Toy sales a bright spot for season

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Dec 28, 2001 by Kropf, Annemarie

Santa Claus apparently liked specialty toys this year. While other retailers report lackluster numbers, specialty toy stores in Central New York say they have seen leaps in their sales this holiday season.

"Our sales have been great," says Michelle Duggan, owner of Frog Alley Toys in Syracuse, "up over 25 percent since last year."

Specialty toy stores usually do not sell mass-market products. Rather, they focus on educational toys, or classic and wooden items.

Frog Alley Toys sells puzzles, games, erector sets, wooden items, and arts and crafts. "People want to get back to basics," Duggan says. "People can do stuff with their kids, or kids can do it on their own."

Duggan's store is not alone. Leann Hoffman, owner of Small World in DeWitt, says that business has increased significantly from last year. The store's biggest seller is a large block for toddlers that plays classical music, retailing for $60. Hoffman says the store has sold 50 music blocks this year so far.

"We're having a hard time keeping up," Hoff-man says. "People want to make Christmas as happy as they can for their children. [Children] saw visual destruction on TV [on Sept. 11] and they want to make them happy."

Hoffman says that since Nov. 1, business has grown every day. "These are the best days we've ever had in our history," she says.

The toy store owners agree that location plays a role in their sales. Situated in Armory Square, the Frog Alley store, says Duggan, offers an alternative to the malls.

"They're too hectic," she says. "We know all the toys. We wrap gifts for them. People come in because it's more personable."

Betty Noble, owner of The Village Toy Shop in New Hartford, agrees. "Basically, we're the only one in the area that has that [specialty] market," she says. "We go with the classic and wooden toys. You don't see any G.I. Joe or Techno Puppies."

Hoffman says even though her store if' located in Shoppingtown Mail, the business does not compete with the Kay-Bee Toy & Hobby Shop there. "We work so well together," she says. "When customers want a mass-market toy, we tell them to go to Kay-Bee." Kay-Bee, in turn, refers its customers to Small World when they want a specialty toy. Hoff-man says each store even has the other's number posted on a wall to check if they have a particular toy. "Our goal is to make -the customers happy," she says.

While many specialty toy stores are experiencing a rise in their sales, others aren't as lucky. However, although they say that their holiday season is flat, overall business is still good.

"Part of it is that I've been here for 11 years," says Anthony Johnson, owner of Alphabet Soup in Ithaca. "I can't grow 25 percent every year in the same community. The customer base doesn't grow 25 percent."

Johnson says he is not being negative, but rather just looking at things from the perspective of an established business.

"I look for steady growth, not a big increase," he says. "For the year, we will achieve that."

Noble says that, on the whole, the toy industry is doing much better than others. "If people aren't going to shop [for themselves]," she says, "they're going to buy for their kids."