Retailer Spotlight: Pufferbellies Toys & Books for Children At Pufferbellies Toys & Books for Children in Staunton, Va., Owners Susan Blanton and her daughter Erin are gearing up for the Christmas season by introducing something new: a personal shopper program called “Your Own Elf.”...
11/1/2009
My Best Sellers: Pufferbellies Toys & Books At Pufferbellies Toys & Books for Children in downtown Staunton, Va., customers can find a distinctive blend of the “good old days” along with some fresh and innovative toys...
Video Games: Year-End Projections February 2009 was the last month in which the video game industry in the United States showed growth. That is why everybody was eagerly anticipating September as the first month in which this negative spell would be broken,...
Holiday Price Wars: Toys for $10 and Under Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Toys “R” Us and other mass merchandisers have embarked on their usual seasonal price cuts on toys and other items for holiday sales...
Safe and Eco-Friendly Shine at ABC Kids Folkmanis was one of the many toy vendors at this year’s ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas — a show that over the past several years has progressively attracted an audience beyond the traditional juvenile products market...
Video Highlights of the 2009 ABC Kids Expo The ABC Kids Expo filled the Las Vegas Convention Center with baby gear Sept. 13-16, wowing attendees with an expansive array of car seats, infant playthings, costumes, blankets, feeding supplies and more...
Resilience in the Recession Recessions call for creativity, do they not? Many of the specialty toy-store owners who have spoken with TDmonthly Magazine have shown they're up to the challenge...
9/1/2009
ABC Kids Expo Highlights The ABC Kids Expo is huge — and growing, with another 50 confirmed exhibitors during just two weeks of August, according to a Twitter post — so TDmonthly Magazine's video crew will be hitting the trade show floor...
9/1/2009
ABC Kids Preview: Stories Worth Sharing Exhibitors of the annual ABC Kids Expo have plenty of motivating stories to share about products inspired by safety, fashion or daily demands in baby care...
Why Kimberly Is a TDmonthly Charitable Kid Michelle from South Carolina entered her 13-year-old daughter Kimberly in the TDmonthly Magazine Charitable Kid Contest without Kimberly's knowledge. She thought the contest was perfect for her daughter...
Top-10 Most-Wanted Baby Gifts Recently, TDmonthly Magazine spoke to 47 specialty retailers about the most in-demand baby gifts at their stores...
8/1/2009
TDmonthly's Top 10: Baby & Kids World, Tokyo Japan's first-ever Baby & Kids World trade show, held concurrently with Reed Exhibitions' GIFTEX and DESIGN TOKYO shows, welcomed 106 exhibitors July 8-10, offering a variety of juvenile care items, clothing, toys and accessories...
8/1/2009
Product Demo Vids from ABC Kids! Dubbed one of the fastest growing trade shows in the country, the ABC Kids Expo will hit Las Vegas once again this year, featuring more than 800 exhibitors for the juvenile products industry. TDmonthly Magazine's video crew will be there...
8/1/2009
Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts for Girls In June 2009, TDmonthly Magazine asked 47 retailers what are the most in-demand items for girls in their stores...
8/1/2009
Video Highlights of ASTRA 2009 The 2009 ASTRA Marketplace & Academy in St. Paul, Minn., had plenty to offer in terms of creative plush, fun games, cool ride-ons and inventive accessories — and TDmonthly Magazine caught more than 150 toys on tape!...
TDmonthly Goes Inside ... The Elegant Child, Beverly Hills Teri Weiss bought The Elegant Child in Beverly Hills from her friend and employer 20 years ago. Since that time, she's built her private showroom for baby gifts into an online sensation...
7/1/2009
Holiday Preview - Novelties Kids are sure to find lots of fun and zany little gifts in their stockings this year. Perhaps they’ll receive 3-D glasses for all those new movies coming out, or maybe whimsical fabric friends, or even a new wind-up fart toy (watch out, parents)! See what else is in store...
6/1/2009
In This Issue TDmonthly Magazine has more Holiday Preview articles for you this month, including new launches of dolls, plush and construction toys. Additionally, there's a Shop Talk story on Melody’s Choices...
TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Toys: April 2009 This month, there are some exciting breakthrough additions to the traditionally steady list of best sellers for the specialty toy industry — namely, sustainable Eco Aquariums from Wild Creations and the HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures from Innovation First...
4/1/2009
Social Networking for the Virtually Impaired You've heard about timely tweets on Twitter, "friending" on Facebook, and marketing on Myspace. But why would any businessperson take time out of a busy schedule to "chirp" online ... daily?...
4/1/2009
Hollywood ToyBoy: Partnering Up in a Recession As everyone with a checkbook knows, money is tight, and despite government intervention, the recession isn’t going away anytime soon. Does this mean sad times for the movie and toy business? Hardly...
2/1/2009
Retailing Tips: Researching New Toys In the March issue of TDmonthly Magazine, find out what your fellow specialty toy-store owners and experts have to say about finding the best new products...
2/1/2009
The Shred Sled Carves a New Niche From the moment he saw the product at the Hong Kong Gifts and Premium Show in April 2008, Eric King knew he’d found something special. Six months later, just in time for Christmas, he introduced the Shred Sled in the United States — and watched it sell out...
2/1/2009
Retailing Tips: Are Your Online Sales In Line? While many small-business owners dream of millions of credit-card sales from their online stores, more realistically, the majority find a website to be a consistent advertisement...
Hollywood ToyBoy: Heavy Metal It’s finally happened: my assistant went on vacation. Once a year, I’m thrown into confusion by this and swear I’m going to automate...
1/1/2009
Event Marketing Guru’s Corner: Selling Too Much The pure, anecdotal sales pitch is dead, and few observers are mourning its passing. Have you noticed how difficult it is for anyone with the word “sales” in his or her title to get a simple appointment?...
1/1/2009
Good Co./Bad Co.: Who’s Fair to Specialty? In late 2008, TDmonthly Magazine asked 52 specialty retailers to share their preferences for vendors. Which companies can they not live without?...
1/1/2009
My Best Sellers: Piccolo Mondo Toys One of the goals at Piccolo Mondo Toys in Portland, Ore., is to bring a little bit of the world to customers...
1/1/2009
Regional Reports: What’s Selling … And Where From Blokus (distributor currently changing as of 12/08) to Wedgits from Imagability, small, easy-to learn games and toys are the winners when it comes to popular sellers...
1/1/2009
Good Co./Bad Co.: Vendors That Bring You Down Under condition of anonymity, 52 specialty retailers were asked by TDmonthly Magazine in fall 2008 which suppliers are their least favorite to work with...
1/1/2009
Retailer Spotlight: Piccolo Mondo Toys Michelle Smith, who owns Piccolo Mondo Toys in Portland, Ore., with her husband, Merrick, tries to bring a piece of the world to her customers...
1/1/2009
Retailing Tips: Allocating Post-Holiday Cash In my retail store, there were several holiday seasons where sales exceeded our expectations. If you don’t have a plan for this situation ahead of time, you can find yourself spending wildly and blindly — to the detriment of your business...
Event Marketing Guru’s Corner: The Age of Business Theater Evolution on the trade show floor is moving in the direction of experiential marketing — driven by increasingly informed and sophisticated attendees who are demanding a “show me” form of exhibiting...
12/1/2008
Roundtable Roundup: Measuring Toys’ Lasting Value TDmonthly Magazine recently checked in with its Roundtable families to find out which toys and games they reviewed from April through October still held their interest and continued to be part of their weekly play...
We’ll Track the Toys for You During the four days of Toy Fair, February 15-18, TDmonthly Magazine will provide daily updates and new product lists from the show floor in New York’s Javits Center...
12/1/2008
Retailing Tips: Extra Product or Extra Cash? Whether your holiday season brings in far more money than you expected, or leaves with you surplus that you simply can’t keep in your store long-term...
Retailing Tips: Keep Customers’ Spirits Light Equally as important as the months-ahead preparation for the holiday season is the ability to maintain a positive store spirit throughout the month of December...
Event Marketing Guru’s Corner: How to Handle Objections One of the most overlooked and under-valued areas of professional selling is the mastery of addressing and effectively handling the real reason sales do not occur...
