Neil Friedman, president of U.S. operations for Toys “R” Us, is a veteran of 40 Christmas seasons in the toy industry. As president of the preschool division of Tyco Toys, he created the first Tickle Me Elmo craze in 1996. This year, Friedman said, he doesn’t see another Tickle Me Elmo-level craze out there, but he sees something better for the industry ― multiple hot toys that sell out when shipments arrive.
A season with high-demand toys is good for Wayne, New Jersey-based Toys, because the retailer has shipments arriving throughout December, unlike department and discount store retailers who shrink or shut down their toy aisles after Dec. 25. If a LeapPad kid-friendly tablet device or electronic space doll Fijit is sold out one day, parents will return another day to see if new shipments are in. A year with those kinds of multiple visits usually is good for Toys’ bottom line.
Friedman joined Toys in April from Mattel Brands and is in charge of all of the merchandise planning and allocation, marketing, and operations for the company’s more than 860 U.S. stores. He also oversees global sourcing and product development and is leading the company’s efforts to develop more of its own exclusive, private-label toys. Excerpts from his phone interview with the Record follow:
Q: Are people more, or less, in the mood to buy toys this year?
A: The one thing that we do know is that regardless of good or bad years, parents are never willing to skimp on their children. It’s probably the last thing that they cut. They always want to make sure that the child has a good holiday season and isn’t feeling the stress that they are sometimes. They may not buy as many toys, but they certainly do buy a pretty good assortment.
 |
Toys “R” Us U.S. President Neil Friedman at the company’s Times Square store. (The Record/MCT) |
Q: Are there any toys where you’ve had to limit purchases to one per customer, like Toys did in the Tickle Me Elmo days?
A: There are some very hot toys. I don’t know if there’s a Tickle Me Elmo this year, but there certainly is a LeapPad that is red hot. And Fijit is red hot. Air Swimmers is red hot. Monster High is red hot. There are a lot of hot categories.
Q: Is there anything out there that is a surprise best-seller, that you are having trouble getting?
A: This year, most of the things that are hot we expected to be hot and we planned for them to be hot. LeapPad ― certainly we expected it to be really good. I think it’s hotter than anybody expected, hence, I think that’s why you find it so short. Fijit, I think we all knew that would be great and it’s doing great. We knew our Air Swimmers (inflatable floating fish) would be great.
Q: The retailers who reported November results said they got a boost from Thanksgiving night openings, and that those openings are here to stay. Is that the same for Toys “R” Us?
A: Absolutely. We found that our customers love coming to Toys “R” Us after their Thanksgiving dinner. They say goodbye to their families and it becomes an annual event for them to come to Toys “R” Us. We found out when we opened at 10 p.m. how much our customers liked it, so we opened at 9 p.m. this year. Now it becomes a whole family affair because they bring their children with them, too.
Q: But then how do you play Santa if the kids are at the store, too?
A: Well then there’s got to be a surprise later on. And they can order it online and have it delivered to the store and the child won’t see it.
Q: Toys “R” Us has already started looking at toys for Christmas 2012. What trends are out there for Christmas 2012?
A: We’re still focused on 2011 right now. However, we will be scouring the world starting in January to make sure we’re on top of all the new trends.
Q: If you start working on Christmas 2012 in January, is there any time of the year when you aren’t thinking about Christmas?
A: I think the only day that we don’t think about scouring the world for Christmas toys is Christmas Day.
Q: You take a break that day?
A: We take a mental refresher. And then we reset.
By Joan Verdon
(The Record)
(Distributed by MCT Information Services)
