Driving toy store traffic is no child's play - Toys Update - Toy Industry Association

DSN Retailing Today, June 9, 2003 by Linda Saucerman

Playing grown-up is no longer just a game. Taking a backseat to TV, video games and organized sports, kids as young as six are turning away from imagination-based creative play, posing yet another challenge to an industry that is constantly striving to keep traffic steady.

"When we hear about age compression, kids growing up sooner, we know for a fact that girls are reaching puberty at an earlier age, we know for a fact that kids are trying to emulate adults at an earlier age and in boys we're seeing them move on to organized sports at a very young age, much younger than before," explained Tom Conley, president of the Toy Industry Association (TIA).

So with an overscheduled 10-year-old shunning play time the question becomes how to get kids interested in toys. The simple answer--reach out to mom. For Toys "R" Us, that starts with mixing up mom's options. For example, at its Geoffrey stores, the retailer combines items from its Toys "R" Us, Kids "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores, along with services such as party rooms, photo studios, barber shops and styling salons.

"It's really about saying to moms, 'We want to help you not only have a happy kid, but a smart one and [Geoffrey] can be a place where you can come with your child, have quality time and have your shopping and time aspirations filled,"' said Warren Kornblum, chief marketing officer for Toys "R" Us.

Following last month's conference call announcing first quarter results, Toys "R" Us ceo John Eyler said that some elements of Geoffrey, such as hair salons and photo studios, would be applied to Toys "R" Us stores in certain cities. The initiative is believed to be a follow-through on the idea of making the retailer almost a one-stop-shop for mom.

Playing upon the toy store as a center for social activity, Toys "R" Us, K*B Toys and smaller specialty retailers have partnered with vendors to create afterschool and summer programs to attract kids not only to their stores, but to the products they carry

Mall-based retailer K*B Toys teams up with vendors to create an "ever-changing and exciting store front" to pull mall-shopping families to their stores, explained John Reilly, manager of sales, promotion and public relations for the retailer.

At K*B's Toy Works stores, which are larger units located in strip malls, the retailer hosts Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments. Yu-Gi-Oh!, a card game based on a popular Japanese-animated cartoon follows in the footsteps of Pokemon and brings kids together to play games. Toys "R" Us also has tapped into this trend. Within the last two months, the retailer began hosting Yu-Gi-Oh! workshops and afterschool programs in all its stores.

"We want to help bring what kids want to life and make it interactive and be a destination for kids who want to experience, in this case Yu-Gi-Oh! We see that as part of our role, and frankly, it's smart on our side," said Kornblum.

It's proactivity like this that makes TIA happy.

"We have to get a message out to families and parents that play is something that people need to do throughout their entire life," said Conley, "We have to make that message on behalf of the industry not only because it is the right thing to do, but it also gives our members the opportunity to sell products longer and provide the tools that kids need to not only play, but to experience educational, manual dexterity and psychological challenges."