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Johannesburg - Redgwoods, the owner of SA's biggest toy retailers Toys R Us and Reggie's, said on Friday that it had delivered a satisfactory performance in December, as sales grew 10% compared with the same month the year before.
"With the retail sector experiencing a flat trading pattern, we are happy with the growth, which was largely spurred by an aggressive store rollout in the second half of 2010," said director Issy Zimmerman.
Last year, Redgwoods opened six stores and refurbished its flagship global brand store, Toys R Us in the Canal Walk shopping centre in Cape Town.
In preparation for the festive season, Redgwoods last year embarked on an aggressive TV advertising campaign, with 200 spots in October and November highlighting baby, toy and gifting ideas.
Internationally, toy giant Mattel reported that fourth-quarter earnings were up, buoyed by sales of Barbie dolls, which increased for the first time in two years.
The fashion icon, introduced by Mattel in 1959, turned 50 last year.
During the three months ending December 31, Mattel's profit rose to $328.4m, or US$0.89 per share.
The group's improvement comes on the back of a less-than-stellar festive season in 2009, which saw its weakest holiday season in decades, where profit slid by nearly half and revenue dropped by 11%.
Sales of Barbie rose 12% in the quarter, including a 9% rise in the US and a 14% jump internationally.
Mattel's better performance was also due to an aggressive global cost-cutting programme and price increases taken over 2010.
Another hot item for Mattel over Christmas was legendary toy car Hot Wheels, which saw sales increase 16%, but Fisher Price fared less well, with sales dipping 3% due to lower sales of high-priced items.
Internationally, the holiday season in the US can account for half of toy makers' annual sales.
Meanwhile, Zimmerman said that, coupled with a highly competitive pricing model, which has been aided by a strong rand and direct import facilities, Redgwoods was able to deliver the best prices to its customers.
According to Derek Engelbrecht, the retail and consumer products sector leader at Ernst & Young, many retailers were expected to cut prices during the festive season.
He said that the biggest price discounts were expected for durable goods, including electronics and toys.
"Because many of these good are imported, the lack of retailer pricing power is partly a function of the sustained strength of the rand exchange rate against, especially, the US dollar," he said last year.
Redgwoods, which also owns Baby & Company, said its top sellers over the festive season included Chatimals, which sold 10 000 units in five weeks.
Chatimals are stuffed hamster toys that repeat whatever you say when you squeeze one of their paws.
"As a result of Chatimals' popularity, we've ordered another shipment of these toys, which will include a parrot and a puppy launching for the first time in SA in early 2011," said Redgwoods.
Other big sellers were Toy Story 3 products and PlayStation 3 (PS3) hardware and accessories.
"Although the Toy Story 3 movie came out in June with lukewarm response to its merchandise, there was surprise resurgence in interest over the festive season, and the PS3 Move proved extremely popular, outselling its counterparts in the interactive gaming sector," said Zimmerman.
He said the company was upbeat about its projections for 2011, which would see it focusing on more organic growth as opposed to the aggressive expansion of stores over the past three years.
"For 2011 our efforts will be more introspective - streamlining our processes, reducing loss and increasing profits. We have only two major store refurbishments on the cards," Zimmerman said.
"With the retail sector experiencing a flat trading pattern, we are happy with the growth, which was largely spurred by an aggressive store rollout in the second half of 2010," said director Issy Zimmerman.
Last year, Redgwoods opened six stores and refurbished its flagship global brand store, Toys R Us in the Canal Walk shopping centre in Cape Town.
In preparation for the festive season, Redgwoods last year embarked on an aggressive TV advertising campaign, with 200 spots in October and November highlighting baby, toy and gifting ideas.
Internationally, toy giant Mattel reported that fourth-quarter earnings were up, buoyed by sales of Barbie dolls, which increased for the first time in two years.
The fashion icon, introduced by Mattel in 1959, turned 50 last year.
During the three months ending December 31, Mattel's profit rose to $328.4m, or US$0.89 per share.
The group's improvement comes on the back of a less-than-stellar festive season in 2009, which saw its weakest holiday season in decades, where profit slid by nearly half and revenue dropped by 11%.
Sales of Barbie rose 12% in the quarter, including a 9% rise in the US and a 14% jump internationally.
Mattel's better performance was also due to an aggressive global cost-cutting programme and price increases taken over 2010.
Another hot item for Mattel over Christmas was legendary toy car Hot Wheels, which saw sales increase 16%, but Fisher Price fared less well, with sales dipping 3% due to lower sales of high-priced items.
Internationally, the holiday season in the US can account for half of toy makers' annual sales.
Meanwhile, Zimmerman said that, coupled with a highly competitive pricing model, which has been aided by a strong rand and direct import facilities, Redgwoods was able to deliver the best prices to its customers.
According to Derek Engelbrecht, the retail and consumer products sector leader at Ernst & Young, many retailers were expected to cut prices during the festive season.
He said that the biggest price discounts were expected for durable goods, including electronics and toys.
"Because many of these good are imported, the lack of retailer pricing power is partly a function of the sustained strength of the rand exchange rate against, especially, the US dollar," he said last year.
Redgwoods, which also owns Baby & Company, said its top sellers over the festive season included Chatimals, which sold 10 000 units in five weeks.
Chatimals are stuffed hamster toys that repeat whatever you say when you squeeze one of their paws.
"As a result of Chatimals' popularity, we've ordered another shipment of these toys, which will include a parrot and a puppy launching for the first time in SA in early 2011," said Redgwoods.
Other big sellers were Toy Story 3 products and PlayStation 3 (PS3) hardware and accessories.
"Although the Toy Story 3 movie came out in June with lukewarm response to its merchandise, there was surprise resurgence in interest over the festive season, and the PS3 Move proved extremely popular, outselling its counterparts in the interactive gaming sector," said Zimmerman.
He said the company was upbeat about its projections for 2011, which would see it focusing on more organic growth as opposed to the aggressive expansion of stores over the past three years.
"For 2011 our efforts will be more introspective - streamlining our processes, reducing loss and increasing profits. We have only two major store refurbishments on the cards," Zimmerman said.
