Tiny Toys Get Shoppers in Stores Year Round
December 07 2016 - 8:20AM
Dow Jones News
Tiny collectibles including Shopkins, Num Noms and Tsum Tsum are
helping toy retailers solve an age-old problem: how to get people
into their stores year round, not just at Christmas.
Sales of these and similar toys logged just $142 million in
sales through September, a small slice of the roughly $25 billion
U.S. toy industry, according to market researcher NPD Group, yet
the products are having an outsize influence in helping retailers
get shoppers into their stores.
With their low price points—packs generally are priced between
$2 and $5—and collectible nature, retailers say that shoppers
return multiple times as they, for instance, search for a Cupcake
Princess character to complete their latest Shopkins series.
"A toy might be $20 and you're one and done," said Richard
Barry, chief merchant at Toys "R" Us Inc. "Whereas with a
collectible brand, it might be multiple, multiple trips."
These toys also are bringing shoppers into stores throughout the
year, something needed in an industry that crowds about half of its
annual sales in the months surrounding Christmas. Most are sold in
so-called blind packs that don't let buyers see what characters are
inside. For instance, Walt Disney Co. releases a new Disney
character in a Tsum Tsum form on the first Tuesday of each month,
which can cause spikes of up to 250,000 items sold at its Disney
Stores.
Ashlee Pipkens-Smith of Avon Park, Fla., said she buys Shopkins
and other blind-bag toys for her three children during most
shopping trips. "If we're at any store that sell them, they think
they're getting one," she said. On the plus side, she added, "when
you get them something small, you don't have to get them bigger
toys until Christmas."
Unlike pricier popular toys, which succumb to discounting as
retailers use them to woo shoppers, blind packs hold their price at
a few bucks a pop, keeping profits steady. Retailers are responding
by devoting more shelf space to collectibles. More brands are
launching blind packs featuring characters from children's movies
such as "Minions" or based on established toys such as Legos.
NPD toy industry analyst Juli Lennett said the proliferation of
small collectibles has room to grow, although some of the earlier
established brands, such as Shopkins, may lose share as the shelves
get more crowded. "Because there are so many choices, sales will be
more fragmented among a variety of brands," Ms. Lennett said.
This new wave of collectible characters was spawned by
Australian toy maker Moose Enterprise and its line of Shopkins
figures. Moose has been around since 1985, and sold small
collectibles called Mighty Beanz in the U.S. more than a decade
ago. But Shopkins put the privately held toy company on the map in
2014.
The inch-tall, anthropomorphic figures are simple and based on
items found in supermarkets, like Tommy Ketchup and Nutty Butter.
With expansions into larger dolls, play sets and licensing to
accessories and apparel, Shopkins has logged more than $1 billion
in sales.
"When we launched, we were told that this won't last past
Christmas," Moose co-Chief Executive Paul Solomon said. "Three
years on, it's hot, if not hotter, than it has been."
Other manufacturers quickly followed. Some were entirely new
brands, such as MGA Entertainment Inc.'s Num Noms and Mattel Inc.'s
My MixieQ's. Others created collectible lines for existing brands,
such as My Little Pony, or larger toys, like Funrise Inc.'s new
Tonka Tinys trucks.
Boca Raton, Fla.-based Just Play LLC says it is aiming to add a
line of collectible figures for any character-based toys it sells,
including ones based on Disney Junior channel shows such as "The
Lion Guard" and "Doc McStuffins."
Charlie Emby, co-president of Just Play, said the lower price
points help attract lower-income shoppers or those unwilling to
spend more on pricier toys. "We want to make sure we're offering a
solid product mix to all economic levels," Mr. Emby said.
Write to Paul Ziobro at Paul.Ziobro@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 07, 2016 08:05 ET (13:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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