Elsa and friends are more popular by a 3-percent margin.
Step aside Barbie, there’s a new queen in town — or rather, two Scandinavian princesses. This year, 20 percent of parents report that they intend to purchase merchandise from the hit movie Frozen, according to Fortune magazine.
This tops the percentage of parents who intend to buy Barbies for their daughters, which comes in at 17 percent.
The same magazine reported earlier this year that sales for Frozen-based toys, games, shirts and more could top $1 billion.
This is the first time Barbie hasn’t topped the list, since the National Retail Federation began ranking the holiday’s “Top Toys” in 2003.
Parents have been eager to purchase Frozen merchandise throughout the year — not just around the holiday season. According to Fortune, retailers were caught off guard earlier this year when the toys were in high demand. When many parents were unable to purchase the princess dolls for their children, they took to social media to vent their frustration.
Not anymore.
“We have over 300 items to choose from,” said Toys ‘R’ Us Chief Merchandising Officer Richard Barry. In addition he noted that the employees of the mega toy retailer are working “hard to make sure we have supply every day for the holiday season, but there is a wide assortment. We feel good about our position.”
Frozen merchandise, which not surpasses Barbie in popularity, is one of the hottest series of toy items to hit industry in a decade.
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