Mass turns attention to educational toys - Brief Article
Author: DSN Retailing Today

NATIONWIDE DSN REPORT -- A child's education tops the growing concerns of today's time-starved parents, many of whom are going to great lengths to provide their little ones with fun-filled products that encourage learning and discovery. Toy manufacturers keenly aware of this dilemma have responded by transforming their educational toy lines--a category once reserved primarily for specialty chains--and tailoring them to fit within the merchandise mix of mass retailers such as Toys "R" Us and Wal-Mart.

The success of educational toys last holiday proved to mass retailers these toys could compete against the likes of Poo-chi and Razor scooter. California-based LeapFrog, an educational toy company, made history last holiday when its LeapPad Learning System, an electronic reading aid, was ranked the No. 1 selling toy for the month of December 2000. The high-touted product helped catapult overall LeapFrog sales 120% in 2000.

Hoping to share in Leap-Frog's success, larger manufacturers such as Hasbro and Jakks Pacific have teamed up with small educational media companies to create extensive educational toy lines.

Hasbro unveiled its innovative Baby Einstein toy line at Toy Fair. Its preschool division Playskool and The Baby Einstein Company created this toy line to encourage parents and children to explore music, poetry, language and art. All toys come packaged with an exclusive multimedia CD featuring classical music, a video, and a printable play guide that gives parents helpful play hints. Highlights of the new line include Baby Shakespeare Find-And-Rhyme, $19.99 SRP and Baby Bach Touch 'N Play Pipes. The Baby Einstein toys will roll out to mass this fall.