DAY 1 – Changing Face of Retail

Wow – it’s tough to follow the spectacle of Kevin Carroll’s presentation, but the Changing Face of Retail panel did a fabulous job of bringing the focus of the room back to the specific issues and concerns of the toy industry.

Moderator Bob Wann (Patch Products) introduced the panelists: Sharon DiMinico, Learning Express; Jessi Dunne, Disney Consumer Products, Sean McGowan, Needham and Company, LLC, and (via video) Laura Phillips, Walmart.

Anita Frazier of The NPD Group kicked off the discussion with a “sneak peak” of her discussion tomorrow morning by reviewing top-level statistics for several of the toy retail channels.

Sharon DiMinico remarked that specialty stores are destination retailers that offer a unique shopping experience for consumers. These features may bring with them a broader array of pricing and merchandising options for the consumer.

Mass marketer Walmart offered a different perspective - even though Laura Phillips, vice president divisional merchandise manager of toys, was unable to attend in person. Via a taped video interview with Bob Wann, she stressed three points: Value (both price point and play value); Quality and Go Young. She emphasized the later point by stressing that the core toy customer at Walmart is a 3-year old and that 90% of the retailer’s inventory will be focused on the 3-5 year old. She also wagged her finger at the toy industry for not being more data-focused. “Get away from the [historical] formula and get back into the data.”