Don't Miss These Holiday Discounts! Whether you're still holding out for great holiday deals or need to replenish stock that's flown out the door thanks to early shoppers, don't miss out on these specials...
Holiday Gift Guide: Teach Kids to Choose Quality Intense marketing or fancy packaging can make a toy seem better than it really is, and sometimes, perception complicates the task of selecting safe, quality toys for children — or helping them pick the right one!...
11/1/2008
TDmonthly’s Top-10 Most-Wanted Toys for Tweens When asked about sales of items for tweens, between ages 8 and 12, 51 specialty retailers lauded craft kits as tops, particularly from Creativity for Kids, Alex and Klutz...
TDmonthly’s Top-10 Most-Wanted Jewelry and Accessories A TDmonthly Magazine survey of more than 50 specialty retailers revealed that jewelry sales are headed by kits from companies such as Fashion Angels, Klutz and Alex that encourage kids to make bold, new fashion statements by designing their own accessories...
Retailing Tips: Networking for Holiday Success Working with other retailers, taking advantage of traffic during special area-wide holiday events, and embracing creative ideas may attract new customers for the holidays...
11/1/2008
How to Surpass Last Year’s Holidays There’s anxiety among specialty toy-store owners as they consider the uncertainty of the impending holiday season...
11/1/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alison Marek, Managing EditorPhone: (310) 979-4330 E-mail: alison@toydirectory.comwww.tdmonthly.comwww.toydirectory.com BUY INNOVATIVE AND EDUCATIONAL TOYS WITH TDMONTHLY MAGAZINE’S 2008 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Shopper-Friendly Advertising Venue Offers Original Finds and Click-Through Convenience Los Angeles, Calif. (October 21, 2008) – Parents can forget...
10/1/2008
Don't Miss These Holiday Discounts! As you're finalizing your list of must-have products for the holiday season, remember to take a look at the ordering specials below...
Rich Frog Capitalizes on Smart Design Maarten van Ryckevorsel had been working as a national sales manager in the toy industry for about five years when a “brilliant play on words” popped into his head...
10/1/2008
Retailing Tips: Hosting Happenin’ Holiday Events Holiday shoppers are intent on finding the right gift for the special people in their lives, and sometimes, hosting a special event can encourage them toward that perfect gift … right in your own store...
10/1/2008
My Best Sellers: The Gifted Child Playsets, figurines, outdoor toys and select plush are customer favorites at The Gifted Child in Lenox, Mass., where toys, clothing and baby gear are all organized by category...
10/1/2008
The Specialty Toys Report Is Here! ToyDirectory and TDmonthly Magazine are excited to announce the release of TDmonthly's 2008 Specialty Toys Report, "Positive Toys for a Promising Future."™...
9/1/2008
Imaginatives’ Elf Inspires New Holiday Traditions Discovering a holiday tradition that draws its heritage from love and family is uncommon these days. But thousands have done just that with Imaginatives’ delightful elf, Christopher Pop-In-Kins...
9/1/2008
TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts The season for giving is just around the corner, and 66 specialty toy retailers have shared with TDmonthly Magazine which gifts customers most prefer for boys, girls and even babies...
My Best Sellers: Aunt Jean’s Toys & Treats At Aunt Jean’s Toys & Treats in Montclair, N.J., customer service and fulfillment of “drive-bys” — a service in which staff select and pick party gifts for customers in a hurry — are a specialty...
TDmonthly’s Top-10 Most-Wanted Licensed Goods Most of the 50 specialty retailers who spoke with TDmonthly Magazine revealed that licensed products — more common in the mass market — make up at least 1 percent of their merchandise.....
TDmonthly’s Top-10 Most-Wanted Bath Toys TDmonthly Magazine spoke with 40 specialty retailers to find out which bath toys are making the biggest splash. More than 62 percent of retailers named products by Alex-Panline USA Inc. as the most popular in their stores...
5/1/2008
TDmonthly's April Staff Picks Need some fresh stock to go along with springtime renewal? Check out these offerings culled from the hundreds of products recently added to TDmonthly Magazine...
4/1/2008
TDmonthly’s Top-10 Grown-up Gifts Although most specialty retailers don’t carry products geared specifically towards adults, there are a few gifts that are popular among kids of all ages — especially games that require thinking...
