January/February | March/April | May/June | July/August | September/October | November/December

January/February

“The Eyes Have It” and “The Fig Leaf Pose” Body Language Do’s and Dont’s January/February 2012 by Tina Manzer No matter what side of the Toy Fair aisle you work on, your body language, even more than your words, influences the people you do business with. Click here to read this article.

Holiday Toy Shopping Kick-off Sends Specialty Message Loud and Clear January/February 2012 by Kathleen McHugh Click here to read this article.

Many Ways to Rock the Block January/February 2012 by Tina Manzer Did you happen to see the article in The New York Times late in November that discussed educators’ “renewed faith in unit blocks”? Click here to read this article.

NSSEA Invites Specialty Toy Retailers to Its Trade Show January/February 2012 by Jim McGarry A letter from Jim McGarry Click here to read this article.

Retailers Recommend Fabulous Products January/February 2012 by Anya Harris Click here to read this article.

The Sound of Silence January/February 2012 by Kevin Fahy In college, I learned about a literary technique called “in medias res,” which is Latin for “in the middle of things.” Click here to read this article.

Up Against the Internet on Prices and Taxes January/February 2012 by Anya Harris The growth of Internet retailing – especially its impact on sales at brick-and-mortar stores – remains a red-hot topic. Click here to read this article.

March/April

A Little Luck and a Lot of Love March/April 2012 by Anya Harris Teaching Toys has been a fixture of Tacoma, Washington for three decades. Click here to read this article.

A Mom & Pop Store for the 21st Century March/April 2012 by Brenna English-Loeb Fat Brain Toys began as an e-commerce site 10 years ago when website developer Mark Carson and his family started selling Geomag online. Click here to read this article.

Customer Service is the New Marketing March/April 2012 by Kathleen McHugh, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association How critical is customer service for specialty toy retailers? Consider the competitive environment faced by today’s independent retailers. Click here to read this article.

My Old Flame March/April 2012 by Kevin Fahy I used to like Amazon. Click here to read this article.

New Products March/April 2012 by Now that some of the biggest shopping shows for toy buyers are behind us, let’s talk about new products. Click here to read this article.

Retailers Recommend Fabulous Products March/April 2012 by Anya Harris Click here to read this article.

Thoughts on Play from the Play Museum March/April 2012 by Tina Manzer The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, has launched a new blog – re:Play – that offers insightful reflections about play in all its many forms. Click here to read this article.

Trunk Show March/April 2012 by Tina Manzer, with Brenna English-Loeb With their fun and unusual appearance, elephants make for compelling avatars in made-up stories. Click here to read this article.

May/June

Always Aiming for More May/June 2012 by Anya Harris Forward-thinking merchandising and a unique pricing strategy keep Concord’s landmark toy shop right on target. Click here to read this article.

An Easy Sell Just tell customers, “put the pieces in” May/June 2012 by Brenna English-Loeb Bill Witt is an attorney and CPA in Oregon who makes a living building companies. Click here to read this article.

Happy Employees Create Happy Customers May/June 2012 by Barbara Glanz Have you ever seen a company with unhappy employees who had happy customers? Click here to read this article.

Hard to be Easy May/June 2012 by Kevin Fahy I was 41 years old when we created this magazine. Click here to read this article.

Putting the Industry in Specialty Toys May/June 2012 by Tina Manzer Twenty years ago, Chris Wass, a retailer from Des Moines, Iowa... Click here to read this article.

Retailers Recommend Fabulous Products May/June 2012 by Anya Harris Catherine Higgins and Michele Gietz. Click here to read this article.

The “Crackle Factor” May/June 2012 by Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender We’ve noticed something missing in retail stores lately. Click here to read this article.

July/August

A Little Help from Our Friends - Manufacturers lend a hand to retailers to increase sales July/August 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro At ASTRA Marketplace in June, we saw a great variety of creative merchandising, special event and product promotion ideas presented by exhibitors. Here are two of them. Click here to read this article.

Anya Harris July/August 2012 by A Retailer Recommends Games! Click here to read this article.

ChiTAG Offers a Fresh Perspective on Toys and Games July/August 2012 by Brenna English-Loeb What began as a small game fair for inventors, manufacturers and retailers – plus families, educators and hobbyists – is today the largest public event of its kind in the U.S. Click here to read this article.

Everything’s Bigger in Texas July/August 2012 by Anya Harris The Toy Maven did not just roll out of bed one day and open the doors... Click here to read this article.

Louisville or Las Vegas? July/August 2012 by Tina Manzer & Alyssa LaFaro In October, the ABC Kids Expo will be held at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville... Click here to read this article.

Retailers Love Blue Orange Games July/August 2012 by Brenna English-Loeb Retailers’ love affair with San Francisco-based Blue Orange Games has been well documented in the past year. Click here to read this article.

Retailers Recommend Fabulous Products July/August 2012 by Anya Harris Anna Chow of Cheeky Monkey Toys in Menlo Park, California. Click here to read this article.

Return to Sender July/August 2012 by Kevin Fahy There is a very old joke in the newspaper business... Click here to read this article.

September/October

A Classic Brand Bounces Back September/October 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro Small World Toys Click here to read this article.

A DON'T DO List to Make This December Different September/October 2012 by Tina Manzer There’s still time to make your store’s holiday season sane and successful. Click here to read this article.

A Little Less Conversation September/October 2012 by Kevin Fahy When I was at the ASTRA show this past June, a retailer friend of mine asked me how I choose topics to write about in the magazine. Click here to read this article.

“Won’t you Be my Neighbor?” September/October 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro The world won’t soon forget the beloved children’s television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood... Click here to read this article.

Pinspiring Window Displays September/October 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro Use Pinterest to get inspired – and organized – to decorate your storefront Click here to read this article.

Retailers Recommend Fabulous Products September/October 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro Click here to read this article.

Stowed with Enchantment September/October 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro When Vermont retailer Nancy Teed was younger, she had a glimpse of her future. Like most of us, she didn’t realize it at the time. Click here to read this article.

November/December

A Talk with the Twirl Ladies November/December 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro Seven years ago, a fantastic toy store in Taos, New Mexico, closed. A year later, five moms with eight preschool children among them decided to fill the gap in the market. Twirl Toy Store and Play Space was born. Click here to read this article.

Endcap: A Spoonful of Fun November/December 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro Click here to read this article.

Going Mobile November/December 2012 by Kevin Fahy I’m thinking about getting my dog his own cell phone. Why? It’s the only thing I can think of that people aren’t already doing with cell phones. Click here to read this article.

Retailers Recommend Fabulous Products November/December 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro Click here to read this article.

The Day After Tomorrow November/December 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro The twinkling lights are unplugged. The store is quiet. It’s dark when you head to work early to process returns. It’s dark when you drive home. Your staff yawns as they count and sort inventory. You plan for Toy Fair and taxes. Click here to read this article.

Tween Scene November/December 2012 by Alyssa LaFaro Meeting the needs of a tricky market Click here to read this article.

December

No Articles.