edplay may-june 2013

MAY/JUNE 2013

ASTRA in Nashville - The toy industry comes together June 16 to 19

Here’s to 50 more years of making kids smile

may/june 2013 ••••• edplay.com 3

wordplay•••••

by Kevin Fahy

Play It Again

(continued on page 8)

W hen I’m on vacation, I alwaystell myself that I’m not goingto think about business. I

mean that’s the point, right?The problem is, I tend to go shop-

ping more often when I’m on vacation,partly because I have the time andpartly because I’m doing differentthings and need different stuff. Visitingstores, regardless of what they sell,always brings me back to my job.

My last vacation included somegolf, and a friend of mine told me abouta golf shop where he had recently pur-chased a slightly used driver. The storesold new gear, but he said it also hadthe largest selection of used clubs hehad ever seen, at great prices. I’m asucker for a bargain, so I was all over it.

Now there are plenty of golf shopsthat sell used clubs, but it is usuallyjust a bin that you can sort through onthe off chance that there may be some-thing you can use. This place had hun-dreds of clubs, and they were organizedand displayed just like the new ones,nicely refurbished, and you could trythem out in their virtual driving range.

A fancy new driver will set youback $400 or more, but I am way toocheap, and too much of a hacker, toeven think about it. I was able to walkout of this store, on the other hand,with a slightly scuffed 2011 model forabout 20 percent of that cost. Ofcourse I also picked up a couple ofnew shirts, some golf balls, a gloveand so forth.

Afterwards, as I was out hitting abucket of balls with my new old driver,I got to thinking about the whole ideaof buying used versus new merchan-dise, and how it seems so natural to mefor some things but not others. I don’teven know where I got these attitudes.

Historically, the necessities of life

were considered to be food, shelter andclothing, which were consequently themajority of economic activity. In the20th century we added transportationto the list, as apparently it was nolonger possible to live one’s life with-out moving around a lot, if only to getto work. The new necessity for the cur-rent century seems to be communica-tion, now that people feel the need toshare every thought in their heads withthe rest of humanity.

“Used” food is off the table, so tospeak, and communication in itself isnot what you would call merchandise(that’s an issue we can discuss someother time) but the other three pillars ofthe economy all include the sale ofboth new and used inventory into thehundreds of billions of dollars annually.Houses other than mobile homes arenot sold through a retail system, andwe don’t refer to them as “used,” butmost of them are.

Of the 5 million homes sold lastyear, more than 90 percent were whatare referred to as “pre-existing,” theremainder being new construction.Personally, I have owned seven homesover the years, two of which were new.Of the five pre-existing places, threewere already pre-existing at the time ofthe Civil War and one dated back to1809. Although I will acknowledgethat there is a certain cachet to a cus-tom-made new home, I don’t think Iwas any less enthusiastic about theolder ones.

There were 15 million new carsand trucks purchased last year in theU.S., at a total cost of about $400 bil-lion. The market for used vehicles iseven bigger, with 40 million unitschanging hands for nearly $600 billion.Unlike houses, we do have some sortof social stigma attached to used cars,

may/june 2013Volume 20, No. 3

FOR PEOPLE WHO SELL TOYS

edplay.comShopToysandGifts.com

4 edplay.com ••••• may/june 2013

10 Why Doylestown Parents Shop Local Pennsylvania toy store owner NericeKendter uses smart business tactics todelight customers during tough times

16 Trekking with ToysManufacturers discuss travel toys

edplay’s Guide to ASTRA’sMarketplace & Academy

24 A Dozen Reasons Not to Missthe ASTRA Show

26 A Day-to-Day Schedule

28 Visit edplay Advertisers at the Show

38 Retailers Recommend Fabulous ProductsLots of tattoos, outdoor toys, a garden kit and more

42 Buy and Sell Better with These Three Toy TrendsEllen Metrick from Lekotekexplains what toys are trending forchildren with special needs

48 Business Buyers JumpSales of small businesses spiked in the first quarter as sellers starttaking the leap

59 edplay’s Fabulous Awards10 products from our 2012“Retailers Recommend” articleswill win based on your votes


PublisherJ. KEVIN [email protected]

Editorial DirectorTINA [email protected]

Senior EditorBRADLEY G. GORDNER

Production ManagerMARK [email protected]

Senior Graphic ArtistJENNIFER SRMACK [email protected]

Graphic ArtistLINDSEY [email protected]

Assistant EditorALYSSA [email protected]

Director of Sales and MarketingTIM [email protected]

Advertising SalesRICK [email protected]

Advertising ProductionManagerCHRISTIE [email protected]

CirculationTRICIA [email protected]

edplay is published byFahy-Williams Publishing, Inc.President: J. Kevin Fahy; Vice President: Tim Braden.

2013 Closing Dates

The First AnnualToy Awards Issue..............Jun. 7

The HolidayIssue ......................................Aug. 2

The Annual Buyers’ Guide Issue ........................Oct. 4

Back issues may be obtainedby sending $8.00 (per copy) toFahy-Williams PublishingP.O. Box 1080 Geneva, NY 14456Phone: 800-344-0559Fax: 315-789-4263www.edplay.com

Copyright © 2013 byFahy-Williams Publishing, Inc.

13 16 48 62


columns•••••

departments•••••About the CoverKids delight in Busy Bee Toy’slarge demo area. This space in theDoylestown, Pennsylvania, store isopen for play time on Wednesdays,and is utilized often by home-schooled children and their families.

(Table of Contents continued from page 4)

50 For Your BusinessInformationNYIGF has a new name, giftcards from Twitter and more

54 Industry NewsThe Alexander Doll Companycelebrates 90 years, FS-USAsponsors an indie film and more

60 Index ofAdvertisers

New Products

14 Stretch the Imagination

32 Creature Comforts

34 No Dice

46 Between the Lines

58 Piece by Piece

3 WordplayPlay It AgainBy Kevin Fahy

62 EndcapThanks for the Ride – BERG Toysfocuses on customers’ wants and needsBy Tina Manzer

54

8 edplay.com ••••• march/april 2013

wordplay•••••

(continued from page 3)

and particularly the people who sellthem for a living, as though there issomething sketchy about them.

If memory serves me properly, Ihave bought 12 new cars over theyears and nine used ones, in spite ofmy mother warning me that “You willjust be buying someone else’s prob-lems.” Sometimes the price break istoo good to resist, or it’s a hard-to-findmodel, or it isn’t really very used. Acouple of my used cars were only afew months old.

The funny thing about cars is thateventually the oldest ones are nolonger considered “used,” becauseafter 25 years they get upgraded to“classic.” The same process operates inthe furniture business, where merchan-dise moves from new to second-handto antique, usually over the span of100 years. In that case, the retail out-lets are pretty strictly segregatedaccording to the three categories.

Clothing retailers are also divideddistinctly into new and used, with newtaking the lion’s share of a $200 bil-lion U.S. market. Second-hand shopsdo a respectable business, however,especially thrift shops operated bycharitable organizations. GoodwillIndustries leads that segment with2,200 stores, followed by the SalvationArmy with 1,370.

There are high-end second-handshops as well, particularly in cities likeNew York, where well-heeled fashion-istas buy or sell last year’s designertrappings. Maybe it’s a guy thing, butsomehow the idea of wearing clothesthat were formerly worn by a strangerseems vaguely creepy to me.

At any rate, there are a wide vari-ety of retailers who offer new and usedmerchandise side by side, whether theyacquire used inventory from trade-insor auction or whatever. A jeweler willoften have a display case of “estate”jewelry, a guitar store might have aclassic Gibson Les Paul up on thewall, and a gun shop will show you a1911 model Colt 45.

In many ways I am a typical

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American consumer, and I love the

idea of being able to trade in old prod

ucts for new ones. Last year, for exam

ple, I traded in my ancient Schwinn

cruiser for a fancy new hybrid bicycle,

and I probably wouldn't have bought a

new bike if the store had not taken

trade-ins.

Why? Wel1, I suppose money is

the obvious answer but probably the

least significant, because they didn't

give me al1 that much and I probably

could have negotiated a better price

on the new bike without the trade-in.

If the money made any difference, it

was probably more in principle than

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anything else.

I think that reducing clutter was

more important to me, since I some

times feel that my life is one long los

ing struggle to fight back a sea of junk.

If they didn't take my oId bike, after

al1, what would I do with it? It certain

ly wouldn't feel right to throw it out.

When you trade something in,

you can congratulate yourself for

your environmental stewardship. Even

better, you can hope that someone

who real1y needs that product will

end up with it.

For some reason, though, I rarely

see any "classic," or "pre-loved," or

any other euphemistical1y styled used

toys in a toy store. When I ran a

Google search, the only store I found

that put a real emphasis on used toys

was in England.

The store claimed to be the largest

toy retailer in Great Britain. Maybe

they're on to something.

You can e-mail [email protected].

may/june 2013··· • edplay.com 9

L

Why Doylestown Parents

“Love what you do, and if you don’t love it, don’t do it,” rec-ommends specialty toy retailer Nerice Kendter. “I think thekey to surviving the past six, tough, years has been that I gen-uinely love this industry.”

Inspired by a toy store she visited in Belgium, Nericeopened Busy Bee Toys in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in 2006.Parents and kids in the area embraced the store and made it theirown. “I am really lucky that a large portion of the communitytruly values what I am doing,” she says. “People continue to tellme they shop here because they want to see me stay open.”

Close attention to price pointsA stay-at-home mom with a background in social work,

Nerice and her family shopped for toys in Europe eight yearsago. “The company my husband worked for sent him toBelgium regularly,” she explains. “My son and I would go andwander around. One day, we stumbled across this beautifulspecialty toy store, Krokodil, part of a small chain of stores inBelgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

“We started bringing beautiful European toys home tothe states,” she continues. “Eventually, when we stopped trav-eling there, I lamented the loss of these wonderful toys. Then,all of a sudden, a light bulb went off in my head. I decided toopen a toy store.”

by Alyssa LaFaro

Her first inventory focused on wooden toys and other playitems from Europe. “I quickly learned I couldn’t only carryEuropean toys,” she says. “Not every family in our communitycould afford them. Not every family wanted them.”

A lot of shoppers there look for “made in the USA” toysand are willing to pay higher prices for them, compared tosimilar toys made in Asia.

Doylestown, located 27 miles north of Philadelphia, isperceived as an upscale community. In reality, it’s a town likeany other with people of all economic levels and a lot ofworking moms, says Nerice. The Busy Bee is one of two toystores in town, and she doesn’t want it to be known as “theexpensive toy store.”

