Surfing for Games

The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook contains many suggestions by top toy sages on how best to keep up with industry trends. One common tip repeated by these in-the-know toy people was, "get out into retail frequently and see what's on the shelves." It's all there; playthings with latest entertainment licenses, product displayed by categories, attractive merchandising and packaging, marketers who dominate space, and a mix of new toys and games with the classics.

Any itinerary to Toyland's retail aisles should obviously include regular stops at Walmart, Target, Kmart and TRU. To be all inclusive, specialty retailers are a must stop too since unique and likely higher end playthings, often ignored by big box outlets, populate the aisles.

Add to brick and mortar visits, quality time surfing the wonder and convenience of internet websites in search of industry happenings. In the 3rd edition of the Handbook, we concocted a new section called the Websitary (coined by the contraction of website and glossary). It is a listing of websites we felt, at the time of publication, would likely be of interest to toy people. As an e-book, we were able to make these sites interactive.

Today, digital toy industry info abounds on the computer. If your thing is games, check out thegameaisle.com The site is maintained by inventor and active blogger, Kim Vandenbroucke who posts frequent reviews of games new to the market. In her blogging, Kim uses a special mix of skills from her industrial design training, experiences at a former Chicago invention house, and independent creative work from her design business, Brainy Chick. kimvandenbroucke.com.

Says Kim, "It behooves toy people to know what the competition is up to, what looks to be doing well, and what has flopped. In the seven years I've been blogging, the game arena has changed so much! Paying close attention to the market has been a fun adventure for me. I've played tons of games. I'd like to think blogging to the industry has made me better at designing toys and games while shining a light on the market for my audience"

Another blog that offers a wealth of information on the game side is Purple Pawn. purplepawn.com
The site's stated mission reflects the commitment to the industry's game segment. "Purple pawn is a site about life, as seen through the prism of games." And by admission of Executive Editor, David A. Miller and his staff, "Purple Pawn covers everything cool, sick, famous. infamous, down and dirty, up and coming, cultural, or just plain weird in the world of people and analog games". Those promises sound to me as though Purple Pawn should be another regular blog stop in getting a pulse on the latest games populating Toyland.

Sir Frances Bacon wasn't a toy guy, but he is attributed to have said, "Knowledge is power". Enjoy building your industry knowledge through all those store visits  and by surfing the web.

Build It and They Will Come

Another White Sox Fan

Being from Chicago and a long time baseball fan of the same team as Barack Obama, I knew a bit about the 1919 Black Sox featured in Kevin Costner’s movie, Field of Dreams. As you likely know, the movie focused on players banished to an Iowa north forty cornfield only to magically appear once a ball diamond was built.

It occurred to me there is a similarity between that movie, major mass-market retailers, and mall developers. When mall developers see an open field, it is not a baseball diamond they build, but rather huge mega-malls. Their hopes must be, “if I build it (a mall), they (shoppers) will come”. However, in these hard times of economic meltdown and changing shopping habits, shoppers are not coming. In fact, there are dire projections about retailers in 2009. Michael Burden, principal with industry adviser Excess Space Retail Services, expects as many as 14,000 stores will close in 2009. "We could see the highest ever number of closures," he said. And the International Council of Shopping Centers estimates that chain store closings could exceed 3,100 in just the first half of the year.

Such troublesome forecasts can only have a rippling effect on the toy and game industry., Anne D’Innocenzo in a recent AP article cites a number of reactions retailers may have to the economic climate, saying “ retailers will cut marginal suppliers, keep inventory lean, hold special buying events, and provide an array of products at lower prices.” I ask, “haven’t Walmart and Target been doing this already to industry marketers for years”? When we attend Toy Fair and witness the sea of products, hear the optimism and see the carnival that is Javits, it is astonishing that only a trickle of those products will reach the shelves of the two reigning retail giants. Those two retailers, in particular, have already cut suppliers, kept inventories lean, and pressured marketers for incredibly low prices. The result at big box stores is a sameness of limited selection of toys and games.

What might be the answer to the retail malaise? Re-emergence of TRU where there was always great selection? Increased traffic at “specialty” stores where there hasn’t been an inordinate mix of laundry detergents and bed and bath linens at the sacrifice of toys and games? More dot -com sales without the need of consumers in mall store aisles?

