MDC
11-10-2002, 09:14 AM
I found this article on toys from the 70s and 80s being revamped and brought back to the market:
Retro Reflex: Toymakers Bank on Nostalgia
Saturday November 9, 10:18 PM EST
By Angela Moore
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Here's a sure-fire way to get into parents' wallets: plunder their childhoods.
With consumers facing a dizzying selection of modern toys for the winter holiday season -- from motorized cats to muscled action figures and video games -- some toy makers want to cash in on the nostalgia factor.
Mattel Inc. and Toys R Us are among the companies that have revived old favorites such as Cabbage Patch Kids and He-Man in the hope of catching the eyes and hearts of "Generation X" or "Baby Boomer" parents.
Among the toys back on the front shelf are Care Bears, Magic 8 Balls, Hasbro's updated version of the Trivial Pursuit board game. Next year also sees the revival of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Strawberry Shortcake doll collection.
"The advantage is that you don't need to spend a ton of money to gain brand recognition," said John Taylor, a toy analyst with Arcadia Investment Corp. "If you put something on ice for a decade, kids grow up and have kids of their own."
This is expected to be a tough season for toy retailers, with shoppers looking for value and spending more carefully, analysts say.
Bringing back old brands can spark interest in a product that's been forgotten by mainstream buyers, or freshen up an old name by adding a new spin to it.
Care Bears, the plush stuffed bears with symbols on their bellies, are being distributed by Play Along in this incarnation, and have been gaining appeal with consumers.
"Care Bears is one of the hotter (retro) properties," said Taylor. "Retailers are air freighting them in, it's really catching on."
Cabbage Patch Kids, the soft, cherubic dolls that were wildly popular in the 1980s, had a makeover and are now being sold exclusively at Toys R Us stores. At a recent Playdate Toy Exhibition in New York, a Toys R Us "nurse" was administering the dolls' "rebirth" from an imaginary cabbage patch.
SpinMaster Toys is selling a Shrinky Dink Oven to heat Shrinky Dinks, the plastic sheets that kids color and then bake, a 1970s favorite. And He-Man and the Masters of the Universe collection is being re-launched by toy giant Mattel.
"Bringing something back and thinking that it'll have the same popularity has an element of arrogance to it because you're assuming you know why it worked the first time," said Sean McGowen, toy analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison.
"Nobody knows why some toys work. If you did, you'd have only hits."
BRAND EXTENSION
Another strategy is to update or expand an old idea, to make it relevant for today's children.
Hasbro is trying a male twist on its Easy Bake Oven, called the Queasy Bake Oven. Young chefs can make themselves popular with parents with Dip 'n Drool Dog Bones with foaming drool or Mud 'n Crud Cake.
Reinventing a brand can also give smaller companies a boost in the crowded sector.
Sababa Toys is a small company that updates toys from the past. The company has revamped the card game Uno adding themes like Sponge Bob Squarepants and The Simpsons television shows, U.S National Parks, and New York City. They also sell updated Magic 8 Balls that can answer beauty or baby questions.
"It would take too much time and money to start new toys from scratch, so we take a licensing approach," said Stone Newman, president and co-founder of Sababa. We looked at the best brands, we are small and can be a lot faster than bigger companies getting timely products to market."
"The challenge is not making a parent happy, but making a kid happy and making it relevant to today's styles," said analyst Taylor. "It can't just be adults trying to sell their toys to kids."
Retro Reflex: Toymakers Bank on Nostalgia
Saturday November 9, 10:18 PM EST
By Angela Moore
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Here's a sure-fire way to get into parents' wallets: plunder their childhoods.
With consumers facing a dizzying selection of modern toys for the winter holiday season -- from motorized cats to muscled action figures and video games -- some toy makers want to cash in on the nostalgia factor.
Mattel Inc. and Toys R Us are among the companies that have revived old favorites such as Cabbage Patch Kids and He-Man in the hope of catching the eyes and hearts of "Generation X" or "Baby Boomer" parents.
Among the toys back on the front shelf are Care Bears, Magic 8 Balls, Hasbro's updated version of the Trivial Pursuit board game. Next year also sees the revival of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Strawberry Shortcake doll collection.
"The advantage is that you don't need to spend a ton of money to gain brand recognition," said John Taylor, a toy analyst with Arcadia Investment Corp. "If you put something on ice for a decade, kids grow up and have kids of their own."
This is expected to be a tough season for toy retailers, with shoppers looking for value and spending more carefully, analysts say.
Bringing back old brands can spark interest in a product that's been forgotten by mainstream buyers, or freshen up an old name by adding a new spin to it.
Care Bears, the plush stuffed bears with symbols on their bellies, are being distributed by Play Along in this incarnation, and have been gaining appeal with consumers.
"Care Bears is one of the hotter (retro) properties," said Taylor. "Retailers are air freighting them in, it's really catching on."
Cabbage Patch Kids, the soft, cherubic dolls that were wildly popular in the 1980s, had a makeover and are now being sold exclusively at Toys R Us stores. At a recent Playdate Toy Exhibition in New York, a Toys R Us "nurse" was administering the dolls' "rebirth" from an imaginary cabbage patch.
SpinMaster Toys is selling a Shrinky Dink Oven to heat Shrinky Dinks, the plastic sheets that kids color and then bake, a 1970s favorite. And He-Man and the Masters of the Universe collection is being re-launched by toy giant Mattel.
"Bringing something back and thinking that it'll have the same popularity has an element of arrogance to it because you're assuming you know why it worked the first time," said Sean McGowen, toy analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison.
"Nobody knows why some toys work. If you did, you'd have only hits."
BRAND EXTENSION
Another strategy is to update or expand an old idea, to make it relevant for today's children.
Hasbro is trying a male twist on its Easy Bake Oven, called the Queasy Bake Oven. Young chefs can make themselves popular with parents with Dip 'n Drool Dog Bones with foaming drool or Mud 'n Crud Cake.
Reinventing a brand can also give smaller companies a boost in the crowded sector.
Sababa Toys is a small company that updates toys from the past. The company has revamped the card game Uno adding themes like Sponge Bob Squarepants and The Simpsons television shows, U.S National Parks, and New York City. They also sell updated Magic 8 Balls that can answer beauty or baby questions.
"It would take too much time and money to start new toys from scratch, so we take a licensing approach," said Stone Newman, president and co-founder of Sababa. We looked at the best brands, we are small and can be a lot faster than bigger companies getting timely products to market."
"The challenge is not making a parent happy, but making a kid happy and making it relevant to today's styles," said analyst Taylor. "It can't just be adults trying to sell their toys to kids."