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.”