Sunday, August 1, 2010

USA Today article on Silly Bandz sales


Silly Bandz stretch into a trend


TOLEDO, Ohio - For all the kids who live to have Silly Bandz dangling from their wrists — and for all the grown-ups befuddled by the rubber-band bracelets that have taken over pop culture — here's the news: It's only the beginning.
Silly Bandz and its gaggle of copycat rivals aren't taking a summer vacation.
 
Instead, they're spending the summer rolling out related products — such as Silly Necklaces that can hold gobs of the bands and Silly Bandz that change colors in the sun. That's even as Silly Bandz and competitors Logo Bandz, Crazy Bands and Zanybandz prepare for a back-to-school onslaught.
No one is more blown away by Silly Bandz mania than Robert Croak, 47, the Silly Bandz man and CEO of BCP Imports. He talked and hawked with USA TODAY in his first substantive interview about the serious business of Silly Bandz.
"My dream was to be a pro baseball player — or an inventor," says the quasi-punk-haired, bespectacled Croak, who thrives on acting zany — much like a Curious George with business savvy.
He says his clearest memory of his childhood here is taking apart toasters to see how they work. Now, he's taking apart Toyland with a $4.95-a-24-pack fad some retail experts say will leave Beanie Babies and Webkinz in the kid-trend dust. Bandz and imitators are estimated to now be a $200 million-a-year business — with $1 billion a future possibility.
Silly Bandz are basically rubber bands that hold shapes such as a cat, fairy princess or — coming soon — SpongeBob. Annual sales of the Silly Bandz brand alone are north of $100 million, Croak says, vs. $10,000 just two years ago.
"All of this came from one guy, not some major corporation with huge teams of designers," says Croak, who has three designers on staff. "It's me — and my toys."
His toys have become an unlikely national hit, and for the past year, Croak, a bachelor, has worked 14- to 17-hour days — seven days a week. "Would you close if you were me?"
So immersed is Croak in his business that he recently sold his home to move into a loft he carved out above his company headquarters, which take up the better part of two city blocks. "I have to put the company first right now — and put my own life on hold."
It's no more just kids. Some college bookstores are stocking them for back-to-school.
Even celebs have become Silly Bandz trend-feeders. Sarah Jessica Parker and Mary-Kate Olsen have been seen in them (and, no, they weren't paid to be). There's talk a Justin Bieber-endorsed Silly Bandz is coming, but the company won't confirm.
There has been some pushback on the fad that's caught up boys and girls alike: Silly Bandz have been banned at some schools, summer camps and pools. But that only adds to their cachet with kids, who don't really give a hoot if the bands occasionally distract them from lessons, challenge blood circulation or clog pool filters.
What matters is they're cool.
"This is the American Dream," says Croak, who has snubbed a $10 million offer for the brand — which he says isn't for sale. "This is way too much fun for me to take the money and run."
'Keeping the fad alive'
His dream has made him a multimillionaire, though he's hardly had the time to spend any money. He pulls a thick wad of cash out of one pocket and smiles as he displays the Silly Bandz he uses as a money clip. His favorite outfit is a pair of tattered jeans and T-shirt with a smiling face that simply says "Mr. Happy." Is he ever.
One year ago, the company had eight phone lines. Today, it has 48. One year ago, the company had 20 U.S. employees. Today, it has 400 in the USA and 3,000 in China, where Silly Bandz are made. One year ago, it was selling 100 packs of Silly Bandz a week. Today, it's selling 1 million.
Other marketers are trying to ride the wave: Quiznos has a Silly Bandz kids meal on tap. Toys R Us has a big Silly Bandz back-to-school promo in the works. Marvel Comics and Nickelodeon recently signed licensing deals. Silly Bandz books and board games are being considered. There's discussion of a Silly Bandz watch. And there are plans for Silly Bandz sales globally.
"All the stars have lined up for this one," says Paul Kurnit, founder of the youth marketing consultants KidShop. "The big question is: When will it drop dead?"
It may be sooner than Silly Bandz plans, says Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of TimetoPlayMag.com, a toy-rating website. "When you have something that is available everywhere, the problem is keeping the fad alive."
While versions of the rubber bands have been sold for years, Croak's novelty company, which also makes custom silicone bracelets similar to the popular LiveStrong bracelet, started to make Silly Bandz in 2008. Croak had seen animal bands made by a Japanese designer at a trade show. He got lucky. His caught on.
Croak insists that Silly Bandz isn't a fad but a trend that he believes has a solid five years to go. He points out that it still hasn't hit much of the West Coast, let alone the rest of the world. "It will," he says.
As he takes a reporter on a tour of the ramshackle headquarters, Croak rattles off the names — even nicknames — of workers. The frenetic activity to move Silly Bandz out the door is non-stop. A UPS truck is loaded by big-shouldered employees with hundreds of cases destined for retailers nationwide. Some order takers multitask, slapping price stickers on Silly Bandz boxes headed for retailers as they work the phones.
From his own cluttered office, Croak doubles as a highly paid security guard, constantly monitoring a screen that displays 32 video camera views of the company's interior and exterior.
It's not that he doesn't trust his workers. But when he travels, which is often, he likes being able to see what's going on in all corners of his company from his computer.
The company's never bought an ad. All Silly Bandz marketing has been word-of-mouth and viral via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Silly Bandz-infatuated families have sometimes shown up at the company's front door, pleading for a factory tour. But the factory is in China. The headquarters is a design hub, warehouse and shipping center. Sympathetic employees sometimes take visitors on a quick tour and send them off with a pack of the latest bands.
Instead of importing Silly Bandz by boat, Croak pays about five times the price to fly them in. That cuts normal delivery time from the factory to four days from four weeks. He's jetting in hundreds of cases a day, each containing 576 retail packs.
The numbers help feed the trading frenzy. Kids love to trade, and that, says Yale child psychologist Dorothy Singer, is a key to Silly Bandz's success. "Trading is part of the friendship pattern," she says. By wearing them, she says, kids who may think they are acting as individuals are making themselves fit into the group.
Traveling fast
Silly Bandz have quickly gone from schoolyards to summer camps. Parents dash into Auntie Penny's gift shop in Chappaqua, N.Y., to load up on Silly Bandz for surprise gifts in their kids' camp trunks, says Eve Spence, who owns the store.
On Croak's wrist is his favorite Silly Bandz, the crown. "It leads to thoughts of being on top of the food chain."
Toys R Us is convinced the Silly Bandz craze is for real. It's selling "tens of thousands" of packs daily, says Karen Dodge, chief merchandizing officer. "This could be the hottest toy of the year."
And 7-Eleven, which sells several rival brands, figures it's sold 1.2 million packs in fewer than five months, and they aren't even in half its stores yet. "I'm not sure I've seen anything of this magnitude," says Kris Nelson, senior director of non-foods.
Not that Croak's done everything right.
Croak concedes that Silly Bandz was slow to get into licensing. Rival Forever Collectibles beat him to that and has Major League Baseball and Disney under contract, with bands sporting shapes from New York Yankees logos to Tinker Bell.
"The only thing that sells faster than this stuff is milk," says Michael Lewis, CEO of Forever Collectibles


