Favorite war toy: singing hamsters

By Anne D'Innocenzio
Associated Press

Plush hamsters dressed in military garb from all four branches of the U.S. armed forces, made by Gemmy Industries, also have been selling rapidly, according to a spot check of stores.

The Irving, Texas-based maker of the singing, dancing hamsters, shipped to K-B Toys 10 days ago, is now air-freighting them from China and has accelerated production, said Gemmy spokesman Jason McCann.

Military-themed computer games also have seen a spike in demand.

"There's definitely been an uptick" in interest in military-related toys, said Jim Silver, publisher of the Toy Book, an industry monthly, who interviewed retailers this week.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, military toys saw an upswing about a month later when the United States invaded Afghanistan, Silver said. But the hot seller that quickly emerged from the start was a line of rescue heroes from Fisher-Price.

Still, given polarized views of the Iraq war, toy soldiers and the like have ignited some controversy in the United States.

Gemmy has a full line of dancing hamsters — from boxer Apollo Creed of "Rocky" fame to a handcuffed CEO hamster in an orange jumpsuit and briefcase, presumably caught in the rash of corporate scandals. The company began making its armed forces hamsters just six months ago, shipping the first to stores last month.

Kmart's Jacobs, as well as spokesmen at other major toy retailers such as K-B Toys, declined to comment on overall sales of military merchandise.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Tom Williams said there hasn't been a noticeable increase in military toy sales since the war started.

Several store managers at K-B Toys said they were told to feature military products at the front of the store two weeks ago. In one K-B store in Manhattan, Eva Figueroa, a store manager, said she had seen an increase in sales of military toys starting last weekend.

K-B Toys in Pearlridge Center and Windward Mall reported no change in sales of G.I. Joe or other military-related toys. Workers at

K-Mart in Kapolei said sales of military toys have been up a little, but that might be related to an increased presence of the toys on the shelves.

In New York's Washington Heights section, Sorgie Cruz, a store manager at K-B Toys, said G.I. Joes are just as popular as before the war, but military dressed hamsters from Gemmy are selling "like hotcakes."

A Toys "R" Us store in Los Angeles reported that sales of toy soldiers, including G.I. Joes, and military video games such as like Sony PlayStation2's "U.S. Navy Seals" and "Conflict: Desert Storm" have picked up in the last week.

Hasbro Inc., maker of the G.I. Joes, said sales of the military soldier increased 46 percent last year from 2001, but company officials declined to comment on recent results.