Check out the marketing power of Hannah Montana.
 
Watch out Barbie. Hannah is clawing her way up behind you. At least as far as girl’s toys are concerned.
 
According the National Retail Federation’s 2008 top toy survey, Hannah Montana has moved up four spots to the number two position for girls’ in the Top Toys survey, trailing on Mattel’s Barbie.
 
Toys based on the Disney character, who is played by Miley Cyrus, knocked those scrappy Bratz dolls out of the number two spot. Bratz fell all the way to number four behind just-plain-old, everyday, no-specific-name dolls.
 
As far as boys are concerned, the list is similar to last year, with video games in general topping the survey and the Nintendo Wii in the number two spot. Legos, cars and Transformers round out the top five.
 
While the weak economy is leading to expectations of a dismal holiday shopping season, parents could find some bargains in toys.
 
“The good news for parents is that many retailers are featuring toys as loss leaders this year, heavily discounting and promoting these items to bring shoppers into stores,” NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin said.
 
Also in the basket:
 
CPI drops at record pace in October
 
BJ’s Wholesale quarterly profit jumps
 
Why Doesn’t Costco accept food stamps? (N.Y. Times City Room)

(Reuters photo)

Check out the holiday cheer coming from Hasbro’s CEO.
 
Remember when everyone said luxury stocks were more immune to a recession? That was before the housing slump, the credit crisis and the meltdown on Wall Street. Now the Dow Jones Luxury Index is down 52 percent from a year ago.
 
Remember when food companies said they were a little less vulnerable to an economic downturn because people still have to eat? Well, people still need to eat, but lower-priced store brands have been taking market share and food shares, as demonstrated by the Standard & Poor’s Packaged Foods index falling 11 percent in the past three weeks.
 
Well, now the next test case might be the idea that people will still keep spending on toys for their children during Christmas.

“We still believe that Christmas will come for consumers and retailers this year and our retailers have agreed that toys and games are more recession resistant than other discretionary spending categories,” Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said during a conference call with analysts.
 
Hasbro beat analysts quarterly profit estimates, while higher costs caused Mattel to miss.
 
But what kind of Christmas will it be? Christmas came for the Cratchits in “A Christmas Carol,” but while it was full of good feeling and cheer, it was a tad light on presents, at least before Scrooge had his epiphany.
 
Will Christmas for toymakers be commercial, or Dickensian?
 
Also in the basket:
 
U.N. agency says crisis to cost 20 million jobs
 
Circuit City weighs broad cuts (WSJ, subscription required)
 
Adrenalina bids for PacSun (WWD, subscription required)

 (Reuters photo)

A singing and dancing Elmo Live said hello to the world on Monday at the Toys “R” Us store in Times Square.

Elmo Live is Fisher-Price’s latest version of the Sesame Street fixture, after Tickle Me Elmo in 1996 and TMX Elmo in 2006. Fisher-Price is a unit of top U.S. toymaker Mattel Inc.

Though consumers are expected to remain squeezed for cash this holiday season, toy executives have said that parents will manage to spend for their kids even if it means cutting back on gifts for themselves. The National Retail Federation has predicted U.S. holiday sales in November and December will grow at 2.2 percent — the slowest pace in six years.

Other tracking firms say holiday spending could emerge the weakest in about a decade.

On Monday, Elmo Live made its case to shoppers as to why cash-strapped parents might want to buy their kids their very own Muppet this holiday season – it sang, danced, told jokes and stories and laughed at various stages of a nearly half-hour presentation. The toy can even wave its arms and cross its legs.  

Toys “R” Us is selling the $59.99 toy exclusively in its store today, ahead of the U.S. launch on Oct. 14.

Not many parents seemed perturbed by its price.

“With things costing what they do, I think it is fair,” said Asha Jefferson, mother of nearly 3-year-old Ava. Jefferson said she never exchanges gifts with her husband, so they do not hesitate to buy gifts for their daughter.

But a little after 10 a.m., there did not seem to be any huge rush to snap up the latest Elmo — cash registers were relatively free and parents sauntered around the store with no particular hurry to grab an Elmo.

Things will pick up closer to Thanksgiving, maybe?

(Photo\Reuters)

If the holiday season is around the corner (or even a little farther away), then it is that time of the year again — major toy retailers, childrens’ magazines and guides announce “hot” lists, predicting which toys and games will likely fly off store shelves during the holiday shopping period.

According to Toy Wishes magazine, girls who are 6 years old or older are likely to go after the Bratz “Girls Really Rock” line of dolls this time around.