“I work hard to find items I can sell for a $5 price point,and $10 and $15,” she says. “I also carry some items that are$50 or higher. I try to have a broad range of price points with-in the confines of a smaller store.

“Every year, I adjust what I’ve brought in and look verycarefully at price points,” she adds. “I may see items at ToyFair that I absolutely love, but if the pricing is not where itneeds to be, I pass.”

The owner of Busy Bee Toys gets down on the floor to play with small customers.

Shop Local


Birthday gifts are a staple of her business. “People comein Friday evenings and Saturday mornings before a birthdayparty to pick up a gift,” Nerice notes. “They know they canget it wrapped for free and be on their way. If I didn’t haveconsistent birthday party traffic every week, my businesswould not be viable.”

In addition to the games and puzzles, infant/preschoolitems, outdoor toys and more that she carries, Nerice is seeinga renewed interest in gag gifts. “Everything from the fake poopto stick-on mustaches to magic kits seems to be coming back.More companies are carrying them, and what’s great is thatthey appeal to everyone – children, tweens, teens and adults.”

Room to play, and a great opportunityWhile she tweaked the store’s product mix, she stayed true

to her vision of its atmosphere. “The beauty of that Europeanstore we visited was the demoing and the playing, so I alwayskeep a wide range of toys open to be played with. I have playtables and a big, classic toy demo area,” she says.

On Wednesday mornings, she opens the area to the public –not just shoppers – for open play time. “Doylestown has avibrant homeschool community, and many homeschooledfamilies come then. I’ve also hosted private play groups formoms who have requested it,” says Nerice. “I’m getting readyto do a game night in a local elementary school. It’s a reallyfun way to get families together to try out new games andexpose them to my store.”

About a year ago, Nerice was contacted by the BucksCounty Children’s Museum about 20 minutes away in NewHope. “The executive director invited me to open a second storein the small retail area that exists in the museum,” she says. “I

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pay a set fee every month to utilize the 120-square-foot space,and provide all the goods and enter the inventory into the com-puter. The museum pays their staff to run it.”

Since visiting families have already paid admission to the muse-um, they are looking for inexpensive items. Nerice stocks the storewith toys priced $15 or less. If something isn’t selling well there, shecan swap it out for other items from her Doylestown location.“What’s also great,” she notes, “is that people who know my originalstore but live closer to this one stop here for quick birthday gifts.”

She loves the second store’s small size because it doesn’toverextend her reach. “It allows me to still focus on my mainshop. It was the perfect mini-step to having a second store.”

Aggressive local marketingEarlier this year, the borough of Doylestown was approached

by local marketing company Fig Media, who pitched a uniquepromotional program that promised “a hyper-local, super-socialcommunications package that reflects the soul of a city.” A con-tract between the town and Fig was recently signed, a step thatNerice feels is very positive for area businesses.

“Fig offers this beautiful, multi-tiered program for smalltowns like Doylestown,” she explains. “They will promote oursmall businesses year-round using social media and Facebook.”

As part of the program, local bloggers write aboutDoylestown on its designated website figdoylestown.com. Thesite also includes a community events calendar, maps, businesspages and an interactive portal that allows users “around theworld to become part of the Fig community.”

The package is accompanied by a quarterly printed publi-cation. “Each new issue features new businesses coming totown and people doing innovative things in their city, withspecial attention paid to those who give back and make a dif-ference,” says the Fig website.

“Doylestown’s small businesses couldn’t afford this on their

Two stores:1. Doylestown (27 miles North of Philadelphia), 1,800

square feet, 20062. New Hope (20 minutes northeast of Doylestown), 120

square feet, 2012

Number of employees: “I am the only full-timer, andI’m here a lot. We are open seven days a week,” saysNerice. “I have five part-time employees right now, and Itell them, ‘I can’t pay you big bucks, but I can give you alot of flexibility.’”

Core customers: Locals who come into the store specifi-cally to purchase gifts for birthday parties. “We are walk-able from nearby neighborhoods, and we offer free giftwrap year-round,” she points out. “That’s something thatreally speaks to my customers.”

There is also tourist traffic, thanks to the store’sdowntown location in “a sweet historic district,” and to itsproximity to New Hope, a former artist community knowntoday for its vibrant restaurants, shops and night life.

Biggest season: Certainly Christmas. “Summers canbe hit or miss. As tourists are coming in to visit, towns-people are exiting for vacation.”

Current product recommendation: Lottie Dollsfrom British company Arklu. “These dolls are sweet, witha body more like an 8-year-old girl. The styling is appro-priate for a child.”

Troubling trend: A downward shift in the sales of boardgames. “It’s been interesting. Construction toys are sellinggreat, puzzles have been slow but steady, but our gameshave not been selling well. I blame it on cell phones, andhow they’ve changed everyone’s attention span.”

Community outreach: “I’m willing to do specialevents for any school,” says Nerice. The store hosts freeplaytimes on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.; private playgroups for moms are hosted upon request. Each firstFriday of the month features fun activities.

Biggest competitor: The Internet. “There is anothertoy store nearby, but I don’t view him as my competi-tion,” says Nerice. “We refer customers to each other. Ihonestly believe each toy store is a little different, andthere is room for all of us.”

Store hours:1. Doylestown: Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6p.m.; Sunday noon to 4 p.m.2. New Hope: Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.;Sunday noon to 5 p.m.; closed Mondays

The Buzz

Stick-on moustaches and other impulse items are experiencing a renaissance, notes Nerice.


own,” says Nerice, who doesn’t domuch advertising outside of Facebookand her website. “The whole town isreally excited about it.”

To grandmother’s house we goWhile the reality is that Nerice’s

customers can purchase everything her

store offers from someone else online,they make purchases at Busy Bee Toysbecause they like her, her store and itsproducts. “I care about my customers,”she notes. “They know that, and comehere because they know my staff and Iwill guide them through the store. It’sthe whole shopping experience that

makes a difference.”Because the business is so person-

ally gratifying, she can envision her-self operating it for as long as she can.“I can see myself being this grand-motherly toy store owner,” she laughs.“I enjoy the families and that contactimmensely.”

A website that promotes all things Doylestown is onlypart of Fig’s “hyper-local” marketing package.

Homeschool families are among the regulars who use thestore’s demo area to play, teach and learn.


• • • • •new• • • • •

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Curiosity KitsLava RockVolcano uses plasterand paint to turn adomed base into arealistic volcano, whilevinegar and bakingsoda help create thefrothing mixture. Addfake gravel and redcoloring to makefoaming lava.orbfactory.com

With PlushCraft SuperstarPillow, little superstars follow asimple numbered legend, and usethe stylus to punch glittering fabric – no sewing required! orbfactory.com

With the Sci-Fi kit,kids can blast off in aTransatmospheric Fighter,or make peace with theWorldly Walker. Thereare 16 models to build,with 20 Laser Pegs and82 construction pieces. laserpegs.com

Six models, including a working hovercraft, teach about airpressure and air flow. Air-Stream Machines are driven bya unique blower motor and a safe, soft-bladed fan using animpeller to increase the air pressure under the hovercraft.thamesandkosmos.com

Snap Circuits SOUND has 185 excitingprojects and over 40 parts, along with a colorfulpicture manual. It connects to a smart phone toanalyze sound with apps and more.elenco.com

Fun Ride zip lines have an unblem-ished safety record, have been safetytested to meet or exceed both toy andASTM home playground standards, andare made in the U.S. springswings.com

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Trekking

With Toys

Manufacturers

discuss

travel toys


When we make a craft kit with travelin mind, we want to make sure that it doesn’t cause a mess, is simple to store andcan be used in a small space. Our purse kitsand sunglass kits fit the bill. Plus, little jetsetters can actually use the completedprojects during their vacation.

Reusable travel toys are great, too.Magnetic Mosaics come in their own mag-netic tins, meaning the pieces aren’t going toget stuck between seat cushions. Several par-ents have told me they always keep a set inthe car so they can be used no matter howlong – or short – the trip.

Parents also appreciate that MagneticMosaic kits aren’t electronic. While it maybe easy to sit a child in front of a screenfor several hours, they still get tired andantsy. Travel toys that require creativityand engagement are better and morestimulating for children. MagneticMosaics let children create and experimentwith colors and patterns.

Retailers should always have a selectionof compact, portable, non-messy toys that kids

Compact and reusable from Stephanie Carver, marketing manager at The Orb Factory

As summer approaches, the prospects increase for family vacations, otherwise known as car/boat/air-plane rides from hell, especially when there are small children to keep entertained. Parents will beshopping for toys, games and books that offer quiet, long-lasting, non-messy fun to get kids fromplace to place. What would you recommend they buy at your store?

Specialty toy retailer Nancy Teed from Once Upon a Time Toys in popular tourist destination Stowe, Vermont,makes sure to offer portable versions of popular games such as travel-sized chess, checkers and bingo. “There areminiature versions of a lot of games – Apples to Apples To Go is new this year,” she reminded us. “And don’t for-get about traditional coloring books and crayons.” (More of Nancy’s recommendations are on page 22.)

To find out what else is new, we spoke with manufacturers about what’s hot and fun this summer for on-the-gotoys, and what parents need for stress-free travel.

can play with independently. It just gives parentsmore options – not only when they’re on themove but also at their destination. Parents havealways been more likely to buy toys and trinketsfor their children when they’re on vacation.

Make sure to ask customers for the detailsof their specific trip so that you can best match

the trip to the toy. Certain products work betterfor plane travel as opposed to car travel.

Also, point out products that have sim-ple instructions. There’s nothing worse thangetting everyone buckled in, only to have to

unbuckle to help someone in the back seatwith instructions.

The majority of The Orb Factorykits are mess-free, and can be com-

pleted with little to no parental help.orbfactory.com

by Alyssa LaFaro



A good travel toy needs to be clean,and free of any elaborate preparation or aunique work environment. It should havethe ability to be used in virtually any set-ting. Travel is tough on kids – they areout of their normal environment with allits regular stimulation and activity. Theyget bored and restless under these cir-cumstances, and a good travel toy pro-vides focus.

Retailers should offer travel toys allyear. Unlike many toys which fulfill adesire, a travel toy fulfills a need. Travelingkids need to have something to keep themoccupied so that parents don’t have to keepanswering the question, “Are we there yet?”wikkistix.com

Clean, calm

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The best travel toys are easy totransport, and engage kids withoutrequiring them to move around.Storage potential, transportability andthe capacity to quickly supply enter-tainment are all important when youneed to make a toy compatible withan on-the-go atmosphere.

