Heritage and tradition are changing the face of today's toys

Discount Store News, Feb 6, 1995 by Dawn Wilensky

NATIONWIDE DSN REPORT -- The complexion of today's toy shelves is changing.

This change has grown out of a desire by African-Americans and other ethnic consumers to provide their children with toys that reflect a heritage rich with tradition and customs.

Over the past several years, dolls with names like Kenya, Imani, Consuelo and Menelik have been sharing shelf space with the likes of Barbie, Ken, Dreamland Babies and Baby Check-Up.

These "multicultural dolls," as they've been dubbed, are satisfying a long overdue need by ethnic groups who were starved for products that would offer children a realistic portrayal of themselves.

Yla Eason, founder and president of New York-based Olmec Toys, shared these same feelings and in 1985 developed a line of superhero toys for her then-3-year-old son to play with. Since that time, she has expanded the line to include dolls, accessories, school supplies and sleepwear.

Her dolls like Imani, Menelik (named after her son) and Consuelo serve as positive role models for African-American and Hispanic children. The company also added a 12-in. Malcolm X doll in 1994 as part of its "Our Powerful Past" collection to educate children about great African-American leaders.

"Given that parents are making the decision of what doll is purchased, the things they look for are positive role models or historical figures on doll shelves because that's who they want their children to emulate," said Ken Smikle, publisher of Target Market News, a Chicago-based publication that tracks marketing to black consumers.

Manufacturers don't take these dolls lightly. In fact, all of today's ethnic dolls have realistic facial features and hairstyles and many are dressed in authentic kente designs, attributes dolls of yesteryear failed to address.

These realistic-looking dolls were important to the small black entrepreneurial companies like Olmec, New York-based Cultural Toys and Golden Ribbon Playthings in Chicago, which got involved in this movement over the past decade.

They were so successful that about four years ago, Tyco, Hasbro and Mattel entered the fray with their own lines of multicultural dolls.

Tyco's Kenya doll has taken on a life of its own and has 13 licenses, one developed in conjunction with McCalls for a line of patterns inspired by Kenya that can make a dress for the doll and a matching one for the child.

Mattel has put much emphasis behind its line of Barbie Dolls of the World collection, which features Kenyan Barbie, Native American Barbie, Polynesian Barbie and Chinese Barbie, among others.

Hasbro combined the best of both worlds when it teamed up with Olmec's Eason for the 1993 intoduction of Kids of Color, a line of infant and preschool products that are aimed at reflecting and celebrating the cultural diversity of America's children.

"There is so much awareness of multiculturalism, said Hasbro's director of public relations Gary Serby. "Preschools are making kids more aware of all holidays and customs and this makes the products more mainstream. It also makes the African-American market a huge, significant business opportunity."

Serby is right on target. The spending power of black consumers has been estimated at $805 million on toys and games in 1994, according to Smikle's Target Market News.

Smikle also sees potential in the market and believes that those retailers that make a concerted effort to invite black consumers into stores will reap tremendous rewards.

One such retailer is Toys "R" Us, which is the leader in marketing to ethnic consumers. The chain devotes both shelf space and endcaps to a variety of lines from top manufacturers and stocks the merchandise chainwide.

At its Union Square store in Manhattan, TRU devotes space to ethnic dolls throughout its department, including 6 ft. of space to dolls like Sandy and Linda by Olmec, Huggybean Kulture Kids by Golden Ribbon Playthings and a rag doll dressed in a kente cloth outfit by Troys Toys, based in Chatham, N.J.

On a recent visit, there was also an endcap of several skus of Tyco's Kenya doll including Color Me Kente Kenya, Kenya The Beautiful Hairstyling Doll and Sparkle Pretty Kenya, which all retail for $26.99.

"Kenya is more than just a doll," said Patti Lewis, vice president, girls' toys, Tyco. "She provides a physical play pattern for the African-American girl and also makes girls feel beautiful, which makes moms happy."

Mass merchandisers are also trying to make consumers happy with dedicated planograms, stylized endcaps, and in some cases, chainwide distribution of the products.

The Big Three and regional chains like Ames, Bradlees, Caldor, Jamesway and Venture all participate, albeit in varying degrees.

Target, for instance, has held multicultural family events at its stores in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles. Others like Kmart are creating a Minority Vendor Program and Wal-Mart is establishing a Minority Vendor Council and plans to set up cultural toy shops in several locations.

Jamesway concentrates on name brands and quality products in its ethnic offerings and relies on demographics when stocking its stores.