| Fashion News Montanna |
In search of the 'must have' gifts
BY KEIKO MORRIS
tami.luhby@newsday.com
7:51 PM EST, December 12, 2007
The demand for the Nintendo Wii outpaced supplies last year and the craze still continues. The Hannah Montana dolls and just about everything
else stamped with the Disney teen star's name and image are also selling out quickly, retail experts have noticed. And then there's Amazon's Kindle
e-book device, which sold out in 5 and a half hours after its unveiling.
These and other popular "must have" items, including the Fisher-Price Smart Cycle and Hasbro's Guitar Hero, have been flying off the shelves this
holiday season, exceeding manufacturers' optimistic expectations.
The frustrated customer who has mounted an intense search both online and in the car for these products may view these shortages as a grand
conspiracy to drive demand, even create a frenzy, but retail experts say that gauging the supply is a tricky calculation, especially for toys and higher
priced items like the Wii.
"The toy industry has always been about maintaining healthy inventory levels, especially when you have 50 percent of the business coming in the
last two months of the year," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the Port Washington-based NPD Group. "Carrying excess inventory is
an unprofitable way to do business both for the retailer and the manufacturer and the toy industry would rather be in a lean position than an
abundant one."
Retail experts say it's hard to tell how long an item's popularity will last. "Manufacturers can't just wiggle their nose and snap their fingers and have
the products exist," said Jonathan Samet, publisher of "The Toy Insider," a consumer guide. "Early in the year they forecast [supply] based on
orders they get from retailers. Basically it's a good six to seven week cycle from when they decide to make a product to when they get it on the
shelf."
The Nintendo Wii's longevity has surprised many, including the company. Production has already been boosted more than once, the company said
in a statement, and the company is increasing the number of systems it supplies to retailers. Nintendo Co. increased its fiscal-year projections of
how many units it will produce by 25 percent, from 14 million to 17.5 million, the company also said.
"Wii is an incredibly popular system, and it continues to surpass even our aggressive expectations," the company said. "If it were possible to snap
our fingers and manufacture millions more, we would do it. We're continually putting more and more Wiis into the pipeline, but they all sell through
almost instantly."
Though designed and marketed to appeal to a broad base of not just the usual video-game consumer of 18- to 34-year-old men, retail experts say the
gaming console has become a mainstream appliance for home theater systems and has been spotted in atypical places such as senior centers.
"Nobody predicted it would be this cross-over sensation and appeal to so many different demographics, that senior citizens would be playing Wii,"
said Chris Byrne, a toy expert and contributing editor for Toy Wishes magazine. "I don't think they anticipated the breadth of the demand and they
don't want to increase demand so they don't lose money when they plateau."
The Hannah Montana fashion dolls by Play Along as well as the wigs, electronic guitars, wireless microphones and the concert stage and tour bus
play sets have been introduced over the last several months and have taken off, retail experts say. JAKKS Pacific, which owns the Play Along
brand, knew that Hannah Montana items would be in high demand, but said they have still been surprised by how well the toys and accessories are
selling.
"When we signed on with the property, we knew that Hannah was hot," said Genna Rosenberg, spokeswoman for JAKKS Pacific Inc. "We didn't
know she was completely on fire."
The company, however, has been careful to maintain a steady supply of products to its retailers and, at the same time, has been careful to not
oversaturate the market, especially because they expect to have a healthy Hannah Montana business for years to come, Rosenberg said.
The release of Hannah Montana products, particularly the doll, in time for the holiday season and her ubiquitous presence on TV, live in concert
and on the Internet have created the perfect conditions for a best-selling holiday item, the experts said.
"You've got the celebrity connection, a trend onto itself, the action figure doll, which has always been on the top-seller list for the holiday, and now
you add the fact that she's in the midst of a concert tour where tickets were sold out," Cohen said. "Mom and dad know who she is and what she
stands for and is engaged in watching the show with the kids at the same time. That it's a new product in limited supply creates the ultimate perfect
storm."
