizers hope that will translate into robust sales for the beleaguered industry.
“The mood is upbeat,” said Chris Byrne, an industry expert known as The Toy Guy, as he walked through the Javits Center in Manhattan. “A lot of people came out of 2004 with low inventory, and they’re in the mood to buy things.”
And a strong dose of optimism is in order.
At the fair, it was a mix of fun and business. Bubbles floated through the air as a woman on stilts wearing rainbow pants strode down the aisles pulling a miniature kite. A man in a business suit inspected a plush pig with a punk hairstyle and a biker vest, while two buyers critiqued a frog puppet.
In 2004, toy sales slumped 3 percent to $20.1 billion, and would have been worse if not for brisk December sales of electronic toys, according to market researcher NPD Group.
The U.S. toy industry is grappling with years of intense price competition, slipping revenues, higher costs, store closings and high-profile bankruptcies. The remaining retailers know they have to stand out from the crowd to survive.
“It’s actually getting easier now that some specialty toy retailers have gone out of business,” said Mary Dondero, a buyer for Cheshire Cat Fine Toys in Fort Myers, Florida. “I’m looking for stuff you can’t get at mass retailers and that will get my customers excited.”
High-tech toys are expected to be hot in 2005. With the price of technology falling, toymakers can add interactivity without adding too much to the price.
Many old chestnuts are being refreshed as manufacturers combine technology with retro toy favorites.
Hasbro Inc. updated Furby with a new look, advanced voice recognition and robotic puppetry. Ohio Art is giving its classic drawing toy Etch A Sketch a make-over with Etch A Sketch Wired that plugs into a television. Mattel Inc. added motion sensors to its plush Pound Puppies so they move their heads and bark when approached.
But bells and whistles don’t necessarily mean ringing cash registers.
“The fundamental thing is it’s got to be a good toy first and foremost,” Byrne said. “If it’s not a good toy, it doesn’t matter how advanced it is.”
Low tech, no tech
In fact, some buyers at the fair searched for technology-free toys.
Ruth Blair of Matrushka, a toy shop in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, said she was looking for nonviolent items with no plastic, electronics or batteries.
“It’s sad. Children are losing human interaction,” she said, noting that finding products for her store was sometimes like “looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Specialty retailers often look to buy unusual toys to differentiate themselves from mass merchants, who can slash prices because they order in massive quantities.
Folkmanis Puppets, a family-owned maker of elaborate hand puppets that sells to specialty retailers, has seen buyers gravitate to lower-priced items.
“We use kids’ imaginations to work the toy instead of a computer chip,” said spokeswoman Teresa Klein, gesturing to a dragon puppet perched on her shoulder.