12/1/2007
Toys in the News: 11-30-07 Sudanese protestors rallied for an hour in Martyrs Square Friday against the sentence given to British school teacher Gillian Gibbons, whose students at Khartoum's Unity High School named a teddy bear Muhammad...
11/1/2007
Unusual Gifts Catch Shoppers' Eyes If you're shopping for unusual gifts for unusual shoppers, TDmonthly Magazine has found a few for you...
Buying for Birthday Babes If customers are searching for the perfect gift, make a boy happy by giving him a bullet-proof car from Automoblox, box up a Schleich Elf or Ty Girlz for a girl, and swaddle a babe in a plush animal blanket...
9/1/2007
TDmonthly's Top-10: California Gift Show At this year’s California Gift Show, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center July 20-23, 1,200 exhibitors showcased their gift items...
Kids Want Carrots for Birthdays Food is the best offering for a little kid’s birthday, retailers from the South told TDmonthly Magazine correspondents .....
9/1/2006
Manufacturers Talk Back: Gifts Are Here to Stay Does the ubiquity of retailer gift cards mean that traditional gift-giving is out of style? Not according to manufacturers who spoke with TDmonthly Magazine...
9/1/2006
Throw Out the Yellow Blankies Green is the new fave color for tiny tots, retailers across the nation told TDmonthly...
8/1/2006
Secrets of Success Founded by two self-proclaimed "Bohemians" in 1989, Enchanted World of Boxes started as a small business in Cambridge, Mass., that was supplied by Poland’s cottage decorative box industry...
Novelties: Simply Uncommon Delights These fanciful, whimsical products take off this year in intriguing designs, shapes and styles. Whether the goal is to draw a silly reaction or merely light up someone’s day, modern novelties take on a range of ingenious forms. Take a look at the following one-of-a-kind samples of novelty inspirations...
1/1/2005
Toys to Talk About: Part II This is the second of three articles in the series, “Toys to Talk About.” To read parts I and III, clicke here:...
6/1/2004
Featured Products in TDmonthly Magazine: Gifts
eeBoo is an innovative company that consistently produces beautiful, useful and well-made products for children. We use only the original art of well-known and well-loved children's book illustrators to create completely original and vibrant toys and gifts... More information on eeBoo corp. products.
Colori USA is the sole distributor for TATIRI products in the U.S.A..At TATIRI product safety and customer satisfaction is our main concern. TATIRI brand is an Italian owned company. Therefore all the designs are made in Italy. Where the majority of our products are made in the Philippines. We use qualified testing centers to test our items for lead paint contents, heavy metals, toxicity, choking hazards, flammability, etc. Every batch of paint is marked and a sample is collected for testing of heavy metal... More information on COLORI USA/TATIRI products.
The Canadian Group is one of the fastest growing puzzle & game companies, with distribution to over 40 other countries around the world. Founded in 1999, the company has won the trust and support of major toy retailers worldwide with its incredible product assortment. Specializing in trend conscious, quality products that offer exceptional consumer value. Our puzzles feature Sure-Lox® technology so that pieces that go together, stay together, creating a crisp and quality image. The growing collection of images captures the beauty... More information on THE CANADIAN GROUP products.
Year after year children and adults alike are baffled by the mystery of how Santa REALLY knows who is naughty or nice. After much urging by the elves and Mrs. Claus, Santa has allowed his biggest secret to be revealed in The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition®. Touted as “The best thing since The Night Before Christmas…” this gift set includes a pixie-elf, hardbound children’s book and keepsake box.Check out our newest items for 2009 below!Tradeshows:Atlanta International Gift and Home Holiday... More information on CCA and B LLC products.
A Timeless Christmas Tradition Elf Magic is the booming tradition of Santa’s “magic” elves who visit children’s homes during the Christmas season. The visiting elf comes to life at night to embark on all kinds of adventures – the remnants of which surprise children when they awake the next morning. Elf Magic elves are also very sweet and enjoy being held and loved throughout the day. While some of the elves have mischievous streaks from time to time, Santa knows which elf will be the... More information on ELF MAGIC LLC products.