Concert To Feature Special Guest Aly & AJ
Tickets On Sale Saturday, Dec. 15 at noon
LAS VEGAS - By popular demand, multi-platinum recording artist and star of the hit Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana,"
Miley Cyrus will extend the "Best of Both Worlds" nationwide concert tour through January 31, 2008. Cyrus kicked off the 55-date tour
October 18 in St. Louis in support of her double platinum two-disc set effort, Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (Walt Disney
Records/Hollywood Records). The tour will land at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Friday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 19. The Friday
show will begin at 7 p.m. and the Saturday show will begin at 4 p.m.
Tickets priced at $66, $56, $43.50 and $26 including applicable service charges and taxes, go on sale Saturday, Dec. 15 at noon. at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Tickets also will be sold at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith's Food and Drug
Centers, Macy's West at the Fashion Show Mall and Ritmo Latino) and ticket sales are limited to a total of four (4) per person. To
charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.
com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Wristband distribution will begin Saturday, Dec. 15 at 6 a.m. and end at 11 a.m. A random number will then be drawn and a line-up will
be in sequential order beginning with the random number selected. Individuals must be 16 years of age to receive a wristband and
wristband guidelines will be provided at the on-sale. A wristband does not guarantee that a ticket can be purchased.
Beginning January 11, fans will experience a "Girls Night Out" when special guests Hollywood Records' platinum recording artists Aly
& AJ join the tour.
"Like Whoa" is Aly & AJ's next single from their critically acclaimed album Insomniatic, which also will be featured in the upcoming
Disney Channel Original Movie "Minutemen." More information on Aly & AJ can be found at www.alyandaj.com.
Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records are part of the Disney Music Group, the recorded music and music publishing arm of the
Walt Disney Company. More information on "Hannah Montana" and Miley Cyrus can be found at www.disneyrecords.com, www.
mileyworld.com and www.mileycyrus.com.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers
comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events
to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd
Mayweather and George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen,
Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, Sting, Jimmy Buffett
and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena is also home to the annual Andre Agassi Grand Slam
for Children Benefit and the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMA).
'Hannah Montana' Star Is Nice and Stylish
Saturday, December 01, 2007
It's the first day of December and that means two things. The holidays are right around the corner and if you want presents, you better
have been good this year. Secondly, it's that time of year where countdowns and lists are made of the best and worst events and
happenings of the years. Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus star ended up on two lists that would make any parent proud. In a recent
poll, Cyrus was named the nicest celebrity by children ages 2-12. Seventeen magazine also named her one of the most stylish stars of
2007. It seems it was a good year for the young Disney star! Your Take
logsterstarr021 said: the ? means love see all » lulibelen said: Very nice... I love Miley/Hannah see all » logsterstarr021 said: ? means
love see all »
A former Disney star herself, Britney Spears did not make the nice list this year. Instead, she topped the poll's naughty list along with
sometimes-friend Paris Hilton. Over 1100 children were polled by E-Poll Market Research to gather the data. The children were asked
what qualities someone like Miley Cyrus would have to possess in order top that nice list. They suggested "cleaning up and doing
chores," "sharing" and "being honest and polite" among their answers.
Cyrus was also selected as one of Seventeen magazine's "Style Stars" for their December/January issue, on stands now. Singer
Rihanna, former star of The OC Rachel Bilson, "Harry Potter" actress Emma Watson, and the ladies of the CW's Gossip Girls are also
featured in the issue. Cyrus was chosen for maintaining an innocent, youthful image for her fans. However, Seventeen fashion
director Gina Kelly says that it will be a fine line to walk as she gets older and more famous. "I'd love to see her evolve a little but also
keep her youthfulness," she said.
Miley is currently on tour promoting her Best of Both Worlds album, in which she performs as both herself and Hannah Montana. She
also recently taped an appearance for Walt Disney World's Christmas Day Parade. A new episode of Hannah Montana airs this Friday.
