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TDMONTHLY MUST READS
October Staff Picks
As you welcome all that exciting holiday fare into your store, be sure to keep your radar out for new and interesting products...READ MORE
Halloween's here, the smells of Thanksgiving will soon be wafting through the air, and Christmas — no doubt a season you're already planning for — is just around the corner...
Ganz announced it is now contracting with Brandwise to use its SalesOptimizer program, which will allow the maker of Webkinz to access key sales data, including purchasing trends on a Google map...
TDMONTHLY TRADE SHOW COVERAGE
ABC Show Shows Off
At the ABC Show in Vegas last month, "mompreneurs" and other inventors showed off innovative, problem-solving products. TDmonthly Magazine brought its camera crew...READ MORE
At the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas last month, Charles W. Allen of the C. W. Allen Group was shocked by the uninspired booth designs that prevented great companies from attracting the kind of traffic they deserved...
TDMONTHLY - GET READY TO ORDER!
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...READ MORE
TDMONTHLY SHOP TALK
Retail Solutions: Optimizing Websites and Staff
TDmonthly Magazine’s new feature, Retail Solutions, flies over to the East Coast this month to see what challenges specialty toy-store owners in that region are facing....READ MORE
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...
For the first 17 years of her business, Owner Randy Austin of The Gifted Child in Lenox, Mass., lived in New York City and was only at her store — three hours away — on the weekends....
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....
Only interested in what’s going on in your market? Take a peek by region to see what to stock and when to think twice:...
TDMONTHLY TOP-10 MOST-WANTED LISTS
TDmonthly’s Top-10 Most-Wanted Science and Nature Toys
Parents were grateful for the opportunity to turn kids out of the house for active play during summer, but opportunities to bring the outside in topped sales numbers for the year so far...READ MORE
TDmonthly Magazine recent surveyed 64 retailers across the country about collectibles sales in their stores....
In August, TDmonthly Magazine spoke to 64 specialty retailers about their best-selling card games....
TDMONTHLY TOY REVIEWS
Playful Chef Whips Up Panel’s Enthusiasm
TDmonthly Magazine’s Grade School Roundtable delighted in cooking with Playful Life’s Playful Chef set....READ MORE
TDmonthly Magazine’s Tweens & Teens Roundtable was attracted to the complexity and novelty of Qubits, the Construction Toy of the Future....
TDmonthly Magazine’s Teens & Tweens Roundtable raved about Buffalo Games’ Ruin board game, based on an ancient Mayan ruin....
If you want to know which books to sell in your toy store, find out what kids have to say about them....
If you want to know which children’s CDs may be worth carrying in your store, see what TDmonthly’s Music Expert has to say....
In her latest round of reviews, TDmonthly Magazine’s Psychologist Mom strategized her way through a new board game, learned how to live a healthy lifestyle, and scribbled with some artsy kids....
TDMONTHLY HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
Top-20 Holiday Toys on Video
If you're expecting good value for your holiday dollars, TDmonthly can show you 20 great toys that kids will play with long after the celebrations are over...READ MORE
TDMONTHLY TOY BUZZ
Challenges of Chess Spawn Line of Educational Cards
A passion for chess was behind Jean-Pierre Grenier’s line of educational and souvenir playing-card decks. But it was his weakness in the game that sparked the idea for his first product...READ MORE
It’s big. It’s colorful. And it takes children’s construction toys to a whole new level, giving them the ability to build life-sized forts, characters, and anything else their imaginations want to attempt....
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...
TDMONTHLY POPULAR STORIES
Hollywood ToyBoy: Keep Connecting
I love the new technology, even if I’m a little out of the demographic. That’s a good thing for me, because Hollywood is all about the new technology ... even if they don’t understand it worth a byte....READ MORE
I recently asked my retailer panel friends — seven mass-market and three specialty stores — to tell me which toys are likely to do the best this Christmas. Here are their rankings...
TDMONTHLY MANUFACTURER'S CORNER
Branding Toys: Perception
To wrap up our series on Branding Toys, this month we look at the last of the 4Ps: perception...READ MORE
I vividly remember captivating conversations with my paternal grandfather, F.M. Allen, when I was in junior high...
TDMONTHLY NEW TOYS
Notable and New Toys by Category
See all the new toys we've uploaded in the last month to make your ordering easier...READ MORE
TDMONTHLY UPCOMING ISSUES
Attracting New Customers
You know your primary customer base, but what about those who don't frequent — or even know about — your store already?...READ MORE
You may not be gearing up for North American's biggest toy show yet, but manufacturers have long been planning and priming their releases...
In the January issue of TDmonthly Magazine, check in to see which toys will be turning heads throughout 2009...