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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, November 18, 2007

Unmerry Christmas predicted for toymakers

By Matt Andrejczak
MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO — Early indications show that Americans are considering buying fewer toys this holiday season due to widespread product recalls, according to market researcher Harris Interactive.

Harris said 33 percent of Americans said they will purchase fewer toys, while 45 percent will avoid buying toys manufactured in China, where 80 percent of toys sold in the U.S. are manufactured.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based researcher, which conducted an online poll of 2,565 U.S. adults between Oct. 9 and Oct. 15, said its anecdotal data may not bear out. The results come a week before Thanksgiving, a time when most consumers start thinking about purchasing holiday gifts.

"It will be interesting to see if the attitudes that people expressed pre-holiday shopping are ones that they will follow through on," Harris said.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued its latest major toy recall Nov. 7, involving 4.2 million Aqua Dots, an arts and crafts kit manufactured in China. The product contained beads with a toxic coating.

"If parents were on the fence about buying Chinese-made toys prior to this recall, we believe many may be pushed over the edge by this one," BMO Capital analyst Gerrick Johnson wrote Wednesday.

Toy experts considered Aqua Dots, sold by Spin Master of Toronto, to be one of the hottest-selling toys this season.

So far, major retailers are offering mixed statements about toy sales.

No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cited toys as weak in its October sales figures, while www.Amazon.com said it expects one of its best holiday toy seasons.

Toys Amazon expects to be holiday favorites include:

  • EyeClops Bionic Eye by Jakks Pacific Inc.

  • Hannah Montana: Music Jam (Nintendo DS) by Disney.

  • Barbie Girls by Mattel Inc.

  • Smart Cycle by Fisher-Price, a unit of Mattel.

    Johnson added that Transformer figures are selling well. The product is made by Hasbro Inc.