No need to panic, but shopping early for certain must-have Christmas toys looks like a good idea.
Shelves are full at local toy stores such as Funky Monkey in downtown Oxford and Whistle Stop Hobby and Toy in St. Clair Shores. However, if a popular toy sells out, due to the supply chain shortage it’s going to be tough or impossible to replenish the item.
Toy manufacturers told retailers in February or March to stock up because they could see the supply chain shortage on the horizon.
“If you paid attention you knew it was coming. We definitely ordered more and sooner than we typically do for the fourth quarter,’’ said Ann Jones, primary buyer for Funky Monkey.
Obviously Christmas time is a bonanza for toy stores when they do most of their business.
“We started ordering to stock up in June or July where we normally don’t order until October. We’re good right now our store shelves are overflowing, our backstock in our basement is overflowing, we get deliveries every day,’’ Jones said.
“The challenge will be when something sells out, the replenishment simply won’t be there. It used to take maybe a week or two weeks to get something back in stock, now it’s good luck. It might be never, maybe in January,’’ Jones added.
She encourages early shopping but she doesn’t buy into the panic.
“We don’t want our customers to feel falsely panicky; there’s an appropriate level of panic. We’re not the type of store that’s going to scare you into buying something just because we want you to buy something,’’ Jones said.
She does say if you see something now that you know you want it’s probably a good idea to buy it rather than wait and take chances.
While Jones said there is not one hot thing, the fidget trend is back and is as hot as it was at Easter.
“Anything sensor fidgety continues to sell like bonkers and fortunately that’s one of the most available things that there is for us. There’s no trademark, there’s no copyright, there’s nothing registered about it, it’s a silicon bubble,’’ Jones said. “So anybody that can make it is making it. So the availability is fast. That’s the only toy I can get in three days. The fidget category.”
At Whistle Stop Hobby and Toy, the sensory items are also big-sellers.
“The fidget is like an $8.99 toy which is great for parents and grandparents and any sensory toy is popular. Squishy ball, a light-up thing, anything that’s sensory driven is huge this year,’’ said Julie Everitt, co-owner at Whistle Stop. “They’ve come out with sensory baby toys; even sensory science stuff. The good thing is being a specialty toy store, we excel in the sensory category.’’
She said the store shelves are full and they plan to keep them that way to the best of their ability even if they have to jump to different companies.
“We’ve been really trying to stock up. Anything early and anything we can get our hands on. Instead of normally getting four we say we’ll take 12,’’ Everitt said. “I think that’s how the retailers have been trying to work right now. Whatever we can get our hands on we’ll take as much as we can get.’’
The global supply chain has been buffeted by a multitude of problems, from factories having to close due to COVID-19 surges, a lack of containers to ship items in, backups at ports and warehouses, and a shortage of truckers.While bigger retailers like Walmart and Target have the power to buy their own containers, use air freight and take other steps to make sure they get inventory, smaller retailers are at the mercy of their vendors, who are increasingly suspending delivery guarantees and sometimes not communicating at all.
Everitt has had trouble getting merchandise from a few companies including Ravensberger which makes puzzles and Schylling which makes trendy stocking stuffers like Needoh (a squishy ball).
Another popular brand at both stores is Melissa and Doug which includes pretend dress-up clothes, puzzles, crafts, books and building toys.
“Melissa and Doug, they’ve been around forever, they make everything. They have never increased their prices, I want to say in at least 10 years. They really did a big price increase this year which was shocking because I’ve never seen them do it,’’ Everitt said of the company which manufactures its goods in China.
She urges early shopping for two reasons.
“One, if the kids have a specific thing on their lists that they have to have, get it as soon as you can. Secondly, pricepoint,’’ Everitt said. “Anything new we’re getting in there are crazy price increases. If it’s on our shelf currently it hasn’t been bothered yet. I’m finding and my brother told me the reason these price increases are happening is because of the high shipping costs the companies are paying — shipping containers and trucking.’’
Everitt works in the front of the store while her brother and sister are in the back doing the ordering.
“My brother has said it so strongly to me: Do not promise anybody anything. It’s so iffy,’’ Everitt said. “We don’t want customers screaming at us.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
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October 31, 2021 at 05:06PM
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