Nov. 9--Aqua Dots, the arts-and-crafts toy recalled because it contains an ingredient found in date-rape drugs, also could prove hazardous to the health of the toy industry.
Record, The (Hackensack, NJ) (KRT) via NewsEdge Corporation :
Nov. 9--Aqua Dots, the arts-and-crafts toy recalled because it contains an ingredient found in date-rape drugs, also could prove hazardous to the health of the toy industry.
Aqua Dots lets children create pictures and objects out of plastic beads that adhere when wet. It was named a "top toy" for Christmas 2007 on a number of lists by industry experts and retailers, and retailers were counting on it to drive sales this year.
"Everyone in the industry is hoping this is the last recall, and that this is the last bump before the holidays," said Jim Silver, publisher of Toy Wishes, one of the magazines that picked Aqua Dots for its best toys list.
"This is a serious issue," Silver said, adding that the magazine immediately posted an alert on its Web site advising parents to keep the toy from children.
This latest recall is more bad news for Wayne-based retailer Toys "R" Us, the nation's second-largest toy seller.
Toys "R" Us has been buffeted by recalls as it prepared for what executives had hoped would be a breakthrough holiday season.
Toys "R" Us learned of the problem with the Aqua Dots toy on Tuesday, and "we immediately issued a stop sale" on the entire line in its stores and on its Web site, company spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh said in a statement. "We have asked Spin Master [the maker of Aqua Dots] to fully explain what it believes happened," Waugh said.
Spin Master, a Canadian toy company, distributes its toys primarily to mass-market retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Toys "R" Us Inc.
"They mostly sell to the big box stores," said independent toy store owner Dee Stevens, who operates The Grow-cery in Glen Rock. Stevens added that she doesn't sell Aqua Dots or other Spin Master toys. "Thank goodness for that," she said.
In a statement sent by e-mail to The Record on Thursday, Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg said, "The supplier of Aqua Dots notified us Nov. 7 that the company has stopped shipment of this product and asked retailers to remove the item from shelves. We have already directed our stores to remove these toys from store shelves and on walmart.com and have placed an electronic stop at our registers to prevent the sale of these items."
Wal-Mart has one Bergen County store, in Saddle Brook, two in Hudson County in Secaucus and Kearny and one in Riverdale in Morris County.
A poll by Maritz Research Inc. in October found that 77 percent of American consumers said the recalls will affect their holiday toy-buying decisions. Nearly 60 percent said they would be checking labels for country of origin, or avoiding toys from China.
"Retailers should be very concerned about 60 percent of shoppers saying they will check the label or avoid toys from China, since most toys -- especially at big box retailers -- are made in China," said Gloria Park Bartolone, vice president of Maritz Research's Retail Group. "It's possible for shoppers to change their minds and simply buy a toy from China, but many could become frustrated and look to alternative gifts or retailers."
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