Evergreens play to consumers

NEW YORK — Retailers who stick with proven characters should see the strongest sell-through in the toy category. Charles Riotto, president of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association, said that, in addition to value, consumers want evergreen licenses to carry the assurance of quality that consumers desire in this economy.


Disney Princesses remained strong and got a boost from the recent release of “Tangled.” 
“Toy Story 3,” “Cars” and “Thomas the Tank Engine” 
are still huge.


This holiday season, Mattel’s new Monster High line of dolls was big with tween girls; boys liked Cartoon Network’s “Ben 10”; and Justin Bieber was everywhere.