MAY/JUNE 1999
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Sound Bites introduces Pop Radio, which will turn kids’ heads into a real FM radio. The toy is scheduled to launch in September with a TV advertising campaign featuring Atlantic Records stars. The product has a volume control button and can work without the lollipop as a freestanding radio.
BRITNEY SPEARS SINGS FOR SONY
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Sony Signatures has signed Britney Spears for a multiyear agreement that includes worldwide licensing, tour merchandising, and e-commerce rights. Spears kicked off her first headlining tour in May, and Signatures is designing and creating tour merchandise. Licensees include American Royal Arts, Dark Horse Comics, McFarlane Toys, Playing Mantis, and Ertl, among others.
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MGA Entertainment’s Color FX is a line of handheld and keychain classic, sports, and simulator games featuring LCD screens. The line inlcudes Vegas games, such as poker; classic arcade games, such as Pac-Man; and sports games, such as baseball.
WALMART TOPS TOYS “R” US Walmart was named the nation’s biggest toy retailer in 1998, dethroning Toys “R” Us for the first time in more than a decade. Walmart shares accounted for 17.4% of the market in 1998, while Toys “R” Us held a 16.8% share last year, according to data from the NPD Group. The other toy retailers in the top five included Kmart, Target, and KB Toys.
Worldwide toys industry sales in 1998 totaled $67.8 billion — a 2.7% increase from 1997 sales of $66 billion, according to the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI). According to ICTI president David Miller, this is the first time that the worldwide toy industry released industry sales on a global basis.
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THE TOY BOOK | MAY/JUNE 2019 | toybook.com
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WORLDWIDE TOY SALES AT $67.8 BILLION IN 1998
Slinky Pets are the hottest addition to the Slinky line. Stretch, spring, and bounce them like a slinky or cuddle and love them like a pet. New, adorable, fabric-covered Slinky Pets are born every month. Kids can collect their favorite pets.