BY KEIKO MORRIS
tami.luhby@newsday.com
7:51 PM EST, December 12, 2007
The demand for the Nintendo Wii outpaced supplies last year and the craze still continues. The Hannah Montana dolls and just about everything
else stamped with the Disney teen star's name and image are also selling out quickly, retail experts have noticed. And then there's Amazon's Kindle
e-book device, which sold out in 5 and a half hours after its unveiling.
These and other popular "must have" items, including the Fisher-Price Smart Cycle and Hasbro's Guitar Hero, have been flying off the shelves this
holiday season, exceeding manufacturers' optimistic expectations.
The frustrated customer who has mounted an intense search both online and in the car for these products may view these shortages as a grand
conspiracy to drive demand, even create a frenzy, but retail experts say that gauging the supply is a tricky calculation, especially for toys and higher
priced items like the Wii.
"The toy industry has always been about maintaining healthy inventory levels, especially when you have 50 percent of the business coming in the
last two months of the year," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the Port Washington-based NPD Group. "Carrying excess inventory is
an unprofitable way to do business both for the retailer and the manufacturer and the toy industry would rather be in a lean position than an
abundant one."
Retail experts say it's hard to tell how long an item's popularity will last. "Manufacturers can't just wiggle their nose and snap their fingers and have
the products exist," said Jonathan Samet, publisher of "The Toy Insider," a consumer guide. "Early in the year they forecast [supply] based on
orders they get from retailers. Basically it's a good six to seven week cycle from when they decide to make a product to when they get it on the
shelf."
The Nintendo Wii's longevity has surprised many, including the company. Production has already been boosted more than once, the company said
in a statement, and the company is increasing the number of systems it supplies to retailers. Nintendo Co. increased its fiscal-year projections of
how many units it will produce by 25 percent, from 14 million to 17.5 million, the company also said.
"Wii is an incredibly popular system, and it continues to surpass even our aggressive expectations," the company said. "If it were possible to snap
our fingers and manufacture millions more, we would do it. We're continually putting more and more Wiis into the pipeline, but they all sell through
almost instantly."
Though designed and marketed to appeal to a broad base of not just the usual video-game consumer of 18- to 34-year-old men, retail experts say the
gaming console has become a mainstream appliance for home theater systems and has been spotted in atypical places such as senior centers.
"Nobody predicted it would be this cross-over sensation and appeal to so many different demographics, that senior citizens would be playing Wii,"
said Chris Byrne, a toy expert and contributing editor for Toy Wishes magazine. "I don't think they anticipated the breadth of the demand and they
don't want to increase demand so they don't lose money when they plateau."
The Hannah Montana fashion dolls by Play Along as well as the wigs, electronic guitars, wireless microphones and the concert stage and tour bus
play sets have been introduced over the last several months and have taken off, retail experts say. JAKKS Pacific, which owns the Play Along
brand, knew that Hannah Montana items would be in high demand, but said they have still been surprised by how well the toys and accessories are
selling.
"When we signed on with the property, we knew that Hannah was hot," said Genna Rosenberg, spokeswoman for JAKKS Pacific Inc. "We didn't
know she was completely on fire."
The company, however, has been careful to maintain a steady supply of products to its retailers and, at the same time, has been careful to not
oversaturate the market, especially because they expect to have a healthy Hannah Montana business for years to come, Rosenberg said.
The release of Hannah Montana products, particularly the doll, in time for the holiday season and her ubiquitous presence on TV, live in concert
and on the Internet have created the perfect conditions for a best-selling holiday item, the experts said.
"You've got the celebrity connection, a trend onto itself, the action figure doll, which has always been on the top-seller list for the holiday, and now
you add the fact that she's in the midst of a concert tour where tickets were sold out," Cohen said. "Mom and dad know who she is and what she
stands for and is engaged in watching the show with the kids at the same time. That it's a new product in limited supply creates the ultimate perfect
storm."
