Spinning tops and retro toys create a buzz at Toy Fair 2002: Show plays usual role as host to innovation - Brief Article

DSN Retailing Today, Feb 25, 2002 by Molly Prior

NEW YORK -- For the toy industry, the recently completed Toy Fair 2002 kicked off in New Year and marked the official launch of a new buying season. Most important, though, it wiped the slate clean for an industry that witnessed a sluggish year in sales capped by an especially challenging holiday season.

"It is likely significant sales were lost due to tight retail inventory management during the fourth quarter of last year," said Patrick Feely, chairman of the Toy Industry Association, at a Toy Fair press conference. "In spite of obstacles that we as an industry and as a nation faced last year, traditional toy sales increased by 1.7% in 2001, with retail sales at $25 billion, compared with $24.6 in 2000," he added.

But as Feely and industry veterans stress, no matter how the economy turns, product innovation is the bottom line for the toy industry. And while innovation took many forms this year, three prominent trends emerged from the showrooms. Spinning tops, food-themed toys and relaunches of "retro" toys of the '80s generated much of the buzz at this year's show.

Several toy companies, such as Hasbro, Playmates, Toymax and Treadmasters, will spin out a dizzying array of tops to retail this year, trying to recreate the toy's success in Japan. Hasbro raced to beat competitors to the market with its Beyblade tops and Beystadiums, based on Nelvana's new boy entertainment property. Each Beyblade comes unassembled and can be customized to achieve top performance by the user. Following strong holiday launches in Los Angeles, Calif., and on Toysrus.com, Hasbro rolled out the tops nationally in February.

Toymax's Spinja Battling Tops are launched into their stadium through two power pod platforms. The tops, each packaged with a Battle-Point trading card to keep score, come pre-assembled and light up while spinning. The tops will roll out later this year.

Trendmasters' Rumble Rippers, an outgrowth of its Rumble brand launched last year, feature homegrown characters such as El Smasho and Lob Jaw Each comes with a ripcord, additional armor and a collectible coin stage to arm them for combat in the Rumble Rippers Battle Arena.

Playmates is taking a different approach to the new craze by targeting girls with its Whirl Top Wonders. These sculpted pastel tops, when spun, open to reveal a hidden fairy taking flight and becoming a spinning top on her own. Floral-themed tops will roll out to retail this summer.

Food-themed toys also were big this year. New toys such as the Spin Master Toys' Icee Maker and Hershey's Chocolate Magic, Hasbro's Queasy Bake Oven for boys and Mattel's Harry Potter Polyjuice Potion Maker and Snake Bites Edible Activity Set hit retail shelves this year, hoping to bite off a piece of Easy Bake Oven's market share.

Following the success of Hasbro's relaunch of G.I. Joe action figures and Transformers, several toy companies are revisiting toys that made a splash in the '70s and '80s. One of the biggest wave makers in the '70s was the quintessential California Beach girl Malibu Barbie--one of Mattel's best-selling dolls. Malibu Barbie, sporting a re-creation of the original blue one-piece swimsuit, yellow beach towel and bleach-blond locks, comes packaged with sunscreen and will be at mass for a SRP of $19.95.

It seems '80s nostalgia also has opened the door once again for the girls property the Care Bears. In 1999, American Greetings began distributing juniors' apparel to specialty shops. By the end of 2001, the Care Bears craze began to take hold once again, and Wal-Mart reported the original videos began blowing out of stores. Retailers wanted an entire program, and American Greetings has responded with a massive $10 million licensing and marketing program during 2002, the bears' 20th anniversary.

The bears, namely Cheer Bear, Tenderheart Bear and, new this time around, Share Bear, resulted in more than $1.5 billion in retail sales. American Greetings has updated the look of the bears, using more vibrant colors to appeal to a new generation. An infant line will follow next year.

Sales in the action figure and accessories category jumped an impressive 36.2% in 2001, with Toy Biz' Lord of the Rings and Hasbro's G.I. Joe fueling much of the growth.

Hoping to piggyback on the success of its own Max Steel and Harry Potter action figures, Mattel will relaunch He-Man and the entire Masters of the Universe line after a seven-year absence in the marketplace. Each character in this new redesigned line will have a microchip that interacts with the Castle Grayskull Playset. The castle has separate reader zones that can either recognize figures and provide appropriate sounds or activate features in certain areas based on whether it's a heroic or an evil character. He-Man will resurface at retail in July.

After a slow growth year, it may take He-Man-like effort on the part of toy manufacturers, retailers and, most important, consumers to help the industry rebound. The Toy Industry Association remains bullish.

"This year, I am confident we as an industry and as a country will bounce back even further during 2002. Therefore, my prediction is the traditional toy market in the United States will grow by 6% this year. In 2002, we will see an even stronger cast of important new licenses on top of what should be an improved market environment and less uncertainty at the retail level. In short, it should be a good year," said Feely.