Top U.S. toy maker Mattel and smaller, privately held MGA Entertainment have been locked in a legal battle over the Bratz dolls. The chic, snazzily dressed dolls started stealing market share from Mattel’s iconic and more clean-cut Barbie since the Bratz were introduced in 2001. While it is still undecided as to who has the right to make the dolls. Mattel most recently said that it has filed a motion to stop MGA from making or selling Bratz. That could spell bad news for MGA, given toy companies make a lion’s share of their revenue during the holiday season.

Also on the Toy Wishes list: Spin Master’s action-figure warriors Bakugan, Playskool’s dinosaur “Kota the Triceratops,” and Crayola’s Glow Station. Interestingly, Crayola spokeswoman Stacy Gabrielle said at a Toy Wishes event in New York that Crayola is trying to attract thrifty parents with lower-priced items this holiday season. The Glow Station can be purchased for $29.99. 

Just as well. With high prices for fuel and food, the credit crunch, a prolonged housing slump and the financial meltdown, how many parents will readily shell out $179.99 for a toy dog (Hasbro’s Furreal Friends Biscuit, My Lovin’ Pup) or $189.99 for a 15-string Cherry Harp?

Time will tell.

(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out how the iPod finally made it into the Toys “R” Us hot toys list for the holidays.

This holiday season, Apple’s pink 8 GB iPod nano, Nintendo’s Wii Fit and the Fisher-Price Sesame Street Elmo Live toy are topping the list of most sought-after toys.

Even though iPods have topped holiday wish lists for years, Toys “R” Us said this is the first time it has included the portable media player on its hot toys list. Late perhaps, but a company spokesman said in an e-mail that the iPod nano in pink makes it “doubly hot” and that Toys “R” Us thinks the iPod appeal is starting to reach kids.

The main question though is, whether it will come loaded with Miley Cyrus tunes?

To avoid disappointing shoppers hungry for the popular Nintendo Wii Fit, which gives gamers some exercise, Toys “R” Us said it expects to get regular shipments of it.

Other top toy picks include EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles from Jakks Pacific, Furreal Friends Biscuit, My Lovin’ Pup from Hasbro and the Pink Tag Reading System from LeapFrog.

The Toys “R” Us list comes as the holiday sales season is expected to be gloomy for both consumers and retailers.

Also in the basket:

Rite Aid Q2 loss widens; sees bigger FY09 loss

Holiday sales lose luster for inundated consumers

Longs says FTC is probing Walgreen bid 

Pilgrim’s Pride loss may put it in covenant default

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out the fun and games at Mattel.
 
The maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels toy cars posted better-than expected quarterly earnings Friday.
 
But the real boon for the company was its victory over Bratz doll maker MGA Entertainment in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
 
A federal jury found that Carter Bryant, who created the popular Bratz dolls had come up with the characters and name while he was still under contract as a designer for Barbie at Mattel.
 
Mattel is seeking huge damages and an injunction to stop MGA from selling Bratz, the multi-ethnic, big-headed dolls that have cut into Barbie sales. MGA has argued that the dolls themselves were different than Carter’s drawings and were made by MGA designers … an issue that will be a big part of the damages phase of the trial.
 
So the two companies will keep fighting over their dolls.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Talk of change atop Carrefour (WWD, subscription required)
 
U.S. regulators lift tomato Salmonella warning 
 
(Reuters photo)

Check out earnings in toyland… for one company at least.
 
Hasbro posted a better-than- expected first-quarter profit on Monday, with sales rising 13 percent. Meanwhile, Mattel had a loss in the first quarter , hurt by legal expenses, higher costs and lower sales of its Fisher-Price products.
 
Oh, and Barbie is sagging too, with that Mattel doll line posting  12 percent drop in sales in the United States.
 
Now, it’s hard to draw a lot from the first quarter in the toy business. After the holiday season, many people often take a break from buying toys.
 
But Hasbro had success with its Transformers and Littlest Pet Shop lines.
 
Mattel is hoping price increases in June will help offset rising costs.
 
Meanwhile, the competition really heats up again in coming months as the summer movie season hits. Will “Speed Racer” and “Batman: The Dark Knight” win the day for Mattel over Hasbro-linked “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?”
 
At Mattel, they have to be singing “Go Speed Racer, go!”
 
Also in the basket:
 
Reversing Field, Macy’s Goes Local (WSJ)
 
Weak dollar takes toll on European beauty exports (WWD)