Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
from Summit Notebook:
Barbie does Beijing: The adventures of a Malibu girl in China
Modern day national influence, some smart people like to argue, spreads through the "soft power" of brand appeal and attraction rather than the "hard power" of coercion. In China, one avatar of U.S. soft power tends to be trim and busty, and come with blue eyes and a long mane of blonde hair. Her name is Barbie, she is made of plastic, she was born in Malibu and Chinese girls want to be like her.
Barbie comes in all sorts of versions, according to the man who introduces her to her foreign friends, Mattel's international president, Bryan Stockton. Still, in China, the No. 1-selling Barbie doll is the sunny surfer girl who cruised across the Pacific from southern California to bring millions of young Chinese girls a new vision of the world, not to mention themselves.
"The challenge (in China) is to have toys become a part of the culture," Stockton said at the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit on Monday. "We're trying to get our toys to be a part of a child's development. ... In Chinese culture it's very important to help girls think they can aspire to be something. ... Barbie is a western icon and she's an American icon, and Barbie is from Malibu, California."
"Now," Stockton said, "Barbie is a part of Chinese educational culture and Chinese pop culture."
It's important to remember, however, that it's not about seeing yourself in Barbie's physical manifestation here on earth. As Stockton said:
"In reality, Barbie is a toy. Barbie is for aspiration. ... Barbie doesn't represent anything concrete. Barbie is a plastic doll, so what we try to concentrate on is all the things Barbie provides for girls... She's a great thing for girls. She's done a lot of wonderful things for girls, and so we're going to continue to emphasize the positive."
Wish they all could be California girls? Wish no longer.
Check Out Line: Parents back to buying toys
Check out strong quarterly results from Hasbro.
The No. 2 toymaker behind Mattel said quarterly net profit nearly tripled while revenue jumped 8.2 percent. The maker of Littlest Pet Shop said it got the biggest boost from girls and preschoolers, with sales jumping 16 percent and 18 percent respectively.
Some of the gain came from favorable currency exchange rates, but even excluding that factor, revenue was up 5 percent. Mattel also posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
Sales of products for boys only rose 3 percent, but Hasbro is expecting more gains from toys tied to the releases of two movies — “Iron Man 2″ and “Toy Story 3″ — this year. Its lineup for 2012 is stronger, with “Stretch Armstrong,” “Battleship,” “The First Avenger: Captain America” and “Spider-Man 4″ movies all slated for release that year.
Also in the basket:
Check Out Line: Barbie and friends sell well
Check out the stronger-than-anticipated results from Mattel.
The toy giant notched a 12 percent jump in sales and a surprise profit in its latest quarter, sending a strong signal that toys are getting year-round attention, not just a holiday season boost.
Barbie’s sales rose 5 percent and some newer items, such as the World Wresting Entertainment and Thomas and Friends collections, were very good sellers, Mattel said. (That’s Triple H showing off his WWE action figure at Toy Fair earlier this year)
American Girl dolls and accessories posted a 6 percent rise in sales, suggesting even pricey goods are back in style.
Mattel’s strength came on the heels of U.S. retailers posting a stellar month of sales growth. Even Canada’s MEGA Brands, which posted a loss last month, said its sales rose for the first time since the first quarter of 2007. Are consumers back for good? We’ll get another dose of data when Mattel’s main rival, Hasbro, issues its results on Monday.
Also in the basket:
Fisher-Price launches iPhone apps and gets on Facebook
Mattel’s Fisher-Price, home to many infant and preschool toy brands, is going digital.
The maker of Little People playsets and Power Wheels toy cars is launching iPhone applications related to its “The Chatter Telephone,” “See ‘n Say” and “Little People Farm” brands.
Sure, the target audience for the apps is a bit too young to buy iPhones. Still, they often use them.
“iPhone and iPod Touch devices are regularly being passed to kids for entertainment,” said Dave Ciganko, Fisher-Price’s vice president of design.