Travel doesn’t have to mean along-distance trip – it can simply be acar ride from home to Grandma’shouse in the next town. Travel toys areuseful in the doctor’s office and otherwaiting rooms. Families always needconvenient toys for such situations,and retailers should take advantage ofthe opportunity to supply this demand.

TOOBS are our most popular

travel product. Each one containsdifferent figures on a theme –Galapagos animals, PowhatenIndians, Sue and Her Friendsdinosaurs, and more. The clear,acetate TOOB with a locking capprovides convenient storage andfeatures a carrying cord.

Children have short attentionspans, so having multiple and dif-ferent figures in each TOOBcaptivates children forlonger periods of time.The TOOB is clear so thefigures can be viewedwithout even removingthem from the container.safariltd.com

Long-lasting independent play

when there’s no wiggle roomfrom Kateva Rosato, social networking specialist at Safari Ltd.


We consider several factors whenwe make games for travel. Size isnumber one; they need to be compactbecause there’s not a lot of room inthe seat of a plane or car. Even moreimportant than that, though, is a wayto prevent game pieces or parts fromgetting lost during the travel. OurCAMP travel game was designed tobe played inside a car, RV or othermoving vehicle. All the parts exceptthe cards are mounted to the game sothey can’t be lost or fall off whenplaying.

Make sure you explain the educa-tional benefits of a travel toy to parents.The CAMP travel edition, for example,teaches kids about all 50 states.

Hit the Trail is more of a destina-tion game. It is meant to be clipped toyour backpack or purse and taken toyour destination to play. The packag-ing is actually a miniature backpack.educationoutdoors.net

BOOKS

ARE CLASSIC

TRAVEL TOYS

Debbie Dubrow, mom of threeand writer for CondeNastTraveler.com,says “We bring several books – andlook for more on the road,” when shetalked about travelling with little kidson her popular blog Delicious Baby.

Retailer John MacDougal fromThe Golden Apple Learning store inPleasanton, California, recently list-ed his favorite children’s books onASTRA’s website for consumers,Discover the Woohoo! Factor(yourneighborhoodtoystore.org).

“Each one is a book with a les-son,” he writes. “I learned so muchfrom books growing up, and I’mglad I have them around me still.”

John is successfully selling thesetitles in his specialty toy store; per-haps you can, too. Here are four ofhis eight recommendations. To seethe complete list, visit yourneighborhoodtoystore.org/play-experts andlook for the article entitled “MyFavorite Children’s Books.”

Wind in the Willows byKenneth Grahame

“My first favorite is a classic,”John notes. “The wisdom in thisbook stays with you throughoutyour life. Each character – Mole,Rat, Badger, Otter, even Toad –presents a blueprint for how tomake sense of the world, told in thegentlest way possible.”

How Georgie Radbourn SavedBaseball by David Shannon

John thinks kids leave picturebooks behind way too early. “Theymiss out on the power and drama ofillustration,” he says. When he talksabout books at schools, to fifth andsixth graders, he always brings thisbook. “It never fails to hook them.

Georgie is a rebel, and by savingbaseball, he saves the world.”

Stuart Little by E. B. White“E.B. White wrote at least two

of the best books I’ve read in mylife,” he writes. “Stuart Little hasalways been my favorite. Whilematter-of-factly exploring the worldof a mouse born into a human fami-ly, he makes your heart ache toexplore and experience life. LikeWind in the Willows, this is a bookfor reading aloud.”

The Mystery of Harris Burdickby Chris Van Allsburg

“Chris Van Allsburg’s portfolioof title, first line and image givesyour imagination a hard shove! Manybooks end with the reader wantingmore, but each page in this bookforces you to want more, and create ityourself.” John uses this book in thestore’s writing workshops for kids.

ASTRA developedYourNeighborhoodToyStore.org as amust-read resource for parents. Itoffers them up-to-date informationon creative and educational play, toytrends and news, child development,and where to find the best merchan-dise on the market. The site encour-ages them to play and shop locally.It has turned out to be a successfuldirect-to-consumer marketing toolfor the specialty toy industry.

ASTRA members are encour-aged to contribute articles to thesite, add comments to existing arti-cles, and use articles on their blogswith a link to the Whoohoo! Factorsite. To find out how, see theWoohoo Factor Guide for ASTRAmembers at astratoy.org.

Keep it together

while in motion from Tim Paczesny, founder

of Education Outdoors


Hook Chalktrail® to a bike or scooterin a heartbeat. Then get riding! Draw figure eights, wavy meandering paths, perfect circles, fascinating designs by retracing the same route again and again in succession. It's freshly invigorating, healthy play.

• Suction Contruction™ • 8 intriguing shapes • Top-quality silicone • Leves no residue

Young minds revel in stacking, toppling, and the discovery of endless ingenuity with Tobbles NeD. Six uniquely weighted pieces balance, neatly nest, and incessantly spin beyond your expectations.


It’s good to look beyond traditional travelproducts to point out small, fun impulse/pocketitems like our new boys’ action line SkaZooms.Among its accessories is a travel “Clip Case” forfun on the go.

The Game of Chips comes in a satin travelpouch that holds dice, numbered chips and severalwonderful card games. All of them are designed topick up and play with; they require very little expla-nation.

Travel Sequence is a popular version of ourSequence game. Sequence has been around for 30years, and it is a mainstay for retailers who sellgames. In terms of card games for travel, RockPaper Scissors transforms the popular finger playinto a fast-paced game where players can track theirscore by winning hands.

All of these games are great for travel and areimpulse friendly, especially in terms of price points. jaxgames.com

At least 50 percent of the business atOnce Upon a Time Toys in Stowe, Vermont,comes from tourists, says owner Nancy Teed.That’s why she makes sure that the quaint1,000-square-foot toy store carries a widevariety of travel toys that have certain char-acteristics. “The toys I list here and otherslike them are all winners in my store,” notesNancy. “Customers – not just travelers – lovethem. If small parts are a bane for a lot ofparents, these are the lifesavers.”

More

travel toy

tips and

trends

Impulse friendlyfrom Paul Weibel, sales manager at Jax Ltd.

Magnetic“Magnetic toys are great for travel because the pieces don’t go

rolling,” she says. “Lots of companies – like Janod, eeBoo andImaginatics – make them for kids of all ages.”

Self-enclosed“Self-enclosed toys, like the Scratch ’n Sketch from Peter

Pauper Press, or the sealed tubes from Find It Games, work well fortravel,” explains Nancy. “The clear tubes are filled with beads, andcontain tiny toys to find. There are tubes for birdwatchers, for sportsand one called ‘Glitz and Glamour’ for teenage girls.”

Games and puzzles for drawing, writing and thinking “Mindware and Dover both make some great drawing books

geared toward older, artsy kids. They are similar to color-by-num-ber, but without the numbers. Another one of my favorites is theWorld’s Greatest Dot-to-Dot Books from Monkeying Around,which take dot-to-dot play to a whole new level. This is a greatitem for older kids.”

Trekking With Toys- -


Single-player games promote

learning and independencefrom Lauren Burke, representing Smart Toys and Games

A big benefit of our travel games isthat children don’t need a sibling, par-ent or friend to play. Many ofour games are compact, self-contained, single-player logicgames, and consumers tell us thatthey are so engrossing that long tripsjust fly by. Our IQ Fit, IQ Twist andBend-It are compact and self-contained. We also offer a line of magnetic travel games:Travel Noah’s Ark, Travel WaterWorld, Travel Busy Bugs and Travel Magic Forest.Each one has a booklet that features 48 challenges. The booklets button shut to safelyhold the magnetic puzzle pieces.

Our Travel Tangoes deliver all the fun of traditional Tangrams in a compact form.There’s Travel Tangoes People puzzles, Object puzzles and Animal puzzles. Our number-one seller to date is IQ Twist – a logic game with more than 100 challenges.smarttangoes.com

Shop our entire collection at safariltd.com or call 800.554.5414 for a free color catalog.Replicas designed by Safari Ltd® in the US since 1982

Acetate Tray Holder

Over 100 New 2013 Introductions at ASTRAJune 16 - 19 | Nashville, TNNashville Conv. Ctr.Booth 823

SSSSSSSSaaaaaaaaffffffffaaaaaaaarrrrrrrriiiiiiiioooooooollllllllooooooooggggggggyyyyyyyy®®®®® SSSSSSSSoooooooollllllllaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr SSSSSSSSyyyyyyyysssssssstttttttteeeeeeeemmmmmmmmHHHaHaHa ddndndnd PPP-PP iiaiaiai ttntntnt ddededed PPPP Plllalalanenenetttststs oo offfff ououourrr UUUnUnUniiivivivererersesese

4 Language EducationalCopy Included

FROM ORDINARY

EXTRAORDINARY

to

5. The majority of exhibitors offershow specials and discounts thatare not available anywhere else. There are 350 exhibitors, people. Youwill save money!

6. You will not believe the amountof how-to information you willtake home and actually do tomake your business better. Here’s a partial list of what you’ll learn:How to change business-as-usual toachieve better results, how to build bet-ter business relationships, how to savemoney, how to improve staff meetings,how to create beautiful displays, how toimprove inventory performance toincrease profitability, how to create anonline storefront, how to play the bestnew games, how to match children withspecial needs to products on your store’sshelves, how to master self promotion,how to motivate your staff, how to planbetter, and more!

7. Everyone is nice.And they don’t want you to feel left out,

especially if this is your first ASTRAshow. If you’re new, don’t miss“The breakfast is on us!” onSunday at 7:30 a.m. Veteran

ASTRA members will teachyou how to get themost out of theshow.

8. ASTRA knows how to throw aparty (or two or three).In addition to a meet-and-greet onSaturday night, there are cocktails in theexhibit hall on Monday. The famousOpening Reception will be held Sunday.

Marketplace & Academy, presented by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association

Sunday, June 16 through Wednesday, June 19Nashville Convention Center

1. Everyone will be there. It’s the largest show designed just forthe specialty toy industry. For the lastthree years, attendance numbers havebroken the record set the year before.Expect to see about 1,500 of your indus-try peers.

2. It’s easy to get to. Nashville is within 600 miles of 50 per-cent of the U.S. population. No matterwhat mode of transportation you take,it’s easily accessible. The conventioncenter is right in the heart of the city,and only 8 miles from the airport.

