Toys & Games Retail Industry Competitors

ABC School Supply makes buying back to school supplies as easy as 1-2-3. The company offers school supplies and educational items such as games, books, puzzles, dramatic and active play materials, and arts and crafts, as well as classroom items like carpets, mats and cots, storage units, and tables and chairs....

The Build-A-Bear Workshop covers the "bear" necessities and much more. Located mainly in malls, the stores allow kids to design their own teddy bears and other stuffed animals complete with clothing (formal wear to western wear), shoes (including Skechers), and a barrage of accessories (eyewear, cell phones, and the like)....

Chelsea & Scott is about babies and toddlers. The company provides educational toys and developmental products for children ages three to eight through its Leaps and Bounds catalog and Web site, and infant and toddler safety products, accessories, and toys through its OneStep Ahead catalog and Web site....

Dijon Limited, also known as The Original Dolls House Company, offers everything, including kitchen sinks, for the hobbyist to outfit dollhouses and miniature shops - even pubs - to the teeth. Its 1/12th-, 1/24th-, and 1/48th scaled items include handmade books that can be read with a magnifying glass, melted snowmen, kits for constructing dollhouses and miniature conservatories, electric wiring kits, and garden tools, along with play families and pets....

Peter Brown has just returned from The Land of Forgotten Toys and has plenty of ideas on how to rekindle kids' love for the classics. Flair Leisure Products markets and distributes licensed toy products within the UK. Most of the toys are considered past their prime by their original manufacturers....

GameStop holds the top score in the video game retailing industry. The company is the largest retailer of new and used games, hardware, entertainment software, and accessories through more than 5,550 stores located in 16 countries, including primarily the US, as well as Canada, Australia, and Europe....

How better to sell upscale kids' stuff than by hitting their upper-income parents where they live? Kids Stuff sells products for children up to age three through its kidsstuff.com Web site and three catalogs: Perfectly Safe (safety products), Jeannie's Kids Club (discounts up to 60% on toys and other items for an annual fee), and Natural Baby (breast-feeding, diapering, and wood and natural-fiber products)....

Lakeshore Learning Materials aims to make learning fun. The company provides educational toys and classroom tools through about 40 retail stores in nearly 20 states, as well as via its catalogs and Web site. Products include furniture, games, art supplies, learning kits, text books, and teacher resource packets....

For kids (and parents) who want to get on board the educational entertainment train, Learning Express is the first stop. The specialty toy store franchiser has more than 100 locations in about 25 states. It sell toys for every age group with a focus on educational items....

Sensational Beginnings (SB) helps kids start having fun early. The catalog and online merchant sells educational toys, furniture, and safety and child care items for infants and toddlers. Toy categories include science and nature, ride-ons, musical instruments, indoor active play, travel kits, and seasonal items....

Ankles too swollen to enjoy a trip to the shopping mall? Then allow The Parent Company (formerly BabyUniverse) to bring baby directly to you. The e-commerce and electronic content provider operates about a half a dozen retail Web sites (including eToys.com, My Twinn.com, and BabyUniverse.com) and the parenting content site BabyTV.com, among others....

Toys "R" Us Limited can help you keep that toy box full. The company, a subsidiary of the US toy retail giant Toys ''R'' Us, offers a plethora of toys, games (including video games), bikes, books, computers, and more through 70-plus retail locations throughout the UK and Ireland, and via its Web site....

U.S. Toy Co. turns play into work and vice versa. The toy company and its divisions, including Constructive Playthings and U.S. Toy Magic, sell party and novelty items, magic books and supplies, early childhood toys, and multi-media learning materials. The company, founded in 1953, operates through stores located in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Texas....

Business is all fun and games at Discovery Toys. The company sells toys, games, books, and software through more than 26,000 educational consultants who go to customers' homes in the US and Canada. Products are divided into the following categories: toys, books, games, family lifestyle, and music....

Dynatech believes in the dynamic nature of the toy industry and wants to capitalize on it. Red Deer, Canada-based Dynatech Action is a wholesale distributor of toys in Canada. The company's portfolio of brands includes Micro Flight, Magic Storytime Theatre, Spy Gear, Moto X Snow Racer, and LullaLights....

Virtual toystore eToys Direct makes online shopping a reality for harried parents. A former division of KB Toys (and previously named KBtoys.com), the company's catalog of 10,000 products includes toys, dolls, games, baby products, software, and collectibles....

Famed toy store FAO Schwarz is still in business, although in a much reduced capacity. The toy seller operates just two locations: its landmark store on New York's Fifth Avenue and a shop in Las Vegas. It also sells its unique, hard-to-find toys (such as life-size stuffed bears and $50,000 kid-size Ferraris) via its relaunched catalog and Web site....

Firebox.com sells the very gadgets that women are forced to yell over to get their men's (and boys') attention. Firebox.com (formerly hotbox.co.uk) is an Internet retailer selling toys, games, and high-tech gadgets for boys (and girls, really) of all ages; products include remote-controlled cars and planes for the younger set, while for the older guys there are DVDs, cameras, tools, sea scooters, pool tables, and even the Internet Fridge (a refrigerator complete with a 56k modem, TV, radio, and digital camera)....

What is seven stories tall and full of toys? That would be Hamleys toy store, one of London's most enduring and playful attractions. Hamleys has been located on Regent Street since 1881. Founded as Noah's Ark in 1760 by William Hamley, the store is known for its vast selection of high quality toys, which it also sells worldwide online and by catalog....

The retail toy business is not all fun and games, as the nation's largest mall-based toy chain KB Toys can surely attest. The struggling toy seller operates about 380 stores in malls nationwide, following the closure of about 120 stores in early 2008. (Previously, KB Toys shuttered more than 600 locations and laid off thousands of employees following a stint in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.) To survive the company hopes to sell inexpensive toys and games to impulse buyers in malls, while leaving the fiercely competitive market for more popular products to market leader Toys "R" Us and discounters Wal-Mart and Target....