Consumers stick with traditional gifts, colors
Consumers stick with traditional gifts, colors
by Gerri Hunt -- Kids Today, 11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
Reactions to the still-sputtering economy are a mixed bag for several gift manufacturers.
“Business is hard to gauge this year. It’s not as consistent as past years, but opportunities have come up over the year. Overall, business is good,” said Danielle Signorelli, media and communications director for Rashti + Rashti.
Baby Starters, the company’s house brand, “has an advantage over our licensed and store brands, because we can control product and price points,” she said.
“Business has been good, although I’m afraid to say it,” said Audra Simmering, Trend Lab vice president. “We’re very pleased with our business right now in the gift category. We hadn’t put a lot of focus on it, but we’ve gotten a lot of requests now.”
And for gift giant Stephan Baby, “Orders are noticeably coming in slower than normal … even with the October introduction of our 2010 catalog,” said Jan Campbell, president and CEO. “It’s definitely a sign of the times, with unemployment so high.”
Although the economy is still gray, that color trend in the baby and juvenile industry does not seem to be taking off the way it is in the adult furnishings marketplace.
“There has been a little influx of gray, but it’s not retailing well,” said Simmering. “It’s a little frightening, because everyone thinks it’s what is next after brown.”
But brown is still going strong for Trend Lab, which showed an extremely popular Dr. Seuss gift line at the ABC Kids Expo in September.
Neutrals are in style, with pops of accent colors.
Signorelli said the basics will always be available – pink, blue and neutrals like white, green and yellow.
“But now, we pair it with brighter, bolder unexpected color. It’s traditional with a modern view,” she said. “Bold patterns with graphics are popular with boys, and people still like sweet and fancy for girls.”
“Although brighter colors are becoming popular again, the soft pastels for baby never go 'out of style,’” Campbell agreed. “Mixing of prints and patterns works well and make interesting displays all on their own.”
For Rashti + Rashti, the Tu-Tu girls’ collection is getting a lot of attention. A spin-off of a best-selling set of a blanket, Snuggle Buddy and sleep 'n’ play, details were added in pink, white and lilac, plus luxurious fabrics. The company is working on a boy’s version for 2010.
The collections can be bought individually or as a group, which is a value for retailers — another trend that continues.
“Price point is more of an issue now, and it trickles down from the retailer to the consumer,” Signorelli said, adding that Rashti + Rashti is focused more on moderately priced basics with a sense of style.
“We stick to our core values of basic items at great quality and great value. It’s true to who we are,” she said. “This consistency in our philosophy has helped. We’re not new, and we’re not suddenly producing a mid-priced line. Customers can continue to rely on us.”
Simmering said gifts have to be unique with fun packaging.
“Consumers want more, at a really good price,” she said. “There’s all this talk about the recession being over, but I’m not seeing it yet.”
Trend Lab’s Create Your Own Gift concept is doing well, which lets a consumer pick a storage item and fill it with coordinating pieces to create a gift at their own price point. But prepackaged gifts are doing well also, so more items will be added next year. The Dr. Seuss line will have some additions too.
Stephan Baby’s gift sets are also popular, leading to more introductions in that line for 2010, as well as in keepsakes, silver, clothing and toys.
“The thing about the newborn category, everything is a gift at that point,” Signorelli pointed out.
For 2010, Rashti + Rashti is adding to Baby Starters, and its Disney license has been expanded to include more retailers. The Carters and Taggies brands are constantly evolving, and private labels are always in the works.
“We’ve been getting a really positive reaction,” said Signorelli. “Retailers are buying and are positive about the holiday season. Hopefully that means additional growth.”
And these manufacturers need some help from retailers.
“Some customers were conservative early in the year, and then in the fourth quarter are coming to stock up, but we’re low on inventories,” Signorelli said. “Nobody wants to be stuck with old product. We’re increasing product for the first quarter to fulfill pending orders, which will hopefully create some momentum from the holidays.”
She suggests that if a retailer likes an item and it’s doing well, to work with the manufacturer to plan out the business.
“Don’t expect a manufacturer to have things on hand from month to month,” she said. “There’s a stronger possibility for a manufacturer not to have it. It’s good to place future orders so retailers and manufacturers know the products are working. Stock levels are the biggest challenge for manufacturers and retailers. A little planning would help everybody. Dollars for buyers are tight, but by planning, they can stretch it out.”
That’s the same attitude at Stephan Baby, where Campbell said there is a widespread labor shortage in the Chinese factories, which has increased production time from an average of 60 days to 90 or 120 days. Testing and freight costs have affected their bottom line “in a big way, sometimes to a point where we have to discontinue or minimize a product classification.”
Campbell said these situations make it difficult to schedule inventory to always be in stock when needed.
“I use my 'crystal ball’ method less and 'past experience’ method more to plan and predict our stock levels,” she said. “Domestically, freight on our customers’ orders now runs over 12%, so we work closely with our shipping department to pack orders as economically as possible.”
Campbell said retailers and manufacturers need to stay ahead of the game.
“Pull in the reins and proceed steadily ahead with a positive attitude. Take advantage of the specials, and advertise,” she said. “We are all glad to see Christmas right around the corner and a New Year after that.”
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This Sweet Dreamzzz Pint of PJs from Baby Aspen is a two-piece gift set featuring footie pajamas and a matching hat with sprinkles and a cherry on top, $20, 800-659-0471, babyaspen.com.
