Figures take early lead. (toy industry)

Playthings, April, 1991

Love and war were the dual forces that drove toy sales in much of February. While Valentine's Day accounted for a sudden spurt in sales of snow white bears, the Gulf War was the stimulus for sizzling sales of models of combat aircraft and of Mattel's Air Force Barbie. With the nation riveted on coverage of the Gulf War, several retailers reported they were sold out of the Barbie who sports a green jumpsuit and Bombardier jacket.

Valentine's Day, by contrast, called for soft, sweet toys. A toy store in a South Bay mall, for example, spotlighted Arc's Sweet Scents Potpourri set, sale priced at $2.99. For an Orange County-based retail group, the holiday translated into red hot interest in Gund's milk white bears, tagged up to $110. "For...

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