Figuring out
what kids want
is anyone’s guess
By Rainbow Rowell
Senior Editor
It used to be Cabbage Patch Kids. Then it
was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Then
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
But what is it this Christmas? What toy sets
children’s hearts to palpitating? What makes
Iheir eyes glaze with yearning?
Local toy retai lers say your guess is probably
Tm not quite
sure what it does,
it came and went
so quickly. ”
JEFF KUNKLE
on the game
"Lucky Ducks”
as good as tneirs. No
toy is burning up toy
department shelves.
Joe Richtig remem
bers a different Christ
mas. He started work
ing at the Columbus
Wal-Mart 10 years
ago, during the height
of Cabbage Patch Kid
mania.
“We had Cabbage
Patch Kids every
where,” said Richtig,
now an assistant man
agerat Wal-Mart,4700
in. z /in oi. /-viiy wnuc we euuiu Mine e.auudge
Patch Kids, they sold.”
But this year, he said, nothing even com
pares. He said Wal-Mart is experimenting with
toy displays “to find out what’s selling.”
Jeff Kunkle, director of the Toys “R” Us at
5220 N. 27th St, said “it’s been a very even
keeled year.”
Two years ago, Kunkle said, Power Rangers
were a sleeper hit that took toy stores by sur
prise.
“There's nothing in the near future that’s
going to come close to that,” he said.
Two items have caused a stir at Toys “R” Us,
Kunkle said: Teacher Barbie and Lucky Ducks,
a game. Well, Kunkle’s pretty sure it’s a game.
“I’m not quite sure what it does, it came and
went so quickly.”
Teacher Barbies were sold out at Toys “R”
Us, but he said the store should be able to catch
up.
The Kmart at 5601 S. 59th St. also has had
problems keeping Teacher Barbies in stock, 1
said manager Mike Seeber. %
Some of the season’s hottest sellers such as
the Holiday Barbie and “Star Wars” action
figures aren’t even selling to kids, Kunkle said.
They’re collectors’ items.
Kmart had Holiday Barbies on sale last I
week, and people lined up outside at 7 a.m., \
Seeber said. The store opened at 8 and sold all
24 Barbies by 8:30. |
Even in an even-keeled year, toy depart- |
ments get crazy this time of year. The craziness |
usually starts the day after Thanksgiving. |
Richlig said the Wal-Mart parking lot was
filled with people by 6 a.m. this year.
“It was amazing,” he said. “You see it every |
year, but you never get used to it.”
He and the other professionals had this |
advice for shoppers who want to avoid packed
aisles of desperate customers:
“Stay away from the store on the weekends,”
Richtig said, “because it is a zoo.... If you want
a good selection and a quiet store, shop during
the week.”
All the retailers agreed that a hot, hot item
is worth the craziness because it brings sales.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Kunkle said.
“It’s good not have it. You can never have
enough and you have unhappy people. But
people come in looking for it and buy other
things.”
Top: Britney McBee, 4, checks out this year’s
selection of Barbies at Kay-Bee toy store in Gateway
Mali. Meanwhile, Breanna Bundfuss, 9 months
(above), doesn’t find shopping for Christmas toys
to be much fun.
Photographs
by
Travis Heying
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