NEW YORK — The nation’s biggest toy-store chain is placing its holiday bets — and because the stakes are high, the prices are lower. And if testing by Toys R Us is any indication, a $10 toy hamster might be a runaway hit.
Chief merchandising officer Karen Dodge said her staff of buyers tests in small markets and gauges consumers’ reactions. This year, Zhu Zhu Hamsters — interactive squeaking toy rodents — sold out during testing in Arizona.
Toymakers and retailers alike are trying to avoid last year’s dismal season, when retailers slashed prices to move expensive toys. Overall toy sales fell 5 percent during the holiday quarter, according to market-research firm NPD Group.
This year might be worse. Needham & Co. analyst Sean McGowan predicts toy sales will be flat to down 2 percent during the season.
Toys R Us is betting on Mattel’s Mindflex (about $90), which measures brain activity through a helmet and uses it to move a ball through an obstacle course; Hasbro’s Constructicon Devastator Transformer (about $100); and a $35 Nerf dart thrower.
And those hamsters? They cost less than real ones — those run about $14 to $20 — and you don’t have to clean the cage. The Associated Press
