Toy makers are stepping up to help families struggling to afford toys for their children this holiday season by unveiling a line of over 200 smaller and more affordable items priced at $10 or less.
“We saw that the consumers have less money to spend with gas prices over $7 per gallon. We decided that we have to bring toys that are less than $10 so that they can buy them for their Christmas gifts,” MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian told Steve Doocy on Tuesday’s “Fox & Friends.”
The smaller, more affordable toys include miniature Bratz dolls, small Little Tikes and LOL Sweet Minis made with partnerships from companies like Hershey’s and Pez.
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“That’s where we believed the consumer is going to go. That’s where we made our bet, and it’s paying off,” Larian said.
“Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, gift-givers will buy a toy for their kids, and, this year, with COVID being less [prevalent], people are going to travel to see their loved ones, and they’re not going to go empty-handed. For sure, they’re going to buy toys and hopefully they will buy MGA toys because they are priced right for them to afford.”
Other toy makers are stepping up to help families combat inflation around the holidays, including Sky Castle Toys and WowWee, whose executives joined “Fox & Friends First” on Tuesday to share how they are making similar efforts.
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“I think our whole line plan has been very much around price points this year, more so than ever,” WowWee’s vice president of brand development Sydney Wiseman told Fox News’ Todd Piro.
Wiseman said small dolls priced under $10 and a miniature version of WowWee’s popular Fairy Finder toy are among the options the company has in store for holiday shoppers this year.
“This sub-$10 price point has never been more relevant than this holiday season,” Wiseman said.
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“We’re really taking into account people’s wallets and price points and making sure that it’s accessible to everyone in these times,” she added.
Joshua Loerzel, co-owner of Sky Castle Toys, said hints about the problem were on the horizon last year with the supply chain crisis.
“Typically a shipment on the ocean would take three to four weeks, but it started taking three to four months, so that means you have a small window to sell these Christmas toys in November and December….
“Once we saw that at Sky Castle Toys, we decided to pivot and come up with lower-priced items, specifically our DoodleJamz brand was $10 and under…”
Loerzel said Sky Castle Toys’ goal was to offer a lot of innovation and value at a low price.
Spending at U.S. retail stores has been flat in recent months as consumers continue to confront the hottest inflation in 40 years.