3. There will be lots of good music.Some of the best music and fun any-where. Nashville was recently namedamong the top five best places to visit inthe world this year by Conde NastTraveler magazine.

4. You’ll see products for your storethat no one else has seen before.There are 85 new orfirst-time exhibitorswho are launch-ing brand new,revealed-for-the-first-timeproducts.

A DOZEN REASONS

ASTRA SHOWtheNOT TO MISS


Dress like a cowboy and get your pic-ture taken in the photo booth. There willbe line dancing and a giant moustachematching game.

9. You can play new board games with hundreds of fellow retailers.At Game Night on Monday, you andyour staff will rotate through a ballroomset up with 45 different new games.Play and have fun, then go home andsell them.

10. ASTRA members will recognizeand honor excellence. The names of people you do businesswith every day may be called: an excel-lent manufacturer, retailer and sales rep,plus a lifetime achiever. Maybe they’llcall your name. Find out how high thesepeople set the bar.

11. For every order you write, youreceive a ticket for a raffle of special prizes.Drop your tickets in the drum atASTRA’s booth 722. The drawing takesplace Wednesday. You have to be thereto win.

12. The exhibit hall is open two full days so you can see all the products. You don’t even have to leave for lunch.

by Tina Manzer


(“ASTRA SHOW”continued frompage 24)

Noon to 6 p.m. Registration

6 to 8 p.m. Meet and Greet at the Bridge Barat the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. Just showup and have fun.

7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration

7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast

7:30 to 8:30 a.m. New to ASTRA andMarketplace? Then “The Breakfast is On Us!”

8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Opening Keynote: EscapeOrdinary and Choose to be Extraordinary, Jon Acuff, The Lampo Group

Sessions

11 a.m. to NoonStaff Meetings Everyone Wants To Attend, PhilWrzesinski, Toy House and Baby Too

The 5 Cs of Social Media Dominance, JonAcuff, The Lampo Group

Retail panel: How to Create Beautiful StoreWindows and Effective Displays

Improve Inventory Performance and IncreaseProfitability, Paul Erickson, RMSA RetailSolutions

For New Inventors and Manufacturers –Packaging, Production, Trends, Working withRetailers and Reps, panel discussion moderatedby Mary Couzins, Chicago Toy & Game Group

Saturday, June 15

Sunday, June 16

SCHEDULE

Think outside the box!

Find your store!

Made in U.S.A.!!

Noon to 1 p.m. Lunch

Sessions

1:30 to 2:30 p.m.Connect Children with Special Needs to Toysand Games on Your Shelves, Ellen Metrick,National Lekotek Center

Establish Your Online Storefront, Don Hays,Specialty Toys Network

Technology and The Balance of PowerBetween Retailers and Consumers, PaulErickson, RMSA Retail Solutions

Understanding Your Brand, Phil Wrzesinski,Toy House and Baby Too

New Inventors and Manufacturers: Licensing,Social Media, Gamification, Marketing andInternational Markets, panel discussion moderat-ed by Mary Couzins, Chicago Toy & Game Group

3 to 4 p.m. Roundtable Discussion for Reps –Leading from the Middle, Lillian Davis, DiverseMarketing and Nicole Bortnick, BGN SalesGroup

3 to 5 p.m.Kits, Kits and More Kits (Retailers Only)

5 to 6 p.m.MAP, MSRP and RPM – What’s Legal and HowDo You Enforce It? A panel discussion for allmembers moderated by Todd R. Seelman,Lathrop & Gage LLC

7 to 11 p.m. Opening Reception


7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Registration

7:30 to 8 a.m. Breakfast Buffet

8 to 9:30 a.m. ASTRA’s Annual Business Meetingand Awards Presentation

9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Exhibit Floor Open Best Toys for Kids 2013 Finalists Display & Voting

Noon to 1 p.m. Lunch in the Exhibit Hall

2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Ice Cream Social

5 to 6 p.m. Cocktail Reception

7 to 10 p.m. Game Night (Retailers Only)

7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration Open

8 to 9 a.m. Continental Breakfast

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Exhibit Floor Open Best Toys for Kids 2013 Finalists Display & Voting

Noon to 1 p.m. Lunch in the Exhibit Hall

7:30 a.m. to Noon Registration Open

8 to 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast

Sessions 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Small Store Roundtables –Good Ideas That Are Just Your Size, Idanna Smith,The Good Toy Group

Master Self-Promotion For Your Store,Tim Holliday, Children’s World & Children’s WorldUniform Supply

Shifting Opinions: Buy Local Campaign 101, LilyBrislen for the American Independent BusinessAlliance (AMIBA)

Tactical Steps for Strategic Success, Chris Hogan,The Lampo Group

10 a.m. to Noon Closing Keynote: Playing,Leading, and Succeeding, Chris Hogan, TheLampo Group

Tuesday, June 18

Wednesday, June 19

Monday, June 17

OVER 50 NEW PRODUCTS FOR 2013!

Ask about our Discounts, Freight, Deals, and FREE Merchandising Materials

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1

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Adora by Charisma booth 1015See ad on page 30

Asmodee booth 93412 games for the price of 11, plus 50% off demo copy.Free shipping for orders over $500.See ad on page 53

BERG USA booth 546See ad on page 56

Blue Orange Gamesbooth 733Free freight with $750. Free freight and net 60 with$1,000.See ad on page 18

Chicago Toy and Gift booth 837Sampler – Order 3 each of any 20 different SKUs = FFA.$400 = Receive extra $50 free merch – new customers. See ad on page 9

Elenco booth 1001With an $800 net order, net 60 days dating, 5% discount,FFA. All orders written at the ASTRA Convention.See ad on page 8

Endless Games booth 619See ad on page 11

Family Games America FGA booth 1242See ad on page 7, 51

Fat Brain Toy Co. booth 1222Free freight on orders $500+. Mention promo code:ASTRA-2. Expires June 24, 2013.See ad on page 21

Folkmanis booth 817See ad on page 64

CHICAGO TOY & GIFT Co.

VISIT OUR

MARKETPLACEatADVERTISERS


FS-USA booth 916See ad on page 45

HABA booth 1106FFA at $500See ad on page 15

Jax Ltd. booth 709See ad on page 13, 52

Mayfair Games Inc. booth 217See ad on page 26, 44

MerchantTechnologies booth 707See ad on page 45

MonkeezMakes aDifference –Goofballzbooth 219

Free freight on all orders over $250.Free Monkeez or Goofballz fixture fororders over $500. 90 day terms fororders over $1,000. See ad on page 17

OgoSport LLC booth 1014See ad on page 55

The Orb Factory booth 906$250 = FFA, net 30.$1,000 = FFA, 5%, net 60.$1,500 = FFA, 5%, net 90.$2,500 = FFA, 7%, 1/1/14dating. See ad on page 27

PATCH Productsbooth 1342

Stop by to find out how you can save20+% on our exciting NEW brands,Mirari and Planet Sock Monkey!Additional specials available also! See ad on page 43

PlaSmart booth 1000See ad on page 6

The Reading Game/Allsaid & Dunn LLC booth 1018See ad on page 28

Reindeer Magic/Kavik Publishingbooth 1316

Stop by booth #1316 to take advantageof our specially priced Gift Box andGift Bag Packages! See ad on page 61


Safari Ltd. booth 823

$100 – FFA. $350 – net 30 FFA. $750 –net 90, FFA, 5% discount. See ad on page 23

Small World Toys booth 900See ad on page 2

Smart Toys andGames Inc. booth 125See ad on page 37

Specialty Toys Networkbooth 427New signups get FREE

membership and hosting through 2013!Save up to $600. Attend our retail ses-sion at ASTRA,1:30 p.m. on Sunday,June 16, “Establish Your OnlineStorefront.” See ad on page 58

Talicor Inc. booth 326See ad on page 58

Thames & Kosmosbooth 724

$500 = net 60, 1 free E&M ($50 retailvalue);$1000 = Net60, 2%, free E&M($50 retail value); $2,000 = net 60, FFA,2f free E&M ($100 retail value) – Plus:FFA on reorders $500+ through12/31/13. See ad on page 25

TMI ToymarketingInternational booth 1216See ad on page 28

USAopoly Inc. booth 924Low minimum and

display rack with purchase of 24 games.Centrally located Midwest shippinglocation. Free demos available. 8% offorders placed at show. See ad on page 5

Wiggity Bang Games booth 320See ad on page 3

Wikki Stixbooth 1114Free freight with orders of$250 or more.See ad on page 29

WoolPetsbooth 339FFA on all show orders.$200 = 3% discount; $500= 5% discount. Free

sample kits sent with all new orders. See ad on page 54


CREATURECOMFORTS

• • • • •new• • • • •

Gromos is a big, snugly beardespite his moodos.Sometimes even bearsneed a little hug tocheer them up! A perfect new character toleave a melancholy winterand spring into warm weather.gearedforimagination.com

Planet Sock Monkey is a daring, new softdoll line that explores self-expression through avariety of bold characters. Each 10-inch knitsock monkey comes clothed in a signature style,and is only available for a limited time.patchproducts.com

BathTime Babies are per-fect for the bath and pool! Eachcomes with its own washclothand animal-themed bathrobe.The exclusive “QuikDri” bodydries in no time.

charismabrands.com

Life-like PlayTimeBabies are created in ababy powder-scented,GentleTouch vinyl. Theyhave a cuddly, silky-smoothbody similar to the trim ona child’s blanket, and a beanbag-weighted bottom.charismabrands.com

New Monkeez Makes a Difference knit charactersinclude Punkin Penguin, Flora Flamingo and Barnaby PolarBear. When one is purchased, kids choose one of three charityoptions to receive a 10 percent donation.mvpbrands.com

Buki Books

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Spot it! Party injects a new factor of frenzied fun into the hitgame, and features all new symbols to rev up the challenge.With six mini-games to master, this party box will hook everyonefor hours of electrifying fun!blueorangegames.com

In Tapple, playerschoose a category cardand, in just 10 seconds,have to name a wordmatching the category.Then, press the first letterof the word on the Tapplewheel, hit the button toreset the timer and passthe wheel to the nextplayer. Whoever collectsthe most cards wins. Fortwo to eight players ages8 and up.usaopoly.com

CHARADES IN-A-CAN includes movie musicals,movie villains, movie heroes and holiday charades.