Concert To Feature Special Guest Aly & AJ
Tickets On Sale Saturday, Dec. 15 at noon
LAS VEGAS - By popular demand, multi-platinum recording artist and star of the hit Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana,"
Miley Cyrus will extend the "Best of Both Worlds" nationwide concert tour through January 31, 2008. Cyrus kicked off the 55-date tour
October 18 in St. Louis in support of her double platinum two-disc set effort, Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (Walt Disney
Records/Hollywood Records). The tour will land at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Friday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 19. The Friday
show will begin at 7 p.m. and the Saturday show will begin at 4 p.m.
Tickets priced at $66, $56, $43.50 and $26 including applicable service charges and taxes, go on sale Saturday, Dec. 15 at noon. at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Tickets also will be sold at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith's Food and Drug
Centers, Macy's West at the Fashion Show Mall and Ritmo Latino) and ticket sales are limited to a total of four (4) per person. To
charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.
com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Wristband distribution will begin Saturday, Dec. 15 at 6 a.m. and end at 11 a.m. A random number will then be drawn and a line-up will
be in sequential order beginning with the random number selected. Individuals must be 16 years of age to receive a wristband and
wristband guidelines will be provided at the on-sale. A wristband does not guarantee that a ticket can be purchased.
Beginning January 11, fans will experience a "Girls Night Out" when special guests Hollywood Records' platinum recording artists Aly
& AJ join the tour.
"Like Whoa" is Aly & AJ's next single from their critically acclaimed album Insomniatic, which also will be featured in the upcoming
Disney Channel Original Movie "Minutemen." More information on Aly & AJ can be found at www.alyandaj.com.
Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records are part of the Disney Music Group, the recorded music and music publishing arm of the
Walt Disney Company. More information on "Hannah Montana" and Miley Cyrus can be found at www.disneyrecords.com, www.
mileyworld.com and www.mileycyrus.com.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers
comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events
to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd
Mayweather and George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen,
Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, Sting, Jimmy Buffett
and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena is also home to the annual Andre Agassi Grand Slam
for Children Benefit and the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMA).
'Hannah Montana' Star Is Nice and Stylish
Saturday, December 01, 2007
It's the first day of December and that means two things. The holidays are right around the corner and if you want presents, you better
have been good this year. Secondly, it's that time of year where countdowns and lists are made of the best and worst events and
happenings of the years. Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus star ended up on two lists that would make any parent proud. In a recent
poll, Cyrus was named the nicest celebrity by children ages 2-12. Seventeen magazine also named her one of the most stylish stars of
2007. It seems it was a good year for the young Disney star! Your Take
logsterstarr021 said: the ? means love see all » lulibelen said: Very nice... I love Miley/Hannah see all » logsterstarr021 said: ? means
love see all »
A former Disney star herself, Britney Spears did not make the nice list this year. Instead, she topped the poll's naughty list along with
sometimes-friend Paris Hilton. Over 1100 children were polled by E-Poll Market Research to gather the data. The children were asked
what qualities someone like Miley Cyrus would have to possess in order top that nice list. They suggested "cleaning up and doing
chores," "sharing" and "being honest and polite" among their answers.
Cyrus was also selected as one of Seventeen magazine's "Style Stars" for their December/January issue, on stands now. Singer
Rihanna, former star of The OC Rachel Bilson, "Harry Potter" actress Emma Watson, and the ladies of the CW's Gossip Girls are also
featured in the issue. Cyrus was chosen for maintaining an innocent, youthful image for her fans. However, Seventeen fashion
director Gina Kelly says that it will be a fine line to walk as she gets older and more famous. "I'd love to see her evolve a little but also
keep her youthfulness," she said.
Miley is currently on tour promoting her Best of Both Worlds album, in which she performs as both herself and Hannah Montana. She
also recently taped an appearance for Walt Disney World's Christmas Day Parade. A new episode of Hannah Montana airs this Friday.
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