Where are the toys?
Austin Thomas, 5, tries out a grocery store playset at Learning Express in the Galleria of Mt. Lebanon.
Melanie Tedesco checks out an array of gifts at Go! Calendars, Toys and Games in South Hills Village Mall.
David Bahm, owner of the Learning Express store in the Galleria.
Austin Thomas knows exactly what he wants for Christmas.
“The bowling set,” the 5-year-old Mt. Lebanon resident says as he points to the Ideal Rack ‘N’ Roll Bowl display at Learning Express Toys in the Galleria of Mt. Lebanon. “That’s my favorite.”
If Santa decides though that Austin has been more naughty than nice this year, he understands he has the spending power to purchase the product. ” I have a whole bottle of money that I want to spend to buy it,” he says.
Since Toys R Us has closed, choosy children like Austin, as well as their parents, are picking places such as Learning Express Toys in the Galleria and Go! Calendars, Toys and Games located in the South Hills Village Mall to spend their hard-earned dollars this holiday season as opposed to the big box stores for one reason: “They have everything,” exclaims Austin.
“This is our spot,” adds Austin’s mom, Katie Thomas. “We usually shop here. We don’t miss Toys R Us.”
Katie says Learning Express has items she has never seen at Toys R Us. She adds that it’s “intimate” and the easiest place to shop. She also loves the fact that Austin can play in the store.
“He actually likes to come in and try the toys out, which you don’t get at other places. What we also love about the store is that they have a lot of things here that are local. A lot of Pittsburgh stuff. Plus the staff is amazing. They are always the same people, so you usually know who you are buying from and they are so helpful. They do the gift-wrapping for free, which is amazing for people who tend to run late.”
Learning Express is not late to the game. Founded in 1987, the franchise is the largest and most established toy business in the United States. Since 2008, David and Amy Bahm of Mt. Lebanon have owned and operated the store in the Galleria. Back then, David says, there was nowhere to buy a toy in the South Hills – Toys R Us was only a Babies ‘R Us at the time and Target was not located here, either.
“My kids were little and they would come home from birthday parties with handfuls of gift cards to like Dicks and things like that because there were no toys in the South Hills,” says the father of three high-school boys.
Because he lives in the community, Bahm offers what other stores cannot. “We are everything that mass market isn’t,” he says. “We just have a very curated, careful mix of toys from educational to those that are fun to play with. We look for quality, play value. I have the best things I can find in my store.”
“I have a fantastic staff. They’re seasoned. We’re from the area and know the customer base,” he continues. “We have a reputation for providing excellent service and what people want. People have choices as to where they can spend their money. We take care of our customers. From the time they walk in to the time they walk out, we give them all the help they need and want or don’t want and send them happily on their way.”
At GO! Calendars, Toys and Games in South Hills Village, Melanie Tedesco attempts to accomplish the same thing. She and her husband, Pat, have managed the store for the past five years, although the business has been in operation for more than 20 years and present in the mall for eight seasons. This year, the franchise has opened another store called Day By Day. Similar to Things Remembered, the operation specializes in personalized calendars and planners as well as personalized items.
“Because of Toys R Us, we expanded,” Tedesco says. “Go! felt it would get more business. We have twice the space we ever had.”
Go!, like Learning Express, differs from Toys R Us because of its “variety” and “competitiveness.” Tedesco notes that Go! Fares well with Target, which is located a few doors down in the mall. “Our prices are the same,” she says, “and we carry a variety of things similar to Target and some things we carry Target doesn’t. We do have products that Toys R Us did not have,” she emphasizes. “We have such a large variety. Plus we do carry the newest, latest toys. People do come here looking for certain things every year.”
What customers like are the items that Bahm and Tedesco enjoyed growing up as children, as well as raising their own kids. Tedesco is the mother of four, ranging in ages from 6 to 18. For her 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, she may purchase for Christmas one of the art sets that Go! carries. “Since my teenager is an artist, she is into fashion design and we carry these really beautiful, professional art sets. They are not kid art sets,” Tedesco stresses.