Fisher-Price is also launching a new “Moments to Share” application on Facebook, giving parents another tool to share their child’s photos and videos, and access new toy ideas.
With a swipe of a finger on Apple’s iPhone, the Little People Farm app lets kids view their favorite characters on the farm yard, and make them laugh, jump into puddles, dance and make sounds. The various apps sell for 99 cents to $1.99 at the iTunes App Store.
Check Out Line: Holiday cheer in Barbie land
Check out more Barbie dolls making an appearance under the Christmas tree.
Mattel, the world’s largest toy maker, posted higher than expected profit for its quarter that included the holiday season, boosted by strong demand for its Fashionista Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars.
The company was also helped by tight cost controls and a weak U.S. dollar.
Mattel said worldwide gross sales for Barbie rose 12 percent, while Hot Wheels jumped 16 percent.
But at American Girl, sales were flat.
Could it be that while consumers might be feeling a little bit more confident, they are more comfortable paying $10 for a Barbie doll than $95 for an American Girl doll?
Also in the basket:
Mattel flexes muscle with new toy line
Mattel is hoping for some hook-throwing, flip-kicking action this new year.
Its new line of toys themed around popular World Wrestling Entertainment figures like “Triple H” and “The Undertaker” is hitting store shelves this week as the world’s largest toy maker continues to expand its portfolio beyond Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels.
The new line includes action figures and toys for both kids and collectors.
Mattel’s “FlexForce” action figures will allow younger fans to recreate trademark moves made by WWE stars like John Cena, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. Kids can also buy accessories like championship belts and motion-activated “Tough Talkers” that make striking sounds.
Mattel also hopes to garner attention from older hard-core wrestling fans and collectors through its ”Elite Collection,” which has finer detail and is packed with a collector stand and name card for display.
All action figures are made to a “Superstar Scale” that the toy maker touts will allow fans to better experience the differences in height and size between the characters. They are priced between $10 and $25.
The deal with Mattel will give WWE, better known for its live and televised professional wrestling matches with names such as “Monday Night Raw” and “Friday Night Smackdown,” a new avenue to boost revenue.
This year’s line up of WWE figures:
-Box’n Bite’n Mike Tyson.
-Rap Fighter Edition Sean “Puff Puffy P. Diddy Daddy Combs” Combs.
-Ed the Janitor (with spring action broom)
-John “Doe” McEnroe the over-enthusiastic audience spectator.
-Dan “Half” Nelson the Olympic Wrestler.
Check Out Line: A quarterly update from toyland
Check out Mattel reporting a smaller-than-expected decline in third-quarter revenue as the toymaker sees gains in its Hot Wheels and American Girl brands.
Profit fell to $229.8 million, or 63 cents a share, from $238.1 million, or 65 cents a share, a year earlier. Net sales fell 8 percent to $1.79 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $1.78 billion.
Chief Executive Robert Eckert said Mattel’s revenue was still under pressure due to the weak economy, a move by retailers to tightly manage inventory and a dearth of toy lines tied to movies and other entertainment.
“That said, we are continuing to make strong progress on reducing costs, rebuilding margins and generating strong cash flow,” he said in a statement.
Mattel and rival Hasbro are facing another tough holiday as key retailers Wal-Mart and Target have already begun offering steep discounts on their products to woo shoppers.
After a bruising holiday season in 2008, toy companies are making fewer and more affordable products, such as those that cost less than $30. Mattel’s Barbie “Fashionista” doll is expected to be a hot seller this holiday. It sells for $11.99 at Toys R Us.
Hasbro will report earnings on Monday morning.
