Discounters expect nice, not naughty, toy season; after checking their lists, buyers see happy Holiday

Discount Store News, Sept 2, 1996 by Laura Liebeck

NATIONWIDE DSN REPORT -- Holiday 1996 should be a strong year for basic toys, since no megahit is likely to steal kids' hearts.

However, there will be some sizzle in the business with the new 32-bit and 64-bit video game systems widely available, the home video release of "Toy Story" and the movie debuts of "101 Dalmatians" and "Space Jam."

Also, the Star Wars, Batman, Goosebumps and Barbie properties should claim sizeable portions of the 1996 Holiday dollars in toys.

In fact, Barbie, as a category, looks like a home run for Mattel, with both Holiday Barbie and Pet Doctor Barbie new to shelves this year.

These two dolls, along with several other new Barbie issues, will provide retailers with heavy traffic in their Barbie aisles. Barbie is already tracking a "double-digit increase from last year" at Ames, said Mark Kaplan, merchandise manager. Barbie sales are "off the wall," at Kay-Bee, said Tom Alfonsi, vice president, divisional merchandise manager. And at Bradlees, Barbie is selling well and positioned for a strong Holiday season, said Deran Muckjian, buyer.

To maximize the demand for Barbie, Ames is setting up a Barbie shop that includes special collector dolls now in demand. The Barbie area has been expanded to 40 ft., double last year's set. Four ft. of the section is reserved for collector dolls, Kaplan said.

While the expanded Barbie program is already delivering results for Ames, Kaplan is looking for an assortment of products to sell well this season.

"I don't like to depend on licenses. I'm not looking for the next Power Rangers. I'm looking for doubles and triples," Kaplan said. What's a triple? "101 Dalmatians," the upcoming live-action movie based on the highly successful animated film released years ago by Disney.

Expected to do well this year at Ames: NASCAR and Goosebumps for Back-to-School (and should continue strong for Christmas); die-cast cars--some of which are Ames' own designs, part of a new line initiated this year; Hercules and X-Men, plus other comic heroes; expression dolls; Sky Dancers and Dragon Flies by Galoob; and games, which have expanded by 50 to 60 skus for a total run of 48 ft., about double what it was a year ago.

Ames also is unveiling new shop concept presentations in Fisher-Price and Little Tikes, Kaplan said.

Kay-Bee's Alfonsi said the 1,200-store chain expects to do well in video games, specifically the new 32-bit and 64-bit systems, and in strong licenses such as Star Wars, Toy Story, 101 Dalmations, Winnie the Pooh and Barbie. Specific items he feels will be strong include Tickle Me Elmo by Playtime; Fisher-Price's Wonder Tools Cruiser and Barbie Fashion Designer; Baby Go Bye Bye by Kenner; and Makin' Faces dolls by Irwin. Overall, Alfonsi expects Christmas '96 to be "strong."

At Bradlees, Muckjian said in addition to Barbie and the special collector issues, strong sellers this Holiday season will include Lego--already recording double-digit increases--Toy Story, 101 Dalmations and Space Jam. Star Wars will continue strong, as will Batman, Marvel characters and even Power Rangers.

"I think it'll be a good toy season, not a great one. There's no dominant license, but there are a lot of good ones this year," he said, noting that he has been disappointed in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. "The kids didn't identify with it."

Like Kay-Bee's Alfonsi, Muckjian also feels 1996 will be a good game year. He also looks for science toys to do well, spurred on by the new NASA findings of possible primitive life on Mars. Bradlees will present an 8-ft. section of science toys this year. Books, too, will get special treatment. And a new plush display, a rack system of baskets, will be introduced to better showcase product and drive margins.

Other new products toy manufacturers expect to perform well for them this Holiday season include:

* Fisher-Price: Wonder Tools, Creative Effects Instant Camera, Fanstastix (large foam building system) and Jeep Adventure Team with TelePack. These toys, among others, were tested by 2,000 children who visited Fisher-Price's play laboratory during the past 12 months. These toys were evaluated as consistent favorites based on play value, innovation and ability to hold a child's interest.

* Bandai: BeetleBorgs and Saban's Power Rangers Zeo (and the introduction the new Gold Ranger).

* Cap Toys: Melody's Magic Mall and Sky Racers.

* Kenner: Toobers & Zots, a foam construction art toy, Wonder World gel "fish" tank and Baby Go Bye Bye.

* Lego: Duplo Water Park, Wild West and Time Cruisers theme sets.

* Little Tikes: Rock 'n Scoot rocking motorcycle on a detachable base, Tike Activity Barnyard and Easy Score Basketball Set.

* Mattel: Happy Holidays Barbie, Pet Doctor Barbie, Barbie Fashion Designer CD-ROM, Cabbage Patch Snacktime Kids and Construx.

* Playskool: Magic Touch Talking Books, which are activated by touching the pages. These books have 16 different sounds per page, 100 sounds per book, plus learning activities.

* Today's Kids: Crawl 'n Climb PlayCenter and Kids' Schoolhouse.