The toy industry may have missed out on the broader spending spree ahead of the holidays, as the loss of Toys “R” Us Inc. proved too much of a disruption during a critical time of year, the Wall Street Journal reported. U.S. toy sales fell at a high-single digit percentage in the fourth quarter, according to UBS data, with the two weeks before Christmas failing to provide as big a lift as it did in previous years. The firm estimates that other retailers picked up only about half the sales that would have been done at Toys “R” Us, which liquidated its operations over the summer. That leaves a big gap for the toy industry, as Toys “R” Us last year sold about $2 billion worth of toys in the last two months of the year, including $1.4 billion in December. Retailers fought hard for those displaced sales, with Target Corp., Walmart Inc. and others adding larger toy selections for the holidays and other chains opening temporary toy stores to cater to holiday crowds. Many scrambled to keep their shelves filled right up until Christmas Eve for last-minute shoppers. Online retailers also went after the toy business, with Amazon.com putting out its first physical toy catalog. The results may prove worse at Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. UBS estimates that the two large, publicly traded toy companies broadly lost market share in the fourth quarter, with Hasbro brands like Nerf and My Little Pony and Mattel’s Fisher-Price struggling.