Helpful hints and instructions are included.chicagotoyandgift.com

Was the light bulb invented before or after glasses? Timeline features 109 cards thatdepict different inventions with their dates on theopposite side. Players try to place all of theircards in the correct chronological order on thetimeline before their challengers to win.asmodee.com

A game of skill, precision, braggadocio and bravado,Mumbly’s combines “Pitching Pennies” with“Darts,” while adding the collect-ability of Pogs.Each set features uniquely designed, funky and coolmagnetic game characters. markysparkytoys.com

It’s a race to the top, but beware of the drop. Inthe game of Drop Shot, roll the die and strate-gically move past the gates. Be the first to reachthe top and survive the last chance drop! For twoto four players ages 6 and up.plasmarttoys.com


Smart Toys and Games2822 Van Ness Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94109

T O Y S A N D G A M E S , I N C .


Margaret Spicer from Distinctive Toys inFair Haven, New Jersey

“Tattoos from a bunch of differentcompanies – Hot Focus (1), ALEX(2), and Creativity for Kids/Faber-Castell (3) – are doing well.‘Peace & Love’ from Alex’s SparkleTattoo Parlor is very popular.

“There’s a new company, BikeBrightz, that makes lights for bicycles.Glow Brightz (4), a flexible light tubethat works on a battery pack, is revolu-tionary. When you wrap the tube around

the body of the bike, it makes it visible360 degrees. The original BikeBrightz (5) that uses LED technologyalso sells well. It’s a light stick thatattaches to the bottom bar on a bicycle.

“Boogie Board E-Writers (6)from Improv Electronics blow out ofthe store. The premise is the same as theold-fashioned sketching boards that hada waxy base – there was a piece of plas-tic on top that you could draw on andthen lift it up to erase. Kids write on theBoogie Board itself, and then press a

button when they want to erase it andstart over. The possibilities with this toyare endless. A mom can keep theselightweight LCD writing tablets in herpurse, and take it in the car, to a restau-rant or to the grocery store.

“The week of Easter, I got in 48Mini Flyers (7) from MukikiM. Theyare foam balls in the form of smileyfaces, soccer balls and more, attached tohelicopter blades. They are powered bya battery pack, and are sensory, so kidsguide it where they want it to go simply

by Alyssa LaFaro

1

2 3

retailers recommend •••••

Fabulous Products

5

4

hotfocusinc.comal

exto

ys.c

om

fabercastell.com/creativity-for-kids

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by Alyssa LaFaro


by moving their hand under it. “The OgoSport Volo Hok Dart (8)

can be used indoors and outside. It’s athrowing toy that has adjustable wings sokids can change its speed and trajectory.

“Universal Toys just came out withan air-powered stomp rocket calledSkylight Rocket (9). There are twolighted rockets and three daytime rocketsin the package, and it has a good pricepoint considering you get five rockets.

“Sticker books (10) fromUsborne are another really big seller

for me. The line for girls, whichincludes everything from fairies to trav-el to ballerinas to bridesmaids, sellswell. There’s a line for boys, too, thatfeatures themes like heroes, explorationand sports.

“I can’t seem to keep Foil It! (11),a foam sticker activity kit from PeterPauper Press, in stock. It involvesapplying glittery foils to adhesive foamstickers. It is similar to the old-fashionedsand art, where you’d peel off certainsections of the sticker and then apply

sand to them. This is the same premise,except with foil paper. It’s great becauseit creates absolutely no mess.”

Melissa Tennille from Teaching Toys &Books in Tacoma, Washington

“There’s a toy made by Schyllingcalled Twinkle Twist Wand (12). It isa stick with a Mylar bubble on it. Youspin it back and forth on your fingers tomake the bubble on top do all thesecrazy, trippy things. I could sell a mil-lion of those if I had them.

67

8

9

10

11

12

improvelectronics.com

usborne.com

peterpauper.com

mukikim

.com

ogosport.com

toys1111.com

schylling.com

13

kendomouso.com

"Forever Garden makes pat

terned, 12-inch wooden pinwheels

called SPINwheels (13). They're

shaped like flowers. We made a big

window display with them, so they

have been selling like hot cakes. The

company also makes wonderful

gardening kits for kids (14). "Educational Insights Sea

Squad (15) is an evolved version of its

db-brond.net

morissomeyer.com

Puppet-on-a-Stick, incorporating a vari

ety of sea animals. There is an octopus

(Dipper), shark (Chomper) and clam

(Bob), but my personal favorite is the

angler fish (Flipper).

"Kendama USA's new Spirit Animal Series (16) are pro models, so

each one stands for one of the USA pro

team players. Kendama is really popular

in Washington, and people know who

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the players are. Each one has an animal

burned into the handle.

"We carry a young adult book called

Cinder (17) by Marissa Meyer (pub

lished by Macmillan), and it has done real

ly well for us. The sequel, Scarlet (18), just released, has been huge. It's kind of

an alien, futuristic retelling of Cinderella.

The main characters are Vietnamese,

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In March 2013 Little Colorado, Inc.

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ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy is comingup, and among the eight reasons to attend,says the association, are trend spotting andadvice. They’re right. The conference is agreat opportunity to find out what’s happen-

ing in the general toy marketplace. I plan on attending,and will be conducting a presentation entitled, “ConnectChildren with Special Needs to Toys and Games on YourShelves.”

Trend spotting is a big reason I attend ASTRA’sMarketplace. In looking through my toy industry crystalball, I see three trends to consider when you purchaseinventory:

1. products with neuro-benefits, 2. products from collections and 3. manipulatives.

They’re great trends to talk about with customers onyour selling floor, especially the ones who ask, “What’snew?” Here are some details you can share.

Buy and Sell Better with These

by Ellen Metrick

Three Toy Trends

Neuro-Benefits • • • •More toy manufacturers are promoting

the value of their products for helping chil-dren’s brains develop social, emotional andintellectual skills. The logos and brandimages of companies like Fat Brain Toysand Funnybones literally feature a graphicof the brain, further emphasizing theirproduct position. Fortunately, the researchon the benefits of play on brain develop-ment is substantial. In fact, some power-house organizations like the NationalInstitute of Play, the Association ofChildhood Education International and theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics havemade it their cause to disseminate theresearch on the neuro-benefits of play.

Here are four more manufacturers withproducts that have neuro-benefits.

1. SmartNoggin Toys’NogginStik

It helps develop eye track-ing, face recognition andfocus, starting at infancy. Itcan be used as a guide toassess a child, and as atool for brain stimulation.It enhances visual trackingneeded to reach, crawl,walk and read.smartnoggintoys.com

2. Marble Ball Tracks by HABAOpen-ended ball tracks help children learn through trial and error. In doing so, theyare learning problem-solving skills, as well as developing eye tracking and control-ling eye movements that directly relate to reading and comprehension.habausa.com

All of the toy categories mentioned herehave special applications for childrenwith special needs. Kids with cognitivedelays can benefit greatly from toys thathave neuro-benefits. Certain collectionscan also help kids with individual specialneeds develop certain skills, whether theyare physical, social or communicative.Manipulatives are ideal for children whoneed a little help with their small-motorskills, or need to keep their hands busy.When you are buying your inventory andselling in your stores, keep these trendsin mind.


LEARN THROUGH

THE EXPERIENCE!

FIND YOUR STORE!

MADE IN U.S.A.!!


5. GoldieBloxPerhaps there’s a reason only 11 percent ofengineers are women. One theory is thatthe majority of toys that develop cognitivespatial skills and the types of problem-solving abilities engineers need are mar-keted to boys. GoldieBlox was inventedby Debbie Sterling, a Stanford engineer.The toy is designed, she says, to “inspiregirls the way LEGOs and Erector setshave inspired boys, for over 100 years, todevelop an early interest and skill set inengineering,” she says. goldieblox.com

Collections • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •When you put a product into a collection, it does a couple of things for

retailers. First, it allows you to tell a story when positioning this product withconsumers. For example, if you have a bunch of toys organized into an “imagi-nary play collection,” you can talk to customers about the important role thistype of play has in a child’s development. Lean on research to support thoseclaims. Here’s a quote about collections from a March 6 issue of PsychologyToday: “Over the last 75 years, a number of theorists and researchers haveidentified the value of such imaginative play as a vital component to the nor-mal development of a child.”

Second, merchandising by collections allows you to sell several items

3. Speed Stacks bySpeed Stacks Inc.Kids love to “sport stack”(also known as cup stack-ing or speed stacking),and proponents claim ifdone regularly itimproves cognitive, affec-tive and psychomotorabilities. The theory isthat when using both sides of the body by crossing the “midline,” both sides ofthe brain are utilized. It results in increased concentration and academic results.

speedstacks.com

4. Bananagrams The mere exploration of letters

helps children make the connec-tion that letters make words and

words are used to communicate withothers. The game further enhances this

by having children play together,developing social awareness and

interaction. bananagrams.com

within a collection. If a mom is inter

ested in developing a particular skill in

her child - say, physical fitness - she

might be more willing to purchase an

item that develops strong legs, and

another to develop strong arm muscles.

That's why manufacturers like Little

Tikes market collection segmenting

such as DiscoverSounds and Clearly

Sports. Melissa & Doug reflect this

trend by organizing a collection of

their products by skill development in

their "Shop by Skill" category, added

to their website in 2012.

Manipulatives ••• Manipulatives are toys that help

children develop fine-motor skills by

making them use the small muscles in

their fingers and hands. Fine-motor

skills are crucial for mastering tasks

like dressing themselves, developing

eye-hand coordination and learning to

write or draw.

Manipulatives like blocks assist a

child in developing cause and effect.

Blocks lay the groundwork for under

standing the rudimentary elements of

math, like prediction and order; and sci

ence, like trial and error and the effects

of gravity, weight distribution and bal

ance. Examples of great manipulatives

include Pop Arty by B.Toys, Band in a

Box by Schoenhut, and puzzles, blocks

and activity houses.

Ellen Metrick is the director of industry relations & partnerships for the Notional Lekotek Center. Lekotek is a not-for-profit,

leading authority on toys and ploy for children with

disabilities. It is dedicated to providing

children of all abilities access to the benefits of ploy experiences. Visit ableplayorg for a complete listing of

toys for children with special needs. You can e-mail Ellen, [email protected], and follow Lekotek on Facebook.