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Mary Meyer’s Sweet Chocolate Piggy Bank has a plush exterior and firm plastic interior for collecting coins, $20, 800-451-4387, marymeyer.com.
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Kaloo’s Blue Floppy Bear can be tossed in the washer and dryer. At 15 inches tall, he comes in a keepsake cylinder gift box, $35, 514-457-3088, kaloousa.com.
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This gift set from 3 Marthas includes a burp pad and medium bib, $22, 800-553-8058, 3marthas.com.
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Delicate and endearing, Donna Sharp’s Amour baby quilt comes with a matching teddy. A wholecloth design with intricate embroidery, the baby quilt is lightweight, $68, 888-810-1003, donnasharp.com.
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Mother Goose is a 12x12-inch print in the Nursery Rhymes collection from Art for Kids, $84, 800-700-6547, afkfurniture.com.
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The Pacifier Bib from Designs by Carolyn has Velcro closures at the neck and bottom. The girl’s bib has lace and the boys’ has a monogram, $22, 334-262-7008.
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Julia is a Christening gown from Day Dream Heirlooms. Made of cotton, it is white with ecru lace. It is hand-embroidered on the bodice and skirt and comes with a bonnet, $188, 904-269-1300, daydreamheirlooms.com.
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The Window Pane Check 100% cotton blanket from Apparel Solutions is flannel with fringe. It comes in pink, blue, yellow and camel, and can be monogrammed. Crib blanket/$32 and receiving blanket/$23, 203-226-8600, asiasoftidea.com.
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The Personalized Linen Cross Stitch from Child to Cherish is 20x15 inches, $79, 800-776-7002, childtocherish.com.
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Flower Fairies are handmade musical dolls from Green Tree Products, $25, 888-291-8188.
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Organic Gift Sets from I Play include a 100% organic cotton bodysuit and cap for a 6-month old, in a box, $25, 828-254-9236, iplaybabywear.com.
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This JazzyToes two-pack contains the Bamboo Collection socks that look like shoes. The socks are made from sustainable bamboo yarn. The box is 100% recycled material printed using soy ink, $15, 800-519-3128, jazzytoes.com.
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Bottomline Diapers offers an organza bag containing five disposable diapers that can be personalized with a name or novelty phrase, $10, 888-821-2229, bottomlinediapers.net.
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The Bamboo LullaWrap from Cloud B is a swaddling blanket made from super soft, antibacterial, anti-fungal bamboo fabric for ultimate comfort and security. The bamboo fabric is hypoallergenic. Available in two styles — sage/star print and natural/giraffe print, $25, 888-425-6832, cloudb.com.
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Teamson’s Animal Bookends are hand-carved and hand-painted, $32, 631-274-3355, teamson.com.
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This Round Toiletry Bag from Teresa Alecrim’s Baby Line is 100% cotton with needlepoint embroidered rabbits, polyester fill and five pockets, +351-21-342-1261, teresaalecrim.com.
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Trend Lab’s Bib & Burp Set contains four bibs and four burps in the fun Dr. Seuss ABC print and are accented with a dot and stripe. They all have print on one side and white terry on the other, $24, 866-873-6352, trend-lab.com.
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Framed Wishes from Stephan Baby holds a 3-inch square photo. It comes with a silver pen to write messages on the mat board, $20, 800-359-2917, stephanbaby.net.
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Record baby’s birth stats on this silver-plate baby shoe from Silver Treasures, $18, 800-572-5198, silverbabygifts.com.
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Bah Bah is a plush toy from Smart Gear that is handmade in Turkey using certified organic cotton and Oko-Tex certified dyes. It has a 100% organic cotton shell, a pure wool fill and is machine washable, $25, 732-663-0000, smartgeartoys.com.
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Rashti + Rashti has several items in its Silver Keepsake line under the Carter’s license, including this frame, $18, and handprint and footprint kit, $15, 212-594-3733, rashtiandrashti.com.
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Very little hair is needed for MudPie’s Ribbon Ruffle hair clips. With grosgrain ribbon ruffles and button centers, they come as a set of four on a card with a ribbon bow and hangtag, $7, 800-998-1633, mud-pie.com.
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The Bunny Cuddle Blanket gift set from Lambs & Ivy includes a polyester 18-inch blanket and three flannel receiving blankets, $24, 310-322-3800, lambsivy.com.
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Jungle Tales is a washcloth six-pack and tub toy from NoJo, $12, 800-433-9560, hamcobaby.com.
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The Silver Rabbit collection from Parkers in the Pass includes the Mini Cross bracelet, made from tiny pearls and sterling silver, $28, 228-861-7347, parkersinthepass.com.
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The bassinet/stroller knitted blanket and rattle is part of Living Textiles USA’s Misha Bear collection. The blanket is 100% cotton, with a subtle stretch and hand-knitted scallop edging. The rattle is soft knit, $40, 949-851-7700, livingtextilesusa.com.
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This nightlight is a mini stretched canvas that can be repurposed as art for the shelf when the nightlight is no longer needed. It features an image of “Two of a Kind” by Meghann O’Hara for Oopsy Daisy, Fine Art for Kids and comes in a gift box, $24, 619-640-6649, oopsydaisy.com.
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The Tooth Fairy Owl from Maison Chic has bold colors and a pocket, $9, 800-653-5048, maisonchiconline.com.
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