Supply Chain Research

The second big month of toy imports for the year suggests retailers are either leaving it late, or anticipating apathy from buyers. Imports fell 5% on a year earlier after an 11% drop in August. There were broad-based declines across brands. In a sample of nine brands The most successful was Disney, whose imports increased 6%. Yet Nerf (down 1%) moved to fourth from sixth and Ben 10 reached second from fifth despite a 5% fall. Traditional brands without current movie tie-ins did worst, with Barbie swapping places with Ben 10 after a 46% drop. Outliers were Star Wars, down after last year...