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• • • • •new• • • • •

The colorful and lively PLAY-DOHillustrations of My First Wordsteach youngsters more than 50vocabulary words in categories like ani-mals, clothing and transportation. Kids delight in seeing every-day items in the vivid colors and funky texture of PLAY-DOH. silverdolphinbooks.com

Reindeer Magic is abeautifully illustratedChristmas storybook thatcomes with a red velvetbag of reindeer magic andan adoptable 6-inch plushreindeer toy. reindeermagic.com

The world has changed since the days whenchildren played outside and baseball was anational pastime. Author Kevin Christofora’sWoodstock All Stars brings those daysto life again, taking children on a journeythrough the eyes of young Nick and his veryfirst baseball season. thewoodstockallstars.com

The machine-washable MagicLeaf picture book ismade of the highest qualityorganically farmed cotton. Sewn-on fabrics to tug on,peek-through windows andsmiling facesmake it easy fora parent to make up astory. Plus, the visuals areself-stimulating for solo play. habausa.com

The Greatest Dot-to-Dot Adventure (the 17thbook in the Greatest Dot-to-Dot series) skillfully utilizesdots to create amazinglycomplex and artistic dot-to-dot puzzles.monkeyingaround.com

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BusinessBuyersJump

The number of small businesses sold in the first quarterof 2013 increased by 56 percent compared to the firstquarter of 2012, says BizBuySell, the Internet’slargest business-for-sale marketplace. It represents thehighest number of businesses sold in a single quarter

since mid-year 2008, when small business sales bottomed out.In total, 1,897 closed transactions were reported, a dra-

matic bump over last year’s 1,218. The results are included in BizBuySell.com’s First Quarter

2013 “Insight Report” that aggregates business-for-sale transac-tions reported by participating business brokers nationwide.

Why the sharp rise?The spike can be attributed to a number of factors. For a

few years now, small business financials have been improvingas the economy slowly recovers. Business owners who havebeen looking to exit their business, particularly baby boomersready to retire, finally have their businesses in sellable shapeand are more confident that they will receive an appropriatefinancial return on their sale. This proved true in the first quar-ter of 2013 as the median sale price of a sold business was$180,000, the highest level since 2009.

Business transaction fundamentals are strong with a latentsupply of owners ready to sell, and improving buyer demand

due to ongoing unemployment, recovering stock portfolios andthe slowly improving lending situation. Just last month, 75.2 per-cent of respondents to a BizBuySell.com survey of national busi-ness brokers said they are seeing the same or more deals gettingdone as compared to 2012. When the survey asked about thenumber-one factor causing the increase, the top two answers were“the increase in the number of interested buyers” and “theincrease in the number of owners looking to sell.”

The Fiscal Cliff factorIn addition to strengthening business results and fundamen-

tals, other factors are also contributing to the strong year-over-year growth. At the end of 2012, small business transactionsrose dramatically as owners rushed to complete the sale of theirbusinesses before the potential Fiscal Cliff and new tax rates.BizBuySell.com data showed that over the final three weeks ofDecember, small business sales climbed 43.4 percent over thesame period in 2011. It is likely that many additional such dealscarried over to the first quarter of 2013. Brokers in Marchechoed this sentiment as survey respondents attributed the 2013increase to a backlog of transactions, spurred by the Fiscal Cliff,that didn’t get done in 2012 and are closing now.

“Since the economic downturn in 2008, we’ve been waitingfor a time when buyers and sellers finally felt ready to re-enter

Sales of small businesses spiked in the firstquarter as sellers start taking the leap.


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the business-for-sale market,” CurtisKroeker, group general manager ofBizBuySell.com and BizQuest.com,said. “The continued strengthening ofbusiness performance, the resolution ofthe uncertainty of both the Presidentialelection and (to a large degree) theFiscal Cliff, and the strong stock mar-ket appear to be creating such an envi-ronment.”

Good looking numbersAs the stock market and overall

economy have improved, so have thefinancials of small businesses acrossthe country.

According to the Insight data, themedian cash flow of a small businesssold in Q1 reached $100,000, a 20.45percent increase over Q1 of 2012.Median revenue also improved, jumpingfrom $360,000 in Q1 2012 to $401,213in Q1 2013, an 11.45 percent increase.

The improved financial health ofsmall businesses is enabling sellers toask for more money from buyers. Themedian asking price for businesses soldin the first quarter was $199,000, a10.6 percent increase over Q1 2012.Encouragingly, the median sale pricerose even more (20 percent year-over-year) in Q1 2013 to $180,000 – a levelnot seen since Q4 2009.

Small business financial indicatorshave been on the rise for some timenow and with many of the metricsreaching levels not seen since the2008/2009 downturn, there is littledoubt the improved health is helpingpush the jump in small business exittransactions,” Kroeker said.“Hopefully this trend continues toincrease owner confidence that theycan get a good sale price, and getsbuyers excited about joining animproving small business market.”

What’s next?While the large jump in small

business transactions is a great sign forthe future, there is still some uncer-tainty regarding the remainder of2013. Business brokers were cautious-ly optimistic in the BizBuySell.comsurvey last month, with 54.2 percent ofbrokers expecting slight to significantimprovement going forward. Another13.4 percent expected no change from

the current activity level. When askedwhat factor most endangers economicrecovery, 31.8 percent cited the nation-al debt and ongoing political gridlock.Small business and personal tax ratescame in second, cited by 17.5 percentof respondents, while both small busi-ness health care costs and ongoinglong-term unemployment received12.3 percent of votes each.

The next few quarters of 2013 willbe very telling regarding the status ofthe business-for-sale market. The reso-lution of the Presidential election andfear of the pending Fiscal Cliff appearto have accelerated business-for-saletransactions at the end of 2012 and thebeginning of 2013. If improving busi-ness fundamentals and improved accessto capital also play a significant role,activity levels will likely stay high inthe second quarter. Decreased activityin the second quarter would suggestthat the spike in activity was temporary,and largely related to the carryovertransactions driven by concerns aboutthe Fiscal Cliff at the end of 2012.

“A number of factors appeared tohave fueled a spike in business salesthis quarter,” Kroeker said. “We expectsmall business health to continue toimprove. However, time will tell if itwill result in high transaction volumesfor the rest of the year or if the marketwill return to the slow, but steady roadto recovery we saw in 2012.”

BizBuySell.com releases itsBizBuySell.com Insight Report on aquarterly basis, reporting changes inclosed transaction rates, valuation mul-tiples and other economic indicatorsfor the small business transaction mar-ket. Closed transactions are reported toBizBuySell.com on a voluntary basisby business brokers nationwide. Formore information, or to find a qualifiedbroker, visit bizbuysell.com.

The company has an inventory ofapproximately 45,000 businesses span-ning 80 countries for sale at any onetime, and receives more than 910,000monthly visits. BizBuySell.com featuresan extensive franchise directory and aneasy-to-use business valuation tool.

The company was founded in1996, and in 2012 became a division ofCoStar Group Inc.


for your business information•••••

New YorkInternational Gift Fair Re-Brands

In August, theNew York InternationalGift Fair in Manhattanwill be called “NYNOW, the Market forHome & Lifestyle.” The new name will be accompanied by a new floor plan; andfour broad market categories – Home, Lifestyle, Handmade and New – will replacethe show’s 10 divisions.

The popular Baby + Child division of previous shows will become part ofthe larger Lifestyle category, which will present an array of merchandise fromgiftware to personal care to fashion accessories. Its 1,100 exhibitors will belocated on Level 1 of New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Center.

The Home category will showcase over 1,200 home furnishings, textiles,decorative accessories, and tabletop and gourmet housewares on Level 3.

Five hundred handcrafted resources “representing all home and lifestyle cat-egories and crafted in all types of media” will be found in the Handmade catego-ry on Level 4, and the New collection will focus on 250 newcomers in the NewYork market grouped together at Pier 94.

“The show’s reorganization into four collections and therepositioning of related resources not only will reinforce thedepth and breadth of resources in the New York market, but alsowill better reflect the way retailers are shopping and sourcingtoday,” says Christian Falkenberg, the show’s director and GLMvice president.

NY NOW will run Saturday, August 17, through Wednesday,August 21. For more information on the event, visit nynow.com.

Get Noticed on Facebook Fee FreeIf you thought social media companies would make their

user base available free of charge forever, think again.Facebook, with more than 1 billion monthly users some 618million daily users, and 680 million mobile users, is learning itcan generate revenue from its user base. It’s bad news for smallbusinesses that have utilized the social media platform to pro-mote their companies. “Although Facebook denies that it hastweaked its algorithm to force people into paying for moreexposure, independent studies appear to indicate that recentchanges have had an impact on overall reach,” wrote IntuitSmall Business blogger Tim Parker.

To avoid paying for sponsored content, but still increase yourFacebook exposure, he offered these four tips.

1. Turn on “get notifications.” EdgeRank is Facebook’salgorithm that decides which posts will be in front of the

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eyes of your fans and which won’t. Remember thedays when the little red number at the top of yourpage would alert you to a new posting on pages youliked? That’s now turned off by default when a personlikes your page. Have your fans turn it on by going toyour business’s page, hovering over the “like” boxand clicking “get notifications.” Then, pin the post tothe top of your page so it stays within view of yournew fans.

2. Use images. You’ve probably noticed that sinceFacebook changed its newsfeed to make images moreprominent, their use has taken off. A HubSpot studyfound that when photos are posted on pages, theyreceive 53 percent more “likes” than the average post. Italso found that the average number of comments perpost on images is 104 percent higher than on othertypes of content.

3. Don’t abandon text. “Regardless of the medium,you’ll still need to have text in your posts that draws usersin,” says Brandon Duncombe, social media manager atBargaineering.com. “Asking open-ended questions andencouraging debate grabs eyeballs. But always make itrelevant to what you want the user to ultimately do (clickon an image, watch a video, click on a link, etc.).”

4. “Like” other pages. View other business and nonprofitpages while using Facebook as your business instead ofas an individual. Share their interesting posts orannouncements on your page. This may prompt others toshare your content, which means fans of other pages will


Twitter Offers Gift Cards, TooIn February, we learned that Facebook was releasing a physical gift

card that its users could order through the social media platform to use atthe physical retail locations of participating brands. Twitter also launched aprogram in February, partnering with American Express along the way.

The service lets members with an Amex credit card sync it to theirTwitter account. They can then make purchases by tweeting special hash-tags for the products they’d like to buy.

