The Toy Book (TTB): How are you engaging customers to drive sales?
Diana Brobmann (DB): We have the most powerful tool in the marketplace–the mommy bloggers, and now, the daddy bloggers. We have partnered with a consortium of top bloggers to engage our target audience by providing timely information about Giggo Toys as well as enticing giveaways.
TTB: What are the biggest trends you’re noticing this year?
DB: Licensing, licensing, and more licensing! The highest earning categories of the toy business are driven by impressionable brands, characters, and movies. Sometimes licensees are lucky and can get two great-selling seasons out of a blockbuster movie. We do not follow the trends. Instead, we partner with brands with long-term growth plans, like Indian Motorcycle and the New York City NYPD and FDNY, and a new license that we are getting ready to announce shortly. This way, we grow together as strategic partners and do not need to chase the hype.
TTB: What are your expectations for the upcoming holiday season?
DB: I have already noticed that the retailers are buying sooner and reserving units for an earlier delivery date this year. That is a good sign. Plus, I think it may have to do with the port delays and strikes that held up a lot of orders last holiday season.
TTB: How do you prepare for the holidays to ensure you’ll have the right merchandise mix to meet your customers’ needs?
DB: We get as many commitments up front as possible, then a reserve for back orders. We offer our retailers exclusive color options, and whatever does not get a big response gets dropped from the line.
TTB: What are your top-selling toys right now?
DB: The Little Vintage Indian Motorcycle, the NYPD Motorbike, the Li’l Tankster, and the MotorTycle.
TTB: How do you maintain customer loyalty?
DB: Our tag line is, “Great Toys for Cool Kids,” and we offer exactly that! We are a new toy company, so right now, a lot of what we do is new and fresh–but most of all cool and desirable. We want to be the go-to company when shopping for cool toys.
TTB: How do you leverage social media to maintain a relationship with your customers?
DB: We are social media-holics. Our customers send us pictures of their kids riding on our toys, and we post it. When bloggers have a contest going on, we share it. When one of our retail partners is having an event, we help promote it. If our licensor makes an announcement, we tag it. If we see a great charity that benefits kids, we follow it. We have gotten sales and exposure from pictures that celebrities post of their kids on our ride-ons! You cannot put a price on that kind of advertising!
