Wooden Toys Catch Fire

Recalls Make Old-Fashioned Toys the Hottest New Thing

By Alison Marek & Julie L. Jones

December 2007

If you haven’t stocked up on wooden toys, you may be missing out! Spooked by the recalls from China, holiday buyers are raiding specialty stores for wooden toys, particular those made stateside. Manufacturers told TDmonthly Magazine they are struggling to meet the demand and anticipate that the fervor will continue into 2008 … and beyond.

A FAR-REACHING TREND

“The toy industry wants to make it sound like [the reaction to the recalls] is no big deal … and people are going back to buying as usual, but it's not happening, ” reported Michael Rainville, co-owner of Maple Landmark Woodcraft Co.

“Once people start to get these better-quality toys, that's what they’ll want, ” predicted Marilyn Chalais, U.S. agent for Holztiger.

UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH

Frenzied orders for wooden toys after the recalls were reported by nine of 12 wooden-toy manufacturers who spoke with TDmonthly; two others said their sales in 4Q are substantially better than last year, but aren’t certain the recalls are directly responsible.

So what constitutes a “frenzy”?

“300 percent” growth, said both Michael Whitworth, founder of Whittle Toy Company, and Founder/Designer Jason Gold of Camden Rose.

“1000-fold since two years ago, ” was the response from Joe Barrett, CEO of Automoblox.

“We haven’t even opened any new accounts since October, because it’s all we can do to keep up with our current business, ” continued Rainville.

Owner Ron Voake of 35-year-old Vermont Wooden Toys told TDmonthly that demand has been so high this fall there wasn’t even a chance to email customers that typically buy every year. “We have not one single toy left, ” he said.

HaPe opened 250 new retail accounts in three weeks this fall and will probably double last year’s revenues, said Managing Director Maggie Qui. The Whittle Toy Company jumped from 73 affiliated stores this spring to more than 400 as of December 6, Whitworth told TDmonthly.

THE GOOD GUYS ARE WINNING

Consumers’ new focus on quality toys dovetails with their concerns about the environmental impact of industry. “Everything [we make] is grown from sustainable, locally grown hardwoods, ” assured

Royce Bjornstad, owner of Mossy Creek Woodworks. “We don’t paint or varnish — just use a finish of food-grade mineral oil.”

The hardwoods in Camden Rose products aren’t just local, they’re personal: “Not only do I know who made the Toddler Zoom Car, but I can also tell you the particular tree, ” insisted Gold. He added that the company never forages in polluted environments “because I have no idea what [that tree] absorbed in its life.”

A BOUNTIFUL CHRISTMAS

Retailers are profiting from consumers’ new priorities, too. “The biggest thing we’re doing is Kapla, ” said Eric Masconcup, owner of Geppetto’s Toy Box in Oak Park, Ill. He has a display of 3, 500 European-made wooden Kapla planks in the window, plus another 4, 000 in the store for play. Masoncup also said he’s out of stock of the wooden Fagus trucks he imports from Germany.

Founder Caroline Deal of online retailer Sum-Bo-Shine hasn’t seen a sales difference, but 85 percent of her shoppers this year are new customers, and many are after Estia wooden toys, also from Germany.

DOUBLE-EDGED WOODEN SWORD

But as much as wooden toymakers have benefited from the mass-market backlash, some are feeling the whip, too.

Automoblox can’t fulfill 75 percent of its explosive holiday orders because of increased restrictions on Chinese exports. “Our toys passed every inspection, but now they have to be reinspected by [Chinese] government inspectors, ” CEO Joe Barrett told TDmonthly.

Nonetheless, no one in specialty — including Barrett — is complaining right now. “Things could not be better, ” summed up Whitworth.

To read more, please visit http://www.toydirectory.com/monthly/article.asp?id=2900

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