“For example, last month American Express offered $25 Amex gift cardsfor $15. By using #BuyAmexGiftCard25 in a tweet, customers received areply tweet from the @AmexSync account containing a confirmation hashtag.The customers had to tweet that hashtag within 15 minutes to purchase theproduct, which was subsequently shipped to their billing address,” explains anarticle from U.S. News & World Report.

Amex believes social networks are the next big market for online shopping.“We know that retailers are very engaged on the Twitter platform,” notes SeniorVice President of Digital Partnerships and Development Leslie Berland. “Manyof them are advertising promotions and building their brand on the platform, butthey haven’t been able to keep business transactions on the Twitter platform.”

Amex believes that the younger generation will be key here, becausethey are more actively engaged with Twitter. “Those are the customers whocan help us spread this virally.”

Retail Therapy WorksResearch findings from a national survey

conducted by TNS Global on behalf of onlineshopping website Ebates.com show that 51.8percent of Americans engage in retail therapyto improve their mood. This group is furthercharacterized by gender, with 63.9 percentbeing women and 39.8 percent being men. Onethousand people participated in the survey.

Clothing at 57.9 percent is the number-oneitem that women purchase when treating them-selves to some retail therapy. This was followedby food, shoes, accessories and books/maga-zines. Most men, on the other hand, indulge infood. This was followed by electronics,music/movies, clothes and games/toys.

Additional findings showed that 66.6 per-cent of Americans believe online shopping pro-vides better retail therapy than physical shop-ping, and that getting a deal makes 80.7 per-cent of Americans feel best when indulging inretail therapy.

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industry news·····

Advanstar Licensing, organizers of Licensing Expo and its exclusive

sponsor, The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association

(LIMA), announced that actress and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow will

deliver the opening expo keynote on Tuesday, June 18.

In her presentation, "Brands on the Brink of Global Expansion," she will dis

cuss her strategy for growth. The presentation will be followed by a question and

answer session with her business partner, fitness expert Tracy Anderson.

As founder of Goop.com, a digital media company and lifestyle

resource, and as co-owner of the Tracy Anderson brand, Paltrow has exten

sive experience in building successful brands.

Alexander Doll Company is celebrating its 90th anniver

sary. Founded in 1923, the company was acquired by

Pennsylvania-based Kahn Lucas last year.

Alexander Doll Company designs, manufactures and

sells a wide range of dolls - collectible, fashion, baby and

play - along with their accessories. In addition to the

Madame Alexander and Middleton Doll

Newborn Nursery brands, the company

holds licenses for Disney, The

Wizard of Oz, Eloise, the Pan Am

and American Ballet Theatre, and

more. Through the years, the com

pany has been responsible for

many doll industry "firsts" that

have defined the company as a

pioneer, and have helped shape

the doll world.

"Beatrice Alexander started

her company at a time when very

few women even worked outside the

home, and we believe she would be very pleased with the limited-edition dolls

celebrating this anniversary milestone," says Gale Jarvis, company president.

Here is a list of the 2013 commemorative dolls.

• 21-inch Cissy is designed to emulate a 1920s photo of Madame Alexander.

• 12-inch Lissy harkens back to the original McGuffey Ana dolls of the

1930s and '40s.

• lO-inch Cisette is dressed in a pink celebration gown.

• 8-inch Wendy, Cisette's companion doll, comes with a marionette theater.

• 8-inch Maggie brings her own doll, Funny, to the celebration.

Other dolls were also introduced to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the

movies"Gone With the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz."

Kahn Lucas was founded in 1889 and continues to operate in Lancaster

County, Pennsylvania, in addition to running showrooms in New York City.

It's a privately held, fourth-generation, family-led company focused on age

appropriate girls' fashions for sizes newborn to 16. The company has been

awarded Supplier of the Year by JCPenney, Sears, Toys "R" Us and Babies

"R" Us, as well as Supplier of Excellence by Walmart.

The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) says that

updated information on pricing regulations will be available for retailers and man

ufacturers at its annual convention in Nashville in June. The educational session

"MAP, MSRP and RPM - What's Legal and How Do You Enforce It?" will be


BobbySusser,founder ofearly child-hood musiclabel NewHopeRecords, hasreceived theprestigiousDistinguishedAlumniAward from Teachers College,Columbia University. With 12 chil-dren’s albums in the marketplace andmore than 5 million albums sold,Susser has written and produced origi-nal, award-winning songs for childrensince 1972. His latest album “WO!”won two Dr. Toy Awards and a Parents’Choice award. Susser says a specialhighlight of his career was recordingthe official theme song for St. JudeChildren’s Hospital.

offered on Sunday, June 16, from 5 to 6 p.m. It will cover minimum advertised pric-ing (MAP) rules, antitrust laws and related issues.

“Minimum pricing requirements are good for specialty toy manufacturersbecause they protect their brand image from being tarnished by discounting,”notes Kathleen McHugh, ASTRA president. “They are good for specialty toyretailers because they support the actual costs of offering consumers a fun,hands-on shopping experience at a bricks-and-mortar store. Yet mastering allthe rules and regulations that manufacturers and retailers need to know can bechallenging for a small business. ASTRA is committed to providing resourcesfor our members to help them understand the regulations and how to competewithin the rules.”

Leading the MAP session will be attorney Todd R. Seelman, co-chair ofthe Antitrust and Competition practice group at Lathrop & Gage. He will bejoined by representatives from International Playthings, Neat-Oh! Internationaland The Creditors Network for a lively discussion of pricing pitfalls for manu-facturers and retailers.

The discussion is designed to provide clear guidance on antitrust laws andwhat constitutes price fixing. It will help manufacturers and retailers understandhow to avoid pricing behaviors that are prohibited.

In March, ASTRA moved to a different suite, number 205, in the samebuilding in Chicago. The complete new address is: ASTRA, 432 N. Clark St.Suite 205, Chicago, Illinois 60654. The phone and fax numbers remain 312-222-0984 (phone) and 312-222-0986 (fax).


industry news•••••

Residents of Marlboro Township, New Jersey, who usetheir Shop Marlboro card to make purchases at themom-and-pop stores in their neighborhood earn dis-counts on their property taxes. It is believed to be thefirst program in the country to encourage residents toshop at local businesses by offering such deductions.

It works like this: residents sign up for the pro-gram for free, and receive the card that can be swipedat a number of area businesses (currently around 40).But rather than save money at the business, residentsearn credits (based on a percentage of the amount pur-chased) that are deducted from their annual taxinvoice. If someone spends $100 at a restaurant thathas a corresponding tax credit of 10 percent, his taxeswill be $10 less when the bill comes.

Since last September, 1,200 of Marlboro’s 40,000residents have signed on to the program. Not surprising-ly, several other towns in New Jersey, a state with someof the highest property tax rates in the nation, are con-sidering following Marlboro’s lead.

The employees of Magic Beans toy and baby gear store,located in the Prudential Center near the Boston Marathon finishline, were praised by customers for their response during the bomb-ings on April 15. “There were about 10 customers, adults and chil-dren, and three employees in the store at the time,” says Isaac Judd,CEO of the four-store Boston-area chain. “They heard the blast, butdidn’t know what happened because there are no windows in themall where our store is located. Mall security responded quickly,and led everyone to a ‘safe room’ where they stayed for about 30minutes. Our staff helped entertain the children during this verystressful time, and it was much appreciated by their parents.”

When it was deemed safe, they were escorted out of the mallvia an exit away from the bombing site.

The store was not damaged, but remained closed untilSaturday, April 20. As a result, sales at Magic Beans’ PrudentialCenter location were only 25 percent of the sales during the sameweek the previous year, Judd reports. On Friday during the city’slockdown, his three other stores in Cambridge, Brookline andWellesley were also closed. Judd hopes the incident won’t scarepeople away from shopping downtown.

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FS-USA, a veteran of the toy andgift industry, makers of the popu-lar Mega Marbles Brand of toymarbles, has been named officialmarble sponsor for the short indiefilm, “All the Marbles,” scheduledto be released in December.

The main character, Jamison,is a short 10-year-old boy withcute cheeks and glasses. Thestory begins when he’s droppedoff by his mom in front of a tow-ering old warehouse. A weatheredsign reads “Wolf Marble Co.”Wolf is a creepy collector of mar-bles, and Jamison has arrived toregain his treasured Steely marble, given to him by hisfather. Wolf has no intention of relinquishing it and thechallenge is set – a rematch – but this time they’ll play forall the marbles.

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FS-USA (Fabricas SelectasUSA) is North America’s largesttoy marble manufacturer and oneof the world’s leading providersof marbles. The company spe-

cializes in top-of-the-line toy marbles and games made inMexico. With offices in Jalisco, Mexico, and Wichita,Kansas, FS-USA offers more than 70 different marblestyles and themes.


PIECE BY PIECE

• • • • •new• • • • •

With SmartMax Build & Light, children can effort-lessly create houses, towers and other bright structuresthanks to easy-to-manipulate magnetic balls and multi-colored bars, two of which are lit with LED lights. Willbe available in stores and online this June.smarttoysandgames.com

This toy really sucks!SQUIGZ will stick tovirtually any flat surfacewith no residue. Justpush them together, thenpop them apart. Using“suction construction”and a little imagination,these fun little suckerswill provide hours ofcreative play for boysand girls alike. fatbraintoys.com

The ogoBILD line offersstimulating opportunitiesfor constructive play andimaginative exploration.The collectible and inter-changeable BITS are aliveand seeking adventure.Look for Hitch, Blink,Crank, Leap and Blee tojoin them on their excitingjourney!ogosport.com

Build endless models with PowerClix. A super-string magnetic force creates a quick connect for fast,simple and powerful 3-D modeling. Build bridges,skyscrapers, animals and more. guidecraft.com


“Like” us on Facebook and vote for your favorites

More than 70 products were featured last year in our popular “Retailers Recommend”column. Before each issue, we telephone random edplay readers from across the country –specialty toy retailers just like you – to ask, “What’s selling well in your store right now?”Often, while we have them on the phone, they browse through their aisles and study theirshelves to spot current trends. Just like Share the Fair-type retailer meetings that take placeat trade shows, the information they give us is fresh and anecdotal, and you can trust it,because it comes from a reliable source.

Back to those 70-or-so products from 2012, the “Fabulous Finalists” in our first-evercontest. They were not necessarily new (many were) because we asked specifically for bestsellers. “I’d like to mention the Djubi,” California retailer Anna Chow told us last summer.“It’s always been a great toy, but the price has come down recently, and it’s become a greatoption for a birthday party gift.”