I must admit that as a “product” guy, I was never satisfied with “sales” guys’ explanations of why products couldn’t be offered at places more convenient to consumers as a way to increase sales. With travel games to sell, why couldn’t they be placed next to Coke and Pepsi at all those gas station mini-markets? Why weren’t those games with movie characters licenses placed in video stores or in the lobbies of movie houses next to the $8 popcorn barrels and $5 soda cups tempting consumers to buy?

Maybe now more than ever when consumers are reducing trips to the mall, products need to get closer to a potential buying event. Maybe if the temptation is heightened, the consumer may break out of buying restraint and make an impulse purchase. And maybe in desperation, we will have to go back to methods vacuums and hairbrushes were sold during past hard times. Would you believe?... Knock, knock. “Who’s there?” Ahhh, “toys and games”. (Can you see all those silhouettes in red suits with big, big bags going door-to-door all across America in search of consumers? Any unemployed Santa’s out there?)

Knock, knock, toys for sale!

Thoughts About Christmas Past (Three weeks ago)

Phew!

Christmas is finally behind us even though a few diehard celebrants refuse to remove their twinkling lights and browning evergreen ornaments. But the post mortems on holiday shopping are coming in painting a rather bleak picture of the industry's biggest selling season.

Out of the Hong Kong Toy Show came a statement that "retailers posted a 2% fall in business despite heavy discounts and promotions." ToysRUs posted a 3.4% decline over the nine week holiday season, November 2 - January 3.

Sales -3.4% U.S., -5.1% internationally

And foretelling the sad state of the retail arena right in the middle of the shopping season was KB Toys filing for bankruptcy. (Couldn't they even have waited to see if toy shoppers would beat a path to their mall doors?)

Files bankruptcy in the middle of the selling season!

The ominous signs were everywhere that retailers would use all the tricks to try to be Santa's helpers. ToysR Us boasted of "Our Lowest Prices Ever!" It was common to see an abundance of 50% off or saying it another way, "Buy one at regular price, get a second FREE!" Maybe the best deal was, "all toys at 70% off." But even with the prospect of all those good buys, I was certaiinly not motivated to shop at the retailer who promised an absurd store opening of 4 A.M.! I think I'm a bit of an adventuresome sort, but I couldn't envision myself arising in subfeezing New England darkness to push a shopping cart around Target, TRU, or Kohls. What were they thinking?

Thankfully, in the midst of all the year-end economic gloom. I came across Alan Hassenfeld's optimistic message in the 12/20/08 issue of The Economist magazine, entitled "Santa's Happy Helper." (Check out the full article here.) Alan offered these reassuring words, "The papers say everyone will get coal this year, but most parents - and grandparents - in difficult times will spend less on themselves to ensure that their children are happy, especially in the holiday season. That is an important leg-up toys have on almost all other retail items, except food." Motivated by Alan's comments, I bought my family two bags of groceries, tried to keep one grandson happy with Guitar Hero World Tour, and the Jr. Olympian skiing grandson happy with new downhill skis! (Admittedly, I delayed buying a new Chevy!)

So what can we toy people do to ensure better times in a business where the numbers of 60-70 percent of the T&G annual volume have historically been done in the 4Q? My suggestion for the bailout of our industry is not mounds of cash like all the other businesses bugging Washington's coffers. I propose we petition to alter the official National Calendar for twelve monthly gift-giving dates. Since all the really big sales come AFTER Dec. 25, January should have a specific date to "give the toy or game you didn't give at Christmas." February is almost there already but broaden the 14th beyond "sweethearts" to giving a game or toy "to someone you love" (no XXX items, please!). Now all we need are nine more national proclaimed dates to shop toys and games each month to get those big $$$$ volumes. No, this idea is not intended to in any way dismiss or dilute December 25. We still need Christmas. A monthly gift giving calendar is just the toy industry's way to catch the spirit of economic stimulus packages and hopefully avoid another meltdown like the one our industry experienced in 2008!

P.S. BTW, we know what retailer bucked the sales slide, right?....

Store sales up +1.7%.
"This was a year made for WalMart" to quote Consumer Growth Partners.

CU@Toy Fair!