June 2011

ASTRA Addresses Internet Sales Issues

Research commissioned by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) on the implications of Internet retailing for the specialty toy industry was presented at ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy. Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, conducted the study.

Key findings showed that online toy sales have grown by 22 percent over the past year, making toys one of the fastest growing categories in online shopping, which grew 13 percent overall during the same period. It also found that shoppers are increasingly using smartphones to compare prices and check product availability while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. It also showed that state and federal policies tilt the competitive playing field in favor of online retailers by exempting remote sellers from collecting the sales taxes that brick-and-mortar stores are required to collect.

All-in-all, the research showed that Internet retailers present a significant competitive challenge for independent brick-and-mortar stores—in many respects, a challenge that is more severe than that of big-box and other chain retailers.

ASTRA members can find a complete copy of the Internet sales white paper on ASTRA’s newly updated website at www.astratoy.org.

New Children’s eBooks From Skyreader Media

Skyreader Media, a publisher of interactive children’s eBooks and a part of the Skywriter Media Entertainment Group, announced the release of its first eBook apps, Robo Buddy and Coyote’s Tale. Previously these titles were only available for use by the K-12 school system.

These eBooks apps come with special interactive features, including AutoRead mode, Read To Me mode, and Read Myself mode. The apps also invite kids to touch the characters and environments to uncover surprises, sounds effects, and music. Also included are Notes for Literacy Learning—tips for parents to help struggling readers improve reading skills and comprehension.

Robo Buddy, originally published in print by Rubicon Publishing, follows the story of two best friends. Readers try to help Dexter find his missing best friend, Robo Buddy, in the story.

Read More…

Karaoke Revolution Glee: Volume 3 Hits Stores This Fall

Gleeks everywhere will be belting out their favorite songs from season 2 with the Konami Digital Entertainment , Inc. and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products collaboration, Karaoke Revolution Glee: Volume 3, hitting stores this fall on Wii.

Volume 3 will include more than 35 hit songs and exclusive footage from season 2 of the TV show. For the first time, players can compete in multiplayer singing games, including minigames and a party mode for up to six players. Gleeks can also take center stage with new celebrity guest stars, in addition to their favorite season 2 characters.

“P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” “Toxic,” “Losing My Religion,” and “Stop! In The Name of Love” are just a few of the titles included. The volume also contains popular song renditions from artists such as Ike & Tina Turner, Poison, Amy Winehouse, En Vogue, and Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat.

This volume uses Karaoke Revolution’s proprietary voice recognition technology, which recognizes and scores vocal pitch and rhythm, allowing players to reach hard-hitting notes and to perfect their harmonies.

Baby Genius Offers Apps

Baby Genius recently launched two apps featuring characters Frankie and Tempo. Parents can download MyPal Frankie and MyPal Tempo for iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad for free. The MyPal Tempo musical game is a “Simon Says”-style game that teaches memory skills through music. With MyPal Frankie, Frankie will repeat anything the child says. Kids can play with Frankie and make her giggle, wiggle, or eat an apple. Videos can be recorded and saved or shared.

Rev Up for the New “Cars 2” Video Game

Cars fans can race around the world this summer and hone their spy skills. Disney Interactive Studios has released Disney•Pixar’s Cars 2: The Video Game, available on all major gaming platforms.

The game, based on the soon-to-be-released movie Cars 2, will have players take on dangerous missions, attempt to become the fastest race car in the world, and use their espionage skills in combat racing and battle arenas. Avalanche Software developed the game in collaboration with the filmmakers at Pixar Animation Studios.

Players can choose to play as one of more than 20 different characters, including favorites like Mater and Lightning McQueen. Players are emerged in the Cars universe and in different locales around the world, including London, Tokyo and Italy.

ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy Biggest Yet

ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy, currently in progress in Anaheim, Calif., has posted a record number of attendees, according to the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. While final counts will not be available until Marketplace & Academy is over, early indications are that this year’s crowd was 20 percent to 30 percent bigger than last year.

“Once again, independent toy retailers are showing that they are committed to learning, investing in new products, and finding the best deals in the industry,” says Kathleen McHugh, president of ASTRA. “Even in the midst of an extended economic downturn, ASTRA members continue to tend to the basics of their businesses. They work hard and they work smart, and taking full advantage of ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy is part of that equation.”

Next year’s ASTRA Marketplace & Academy—its 20th—will be held during June in
Baltimore. Dates will be announced.

Vote for Your Favorite Plush Team Artist Entry

The Etsy Plush Street Team, a group of plush toy artists, is hosting a friendly competition to create a popular plush design fitting the theme: “Under The Big Top: A Circus Of Misfits!” Each Plush Street artist was invited to submit circus-themed entries under two categories, Circus Animal Tricks and Circus People. All of the designs have been posted, and the polls are open until Monday, June 27. The grand-prize winner will receive a signed copy of Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft and Design by Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimert.

View the entries and cast your own vote here.

Chipmunks Franchise Increases Merchandising Program

Leading up to the holiday release of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked!, Fox Consumer Products and Bagdasarian Productions have enlisted a wide range of partners to fuel an increased merchandising program for the Chipmunks franchise. The new program aims to widen its consumer base to reach young girls with products based around The Chipettes, the fashionable female rock stars of the group.

Just Play, LLC will create basic feature and novelty plush items, with Vivid Imaginations as the UK distributor. Santa’s Best will produce a holiday merchandise line, and Gipsy will introduce a specialty plush line in France.

Majesco will once again spearhead the development of the video game based on the upcoming film. Ty will continue to produce a specialty toy line, and Build-A-Bear will re-offer its top-selling line of stuffable plush featuring Alvin and Brittany, as well as pre-stuffed plush of other main characters.

HarperCollins will rejoin the program with a wide variety of published products, including beginning readers, novelizations, sticker books, and storybooks. Bendon Publishing will publish a line of activity, board, and coloring books along with flashcards and workbooks. Editora Alstro Astral will introduce a book program in Brazil.

There will also be increased merchandising in food, apparel, and accessories products.

Wooly Willy Summer Festival, World Tour

Looking for a free summer event? Smethport, Penn., hometown of Wooly Willy, is hosting the third annual National Wooly Willy Wonderdaze festival, from June 23-25. The free festival will celebrate the 56th birthday of the popular toy with opportunities for attendees to tour the Wooly Willy factory, see Wooly Willy window art, and more. The event will also include parades, live entertainment, food vendors, and a fireworks show.

For the fans who can’t attend the festival, Patch Products will also be hosting the Where In The World Is Wooly Willy? summer adventure. Families can print out Wooly Willy, take a picture with him, then post it online and track Wooly Willy‘s global adventure. Participants have the opportunity to win prizes and view postcards and messages from Willy as he travels the world.

Kids II Acquires Rhino Toys and Taggies

Kids II, Inc., an infant and toddler products company, has acquired two companies, Rhino Toys and Taggies, enhancing the Kids II collection of forward-thinking products, the company said. The acquisitions were announced at the company’s The Mother of Invention Showcase of New Innovations in New York City last week.

Rhino Toys products, including the flagship product O-Ball, are designed to provide innovative, tactile, and high-performance play. Kids II plans to strengthen, reinvent, and add designs to the collection.

Taggies, originally created as plush security blankets with satin ribbon loops, has transformed into a lifestyle brand, offering its signatures blankets in new designs, plush toys, apparel, and accessories. Kids II will maintain Taggies quality while expanding the collection with new products.

Taggies and Rhino products are available in stores now, and more products under the Kids II umbrella are expected to debut soon.