What’s hot in toyland this holiday season
As retailers gear up for the all-important holiday season, two industry veterans predicted what would be hot in toy land this year.Looking at the ‘hot toys” list from Jim Silver and Christopher Byrne of toy Web site TimetoPlayMag.com, it appears that even indulgent parents still don’t want to pay too much for a toy — with the exception of the Beatles Rock Band video game.That could put pressure on toy makers and retailers who have been cutting down on inventory and focusing on making and selling affordable toys to please consumers.The push may be vital, given the 2008 holiday season turned into one of the worst in nearly 40 years as the economic crisis bore down on shoppers.The complete “hot toys” list includes:Mattel’s Barbie Fashionistas dolls, Rocky the Robot truck, and the tween Dora, Crayola’s Crayon Town, Hasbro’s Candy Land Sweet Celebration game, a Nerf blaster gun and Transformers Constructicon Devastator battle vehicle, Cepia’s Zhu Zhu Pets hamsters, Bakugan 7-in-1 Maxus Helios playing cards and characters, MEGA brands’ Battle Strikers, Techno Source’s Printies, Spin Master’s Air Hogs Switchblade flyer, Jakks Pacific Eyeclops Night Vision Goggles and Girl Gourmet Sweet Candy Jewelry Factory, Lego’s Star Wars and the Beatles Rock Band video game.(Photo/Reuters)
Toys “R” Us issues holiday “hot toys” list
It’s that time of the year again.
Specialty toy retailer Toys “R” Us issued its take on what this holiday season’s hot toys will be, as it prepares to attract toy shoppers one year after what was the worst holiday sales season in nearly 40 years.
This year, retailers and toy makers alike have focused keenly on prices, understanding that consumers may not be prepared to shell out hundreds of dollars for toys since caution rules their spending.
The Toys “R” Us list this year includes a mind-control game by Mattel called Mindflex, Disney’s netbook Netpaland Hasbro’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Constructicon Devastator action figures.
But who knows what parents will choose this year as prices remain on top of their minds.
Here’s Toys “R” Us’ “Fabulous 15″ in the group of 36 hot toys:
Bakugan Battle Brawlers New Vestroia Maxus Helios 7 in 1 from Spin Master ChixOs Pink Design-A-Luxury Loft from Spin Master Color Me a Song from Crayola Beginnings Disney Netpal Disney•Pixar Toy Story Interactive Buddies Talking Action Figures (Buzz and Woody) from Thinkway Disney Princess: Just One Kiss Princess Tiana Doll from Mattel Fast Lane JLX Over Drive Radio Control All Terrain Vehicle from Toys”R”Us Laugh & Learn Learning Farm from Fisher-Price Little Mommy Baby Ah-Choo from Fisher-Price Mindflex from Mattel NERF N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 from Hasbro Star Wars Fan’s Choice Anniversary Edition Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser from LEGO Transformers;revenge of the Fallen Constructicon Devastator from Hasbro Wii Sports Resort from Nintendo Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster from Cepia
I agree with Jane, the list is biased a bit. However, looking at some other sites like http://www.TopChristmasToysThisYear.com and Amazon, there are some that are on both lists.
Either way, this Christmas season is going to be tight for some Americans, which is why I think inventory is lower than past years.
I predict that eBay will be the place to go to get that hard to find Christmas toy this year.
Check Out Line: Cost cuts in toy land
Check out the quarterly profit from Mattel.
The world’s top toymaker posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit but it wasn’t driven by consumers clamoring for its toys.
Instead, it cut costs to make up for a dearth of toys based on summer movies and the impact of foreign exchange.
Profit for Mattel, the owner of Hot Wheels and Barbie, rose to $21.5 million, or 6 cents a share, in the second quarter from $11.8 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier.
But sales fell 19 percent to $898.2 million. The impact of currency exchange rates accounted for 5 percentage points of the decline.
Worldwide Barbie sales fell 15 percent, hurt mostly by lower overseas sales.
While both Mattel and rival Hasbro are battling lower demand in the recession, Hasbro is ahead in the movie-based segment this year with toys linked to summer films such as “Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen” and “G.I. Joe – The Rise of the Cobra.”
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Resident Shop Talk Expert
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