So instead of being simply brand new, edplay’s Fabulous Products are proven winners.They represent every toy-store category and price point, from manufacturers large and small.They are among the best toys for fun, open-ended play for every age group and both genders.

All of the Fabulous Finalists are winners in their own right, but we would like you topick your favorites – 10 in all, for first, second and third prize and seven honorable men-tions. To vote, “like” edplay on Facebook, and view the products in our album entitled“edplay’s Fabulous Awards.” “LIKE” 10 BY MONDAY, JUNE 10. We’ll feature theFabulous Award winners in our next issue, along with the winners of other industry awards,to give you a helpful resource to use as you stock your shelves for the fourth quarter.

100-piece SnapCircuits set, Do-A-Dot markers, the Mini Kick scooter, Plan Toys train sets, Steppers, the Rockboard, WhatZ’it, Auto Bingo Cards

Thinking Putty, Jumbo M

agnifiers, Blast Pads, Flash Flyer, HEXBUG N

ano Zip Line, Duct Tape Kits, Loopdedoo Friendship Bracelet Maker, Arm

y vs. Aliens, Q-BA-M

AZE, Folkmanis Little Puppets

Magna-Tiles Clear Colors 100-piece set, Magic Milk Flavoring Straws, Yummy Desert Keychains, LEGO Minifigures Series, Djubi

Douglas Stuffed Dogs & Cats, Model, Estes Model Rockets, Shoozit Learn & Play Cube, Press N Go Inchworms

Spooner Boards, Pirate and Fairy Series, Waboba Ball, Suspend, The Elf on the Shelf, Schw

ings, Wool Pets, M

agformers, Uglydoll M

ugs & Cookie Jars, Perfect Petzzz, Zippy Flyer, Kendama, RingStix

Press Here, Das Modeling Clay, Tatoo & Sticker Activity Books, Poke-A-Dot Books, Beautiful Butterflies Sticky M

osaics, Educational Development Corp. Sticker Books, Poke-A-Dot Books

edplay’s Fabulous Awards

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lets Recognize Best Sellers


ABC Kids Expo 63 theabcshow.com

Adora 30 charismabrands.com

Asmodee Editions 53 asmodee.com

Automoblox Company 31 automoblox.com

Bag O Blocks 61 bagoblocks.com

Berg USA 56 bergtoys-usa.com

Blue Orange Games 18 blueorangegames.com

Chicago Toy and Gift 9 chicagotoyandgift.com

DeLano/EPI Printing Inc. 40 delanoservice.com

Elenco Electronics 8 elenco.com

Endless Games 11 endlessgames.com

Family Games America FGA Inc 7,51 familygamesamerica.com

Fat Brain Toy Co. 21 fatbraintoys.com

Folkmanis 64 folkmanis.com

Fractiles 8 fractiles.com

FS-USA 45 fs-usa.com/toy/

Gameparts 49 gameparts.net

Goofballz 17 thegoofballz.com

Guidecraft USA 19 guidecraft.com

HABA / Habermaass Corp. 15 habausa.com

Hollow Woodworks 50 namestool.com

Jax Ltd, Inc. 13,52 jaxgames.com

John N Hansen Co. 35 johnhansenco.com

Koplow Games 54 koplowgames.com

Laser Pegs Ventures LLC 32,33 LaserPegs.com

Little Colorado Inc. 40 littlecolorado.com

Lunastix 57 lunastix.com

Mayfair Games Inc. 26,44 mayfairgames.com

Merchant Technologies 45 mtpos.com

Monkeez Makes a Difference 17 monkeezandfriends.com

Monkeying Around 50 monkeyingaround.com

OgoSport LLC 55 ogosport.com

The Orb Factory 27 orbfactory.com

PATCH Products Inc. 43 patchproducts.com

PlaSmart 6 plasmarttoys.com

The Reading Game 28 thereadinggame.com

Reindeer Magic / Kavik Publishing 61 reindeermagic.com

Rubens Barn 47 rubensbarndolls.com

Safari Ltd 23 safariltd.com

Small World Toys 2 smallworldtoys.com

Smart Toys and Games, Inc. 37 smarttangoesdealer.com

Specialty Toys Network 58 stoysnet.com

Spring Swings LLC 49 springswings.com

Talicor Inc. 58 talicor.com

Thames & Kosmos 25 thamesandkosmos.com

Thumler’s Tumbler 11 thumlerstumbler.com

TMI Toymarketing Int’l 28 gymnicballs.com

Toy Testing Lab 41 toytestinglab.com

USAopoly Inc. 5 usaopoly.com

Wiggity Bang Games 3 wiggitybang.com

Wikki Stix 29 wikkistix.com

WoolPets 54 woolpets.com

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may/june 2013

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many different full-sized toys – then take their model outside for aspin – captures people’s attention. Then, when they’re tired of thatmodel, they can take it apart and build something new with thesame durable components. I can stand on a floor model, and I am6-feet, 3-inches tall and weigh 200 pounds!

When retailers told us that customers respond to it likethis: “Cool – what is it?” we worked to better communicatethe product. BERG created packaging that’s visually stimulat-ing and BERG USA created a quad-fold brochure that detailsthe product in a “take-home” promotional piece. The mosteffective tool, however, is letting people pick up and play withthe building components – axels, planks and O-rings.

What’s stopping consumers from testing your productsin toy stores and buying them cheaper on line?

We have a Minimum Advertised Price policy that allowsall retailers to sell a quality product at a profitable marginreflective of the product.

The Internet is a reality; it’s how North America shops.But consumers need to experience products like ours.Seeing, touching and playing with them powerfully commu-nicates the value proposition to the consumer. We do a lot of

demo events, and makesure they are in supportof our dealers.

We hear from ourretailers that these fac-tors lead to sales.1. The product needs

to be out on thefloor.2. People need to

literally kickthe tires of thekarts (they areinflatable),adjust the seatand feel thesteel.

endcap•••••

(continued from page 62)

Part of the BERG USA team. From left to right: Frank Bewersdorff,Daniel Snader, Anne Monroe, Kent Julye and Gary Landis.

3. With MOOV, kids and parents need to put some piecestogether. They need to visit makeitmoovit.com to see photosof what people around the world have created with the kits.

4. Consumers appreciate a BERG catalog that features thestore’s name and address.

5. Let them ride the toys and have fun with the products. Consumers “get it.” They tell us “Wow! You can see that

these toys are built really well.”

Is there anything else you would like retailers toknow about BERG USA?

Three things. First, we are an ethical company that doesbusiness with people in an ethical fashion: good products at a fairprice, good service, good information and resources, and a goodopportunity for specialty toy retailers to grow their business.

Second, we want to establish a relationship to demonstratethat our commitment is ongoing; not just one sale and done. Wewant to make sure we are doing right by our retailers – they’repartners rather than customers. We appreciate their business,whether they buy a single unit or many karts and kits.

Third, we’re committed to play and people having fun.That’s ultimately what our business comes down to.

We’d like to thank retailers for purchasing our productsand offering them to their customers. It’s incredibly important,and I don’t think we say it enough.

For more information about BERG Toys and MOOV, see the ad on page 56.

MOOV


Thanks for the Rideby Tina Manzer

endcap•••••

Last year about this time, when KentJulye was in Massachusetts demo-ing BERG pedal karts, a 72-year-

old woman hopped on for a ride beforejoining her familyfor Mother’s Daybrunch. After hermeal, she went backto the toy store withher son-in-law andpedaled some more.

“What can Isay? The karts arejust fun to ride,”laughs Julye. “Yousee people get onthem and have rides,and they have bigsmiles on theirfaces. The older youare, the bigger the smile, because I thinkit releases the inner child.”

But BERG karts, after all, are not somuch for grandmothers but for children.That’s why they’re not only fun, but stur-dy, safe and easy to adjust. We asked Julyeto tell us more about these European-madetoys that everyone wants to ride.

Which ones sell best in a specialtytoy store?

Our brands are BERG Toys – pedalgo-karts and ride-on toys – and MOOVconstruction kits for kids. With MOOV,kids don’t need tools to assemble child-sized bikes, scooters, a crane, helicopterand more. The assembly models gets themstarted and then the creativity takes off.

Our junior line, Buddy and Biky,along with the Rally/Jeep Adventure,are a great fit for specialty toy stores

Kent Julye, vice president of marketing & sales at BERG USA, discussesthe appeal of ride-on toys and the importance of listening to customers.

because of their size and age targets.The three-kart vertical display fits com-fortably in a small store. MOOV has itsown unique, vertical display.

The Buddy is the best seller in spe-cialty toy stores. It’s a pedal go-kart forkids ages 3 to 8. That range refers to thechild’s size; his ability to fit into the kart.The Rally/Jeep Adventure for kids ages 4to 12 is the next size up, and the CityCompact is for kids 5 to 14 years of age.

All BERG products are designed forchildren to have fun with their bodiesand their minds, in both independent playand with other children. They are able tochallenge themselves at their own pace,which I believe is in concert with whatspecialty toy stores are all about.

Our products are also available inbike stores, farm stores, general storesand occasionally in the club channel.We introduce new products each year atToy Fair, and we exhibit at entertain-


ment, farm, camping and auto shows,and also at ASTRA. I think this is ourfifth year there. ASTRA has been verywelcoming to us.

Where and whendid BERG karts originate?

The first kartwas made 28 yearsago by Henk vanden Berg. He grewup on a farm wherethere are a lot ofthings lying aroundlike wheels andgadgets, so with afew pipes, woodenplanks, wheelbarrowwheels, and a chain

and pedals, he made a kart. He sold itbefore it was even finished. Today,BERG Toy’s factory, warehouse andcorporate headquarters are in Wekeromin the Netherlands, and its products aresold in 56 countries.

In 2010, Frank Bewersdorff pur-chased the U.S. distributorship andformed BERG USA. In 2012, BERGToys purchased BERG USA. I was anindependent dealer, and joined the com-pany last year.

When were the MOOV constructionkits introduced?

In 2008, after three years of devel-opment. They originated from a requestBERG Toys received for wheels tobuild a go-kart.

There’s a lot of interest in MOOV. Aconstruction toy that allows kids to build

Buddy Rally/Jeep Adventure with trailer (left) and Buddy White (right)

An essential ingredient to every toybox, every childhood, every generation. See more puppets at www.folkmanis.com

0r call 1-800-654-8922 for a free catalog.

Visit us at major gift and toy shows.

edplay may-june 2013

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