Emma, her 6-year-old, is into Shopkins toys and accessories and Hatchimals, which are electronic plush bird toys that you can nurture and can hatch from a plastic egg.
Michael, 10, can be a challenge.
“My son is hard to buy for. He likes sports related things and Nerf. We also have a really great selection of science kits that are for all ages. Different science experiments – those are not easily found in other stores.”
All the hot toys, as well as the tried-and-true sellers are stocked at Learning Express and Go! For example, Bahm sells The Game of Life and Monopoly. Go! Sells Fisher-Price classic toys such as the dial telephone and keyboard, as well as Playskool items.
“Some games stick around a really long time,” he says. “In the end, we want to stimulate the kids; get them thinking. Some things a family can do together, or some things a kid can do on own.”
Learning Express, says Bahm, tries to make sure the toys have play value, which is basically how long the person can continue to use them. “We purchase quality products that people can use. Not one and done where they play with it and put it in the corner,” he says.
While at the moment there is no super hot toy like Tickle Me Elmo or Cabbage Patch Dolls, both Tedesco and Bahm agree that the L.O.L. surprise dolls and accessories are expected to continue to be popular sellers this holiday season.
Bahm expects Wrapples, a play on the Fingerlings, to have a good run. Like a slap bracelet, they adhere to one’s wrist. They interact and talk to each other.
According to Tedesco, Pikmi Pops Surprise is a Go! exclusive. It’s a fruit-scented plush toy inside a cake pop. The store also features the CakePop Cuties, which feature a squishy foam toy inside that can be placed on top of a pencil.
Both enterprises stock a wide range of Melissa and Doug (M&D) items. The brand name is noted for its high quality pretend play food, crafts, baby toys and learning toys. The toys use real wood and real ceramic crafts and are appropriate for ages 0-13.
“Melissa and Doug items last longer,” Tedesco says. “They are wooden and not plastic and there is a variety of different things from infant on up.”
At Learning Express, Bahm expects the Melissa and Doug grocery mart to be a big seller this holiday season. They also carry traditional play sets.
“It’s a terrific product,” Bahm says of M&D. “It has been consistent for us for years. Everybody knows the brand.”
While Learning Express targets ages from newborn up to the tween years, it provides toys for boys and girls and toys that are gender-neutral.
“Girls are a little easier to market to at the tween level because the boys start to gravitate to toys like X-Box,” Bahm says. “We have Lego, but when we get into some of these robotic kits, which are gender neutral, we are helping us hold the customers a little bit longer because of STEM or STEAM programs. There is a lot of push toward science. That is really a strength for us.”
Tech toys, like Gizmo, a robotic dog, are expected to continue to be big sellers for Learning Express.
“As more people have access to phones and iPads, a lot of the tech is moving to the iPhone and iPad and then part of the toy,” Bahm says. “We have robotics, a lot of kits, various things that actually leverage the fact that everybody has a computer in their pocket and can be used to enhance the toys. It’s all an interesting branch of the toy market because we are at the point where pretty much kids have access.”
At Go! Kids have access to most everything, too. In addition to Treasure X, Hotel Transylvania toys, Paw Patrol toys, Cars 3, Nerf as well as the Funko Pop figurine dolls are always big, says Tedesco. So are planners, which Day By Day will emphasize.
“Calendars are a huge Christmas item,” she says. “They are an easy gift that you can give to anybody. There is something for everyone. At Day By Day, you will be able to make your own custom calendars and planners.”
By planning ahead of time, toy stores can predict the market. Each February, Bahm attends the International Toy Fair in New York to see the new products and discuss what Christmas is going to look like. With the demise of Toys R Us, for franchises like Learning Express and Go! it is going to be a very green and happy holiday.
“We’ve seen an uptick,” says Tedesco. “It’s very busy right now.”
“We’re ready to go,” agrees Bahm. “We have a good gauge on what’s going to be in demand for the holiday.”
Unlike mass market, Bahm says that the benefit of being a smaller store is that he can change direction rather quickly. But the bottom line for him is quality and customer service.
“People choose to spend their money here, so I want to make sure they get a good product.”