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Dec 5 2011
Children’s Apparel Expected to Lead Holiday Apparel Sales
Children’s clothing, along with high-end designer wear, is expected to lead apparel sales this holiday season, according to industry research firm IBISWorld. After a strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday, overall holiday spending is expected to increase 3.3 percent from 2010 to $64.3 billion, with clothing purchases expected to increase 3.4 percent, totaling $8.5 billion.
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Dec 5 2011
Enchanted Enfant Moves its Headquarters to the Big Easy
Designer Michele Brule has moved her children’s clothing label, Enchanted Enfant, from Philadelphia to New Orleans, according to The Times-Picayune. Originally from the Northeast, Brule first moved to New Orleans in 1997 with her husband, a player on the New Orleans Brass hockey team. Although the couple later moved, “New Orleans always stuck with me,” […]
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Dec 5 2011
Paddington Goes Digital
Paddington Bear has been everywhere, and now he’s heading to the digital world. HarperCollins Children’s Books has teamed up with Bold Creative to create an iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch app for the famous picture-book character. The app, which can be purchased for $5.99, allows kids and parents to read and experience the classic story […]
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Dec 5 2011
Nordstrom Picks Up Busytown Line
Cookie Jar Entertainment is hooking up with luxury department store Nordstrom to roll out Richard Scarry’s Busytown line during the holiday season. The collection will include a wide range of products, such as the Busytown picture books from Random House; board games from Wonder Forge; plush toys, play sets and vehicles from The Bridge Direct; […]
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Nov 28 2011
NRF Announces Top Toys
Barbie and video games top NRF’s 2011 Top Toys survey. Conducted by BIGresearch, the survey shows that consumers are looking for a mix of classic and contemporary children’s gifts, including Apple iPods, which appear on boys’ and girls’ lists, and iPads, the tablets that girls listed as a "must-have." Tried and true toys, including LEGOs, […]
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Nov 28 2011
Black Friday Shopping Breaks Record
A record 226 million shoppers visited brick-and-mortar and online retailers over Black Friday weekend, up from 212 million last year, according to figures released by the National Retail Federation. Total spending reached an estimated $52.4 billion, and the average shopper spent $398.62, up from $365.34 last year. Shoppers spent more than a third of their […]
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Nov 28 2011
Children’s Furniture Flash Sales Site Launches Today
Treehouse Tykes, a new private online sales site launched Monday, offering children’s furniture, toys, gear, accessories and apparel at up to 70 percent off. The site will offer free membership, and 10 percent of the site’s net proceeds will go to a school or charity of the member’s choosing. Sales will last 72 hours and […]
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Nov 28 2011
Comedian Caroline Rhea to Host K.I.D.S. 26th Annual Gala
Actress and comedian Caroline Rhea will host the 26th Annual Gala for global children’s charity Kids In Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.) on Dec. 8. The event will honor outstanding philanthropic efforts by Steven Lawrence, EVP and general merchandise manager for JCPenney, Joe Shamie, co-president of Delta’s Children Products, and Global Levi’s Brands. Becca Van Dyck, chief […]
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Nov 28 2011
Garfield’s Ready for Playtime
Playtime, the maker of interactive indoor play areas, has entered into a licensing agreement with Paws, Inc.—home of everyone’s favorite lazy kitty, Garfield—that allows for the creation of Garfield play areas for malls, retail outlets and other locations. The play areas will feature characters from the famous “Garfield and Friends” comic strip and TV series, […]
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Nov 28 2011
Over the Moon(Pie)
MoonPie, the marshmallow sandwich that’s been an “American favorite since 1917,” is coming back to life. Lisa Marks Associates, which owns the MoonPie brand, signed four new deals for the yummy brand. The company struck one of these deals with apparel licensee Tray & Loevner—which also has licensing agreements with such brands as Pepsi and […]
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Nov 28 2011
Step-By-Story Books are (Not So) Scary
MoveableCode Inc., a digital publisher that creates play products for brands like Tonka and Fisher Price, inked a deal with The Monster Factory’s “(not so) Scary Monsters” characters for a series of Step-By-Story ePlay apps that will launch before the end of 2011. The apps, which will be published under MoveableCode’s Playful Owl imprint, use […]
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Nov 21 2011
Toy Recalls on the Decline, CPSC Reports
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday that toy recalls have been on the decline since 2008, due to new toy safeguards, in addition to steps taken by toy makers and sellers to improve safety. There were 34 hazardous toy recalls in fiscal year 2011, down from 46 in the previous fiscal year. According to […]
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Nov 21 2011
Children’s Place Posts Positive Retail Sales
The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. announced Thursday a 7 percent increase in third quarter net sales versus the same period last year. For the thirteen weeks leading to October 29, the company reports it racked up $484.1 million in sales. Sales are also up by 3 percent for the fiscal year-to-date, compared to 2010. […]
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Nov 21 2011
Daily-deal Sites Expect a Holiday Boost
According to daily-deal aggregator Yipit, U.S. consumers are expected to spend between $80 million and $100 million on Groupon, LivingSocial and similar sites this holiday season. Last year consumers spent between $15 million and $20 million on daily deals. Of the 10,000 consumers polled, more than 90 percent said they were likely to purchase a […]
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Nov 21 2011
Baby Bella Maya Distributing Tellurian Baby
Infant and toddler brand Baby Bella Maya will begin to distribute Tellurian Baby personal care products. The company plans to make the product available to its current retail partners and would like to partner with more non-competing children’s brands. Tellurian Baby, which offers baby oil, diaper cream, body wash, lotion and more, is endorsed by […]
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Nov 21 2011
Yo Gabba Gabba! Goes for Lucky No. 7
On Tuesday, DHX Media, an international leader in entertainment licensing, announced seven new licensing deals for the children’s television phenomenon, Yo Gabba Gabba! The newest licensing deals—which bring the total merchandising agreements for the popular TV series to almost 40—include: Freeze Clothing, for T-shirts and hoodies; Funko, for collectible toys; Nyko, for game accessories and […]
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Nov 21 2011
Disney Buys Babble Media
On Tuesday, Disney snapped up Babble Media—an online parenting site that features more than 200 mommy-bloggers—for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2006, Babble Media was listed as one of the 50 best websites of 2010 by Time magazine. The acquisition is meant to strengthen Disney Interactive Media Group’s online portfolio of resources for mommies and […]
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Nov 14 2011
Internet Ties Discount Stores as Top Holiday Shopping Destination
For the first time, the web has tied discount stores as the most popular place to pick up holiday gifts, according to the results of an annual survey of more than 5,000 consumers released last week by Deloitte. According to the survey, 48 percent of consumers say they will most likely shop for gifts online—a […]
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Nov 14 2011
J.C. Penney Reports Loss, Predicts Lackluster Holiday Sales
J.C. Penney Co. reported today a loss of $143 million for the quarter ending Oct. 29, compared with a profit of $44 million for the same period last year. Sales dropped 4.8 percent in the third quarter, due in part to the company’s exit from its catalog and catalog outlet business, which it sold off […]
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Nov 14 2011
Madison and Friends Expands
Chicago-based Madison and Friends will open a second location in the city’s Roscoe Village neighborhood. The store will carry apparel and accessories for newborns to boys and girls age 7. Slated to open in time for Black Friday shopping on Friday, Nov. 25, the 900 square-foot store is located directly across the street from The […]