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Article: Low-tech toy sales roll on: Classics remain vital to $22.6 billion industry.(Business)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- November 20, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Furby, a talking plush toy with a computer processor equal to a 1970s PC, has become the runaway hit toy for Christmas 1998. But classic, low-tech toys are more than holding their own.
In fact, low-tech industry dinosaurs such as toy cars, dolls and crayons are still the foundation of the $22.6 billion toy business, according to retailers.
Of the 20 best-selling toys for October, half came from such decades-old brands as Hot Wheels, Barbie, Matchbox and Crayola, according to the NPD Group, which tracks the retail industry.
"There are a number of things, such as video games, that wax and wane substantially in popularity and are very cyclical, ...