NO HEIR TO ELMO? NO SINGLE TOY TICKLING BUYERS' FANCY.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer At a time when retailers need a hot product, nothing seems to be cool. To excite shoppers, the holiday season needs a good craze, a Tickle Me Elmo Tickle Me Elmo is a childrens' toy from Tyco, introduced in the United States in 1996, becoming that year's top fad. Bright red in color and based on Elmo, a Muppet character from Sesame Street, when squeezed, Elmo would chortle. in the toy aisle or a must-have accessory. Stores that have it, be it an imported fragrance, hot new video game or unbeatable piece of electronics, cash in. That buzz then benefits other stores. They take advantage of the increased traffic to sell other items to shoppers not lucky enough to find the must-have they sought out. But this year, no product has that sizzle siz·zle intr.v. siz·zled, siz·zling, siz·zles 1. To make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat. 2. To seethe with anger or indignation. 3. . ``As far as anything driving people to the stores, there's nothing,'' said Ken Grow, owner of Gregory's Discount Toys in Encino. ``If there's a hot item, the phone rings all day long. Now, you get a couple calls a day. Even just one hot thing gets people into stores, but we haven't had anything since the Razor scooters.'' He's not alone in his frustration. No hot game system has sailed out of the electronics aisle, stores haven't run out of sweaters, no designer has dominated. The Apple iPod has some cachet cachet /ca·chet/ (ka-sha´) a disk-shaped wafer or capsule enclosing a dose of medicine. ca·chet n. An edible wafer capsule used for enclosing an unpleasant-tasting drug. , but its $299-and-up price tag makes it a must-have only for the financially comfortable. Kurt Barnard, who watches the retail world with a skeptical eye, lays the blame at the feet of both stores and their vendors. Shops didn't want to take the risk of buying merchandise that might not move, he said, while manufacturers didn't produce anything unique enough to catch the consumer's eye. ``They've done a dismal job in creating products and designs that sweep consumers off their feet and into stores,'' said Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Forecasting. ``Nobody wants to run a risk. As a result, consumers are bored to tears.'' It's not that people aren't buying - sales inched up 0.9 percent in November over the same month last year, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Commerce Department - just that they aren't excited enough to buy more than the bare minimum. Even consumers who've finished the bulk of their shopping struggle to name what they were looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. . ``DVDs are hot, right?'' said Rick Steinberg, a Woodland Hills contractor. ``I'm trying to think of what's hot, but I can't come up with anything. My girlfriend buys her presents and I pay her back, since I can't find the right things for her.'' To be fair, some items have moved well. Sears has had trouble stocking its Craftsman Laser Trac Level in the tool department, while Wal-Mart cheerily reports that it hasn't run short of anything. And in the apparel world, Ugg boots, Australian-style sheepskin footwear popular with surfers, have enjoyed a renaissance. ``I see girls in skirts wearing them, people in sweats wearing them,'' said Cris Bremner, marketing manager for The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . ``I was in line at the grocery store the other day, and I was the only one not wearing them. I think what's behind it is that you can wear your slippers in public and no one complains.'' But even the boots, the one article of clothing that has turned heads nationwide, haven't inspired the level of excitement of a true craze. While parents slept out overnight to get a crack at Cabbage Patch Kids Cabbage Patch Kids are a brand of doll created by Xavier Roberts in 1978. The original dolls were all cloth and were available at local craft shows, and later at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia. in their heyday, enough vendors stock Uggs and their knockoffs to keep them relatively available. Still, the National Retail Federation has taken the sector's cold spell Noun 1. cold spell - a spell of cold weather cold snap while, spell, patch, piece - a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition; "he was here for a little while"; "I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good in stride Adv. 1. in stride - without losing equilibrium; "she took all his criticism in stride" in good spirits . ``There's no one real must-have across all categories,'' said Ellen Tolley, an NRF NRF National Retail Federation NRF NATO Response Force NRF National Research Foundation (South Africa) NRF Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (urban renewal funding package in the UK) NRF Nouvelle Revue Française spokeswoman. ``I don't think retailers are panicking, because just as there's nothing selling extremely well, there's nothing selling extremely poorly.'' Though he's not panicked, the lull has alarmed Grow. Though he still prides himself on stocking unique, hard-to-find toys, he's converted his store into a discount operation, hoping to make back his money with higher volume. After 27 years in the toy business, he has a good feeling for the retail picture - and right now, he thinks it's bad. ``I've never seen a drought last this long,'' he said, as ``I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas'' played in the background. ``It was usually a year between hot toys at the most, but this has been a long time.'' Brent Hopkins, (818) 713-3738 brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com HOLIDAY CRAZES Chatter: In the past, shoppers have searched, chased after, slept out for and fought over hot items on the retail front. This year, no must-have property has emerged in any segment. 1980: Rubik's Cube Rubik's Cube (commonly misspelled rubix, rubick's or rubicscube) is a mechanical puzzle invented in 1974[1] by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. 1983: Cabbage Patch Cabbage patch may refer to:
1985: Teddy Ruxpin Teddy Ruxpin is a bear-like character created by Ken Forsse. In the early 1980's, an animatronic talking bear was created for the character by Forsse, Larry Larsen and John Davies. He was first produced in 1985 by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder. 1988: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989: Little Mermaid 1993: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ("MMPR") is an American live-action television series, created for the American market, based on the sixteenth installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. 1996: Tickle Me Elmo 1997: Beanie Babies 1998: Furby 2000: PlayStation 2, Razor Scooters Daily News CAPTION(S): 6 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Manager Rissa Grow arranges products at Gregory's Discount Toys in Encino, where the owner is frustrated by the absence of a next big thing on shoppers' holiday lists. (2) Beanie Babies - once a holiday must-have - are now marked down at Gregory's Discount Toys in Encino. Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer (3 -- color) 1983: Cabbage Patch Dolls (4 -- color) 1988: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (5 -- color) 1996: Tickle Me Elmo (6 -- color) 1998: Furby Box: HOLIDAY CRAZES (see text) |
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