More News Articles on Sales of Silly Bandz

Grade School Currency: Silly Bandz

April 30, 2010 by Kyle Martinak 
Filed under Kids Toys




silly bandz2 Grade School Currency: Silly Bandz
I predict the next big craze will be paperclips with crazy plaid and animal print patterns.
Remember that useless collection of objects that decided your status in grade school? Tell Beanie Babies to slide down the bench, because the new generation is hooked on Silly Bandz.

With Sales Like This, They’re Not So Silly

Available in any color, Silly Bandz are silicon-based rubber bands that kids can wear as bracelets and necklaces. The real selling point: when not stretched out, Silly Bandz are molded into funky shapes and letters. There are animal sets, rock band themed sets (dubbed “Rock Bandz”), and even princess themed sets. Like all standard rubber bands, Silly Bandz retain their shape when not stretched.
Kids enjoy trading them and showing off their collections by wearing them all like sleeves. Packs of 24 cost anywhere from five to eight dollars on Amazon, and Silly Bandz hold eight of the top ten bestseller slots in the Toys and Games category as I write this. Impressive. Most impressive.
Silly Bandz Rock Bandz Grade School Currency: Silly Bandz
So simple, but hey, whatever works.
Apparently, Silly Bandz have been causing a little ruckus in some schools, and have been banned due to distraction. Parents, don’t let this worry you. Every classroom has opportunities for distraction, and kids will make a toy out of anything. In fact, the banning has only made the craze more outrageous, just as it does for every tradable contraband item in schools.
Also, according to an April 17 article in the New York Times, there is a Silly Bandz page on Facebook with over 83,000 fans…and counting.
Well, what can I say about these little buggers? They look like fun. It is so uplifting to see that the biggest craze in elementary classrooms isn’t technology-based. When you think about it, rubber bands have been around for so long, and kids have always been fascinated with the pliability of rubber. This product takes that basic childhood interest in an existing product and takes it in the next logical step (speaking of which, I vaguely remember the birth of duct tape wallets in school).
At first, I mused that Silly Bandz were a little expensive, especially considering the amount of labor and materials that goes into their creation. Then I remembered that video games are $60, and action figures are $10. Silly Bandz would certainly be a welcome alternative for parents and checkbooks alike. Keep in mind before buying them, they tend to break after a while, and naturally they are easily lost.
If there is one thing that really impresses me about Silly Bandz, it is the ability to wear a whole collection. When I was a kid, and yo-yos suddenly became the coolest thing ever (it was 1996, go figure), it wasn’t like you could bring thirty Duncan brand yo-yos to school. The Beanie Babies that every girl in my class collected were too cumbersome as well. Even a full deck of Pokemon cards required a large cargo pocket, coincidentally at the same time cargo pants were in vogue. But Silly Bandz don’t even need to be carried.
Grade school fads are mostly harmless, I think. Especially Silly Bandz, which prove to me that children still have imagination, and don’t require USB cords to have a good time.

Another Recent article on the silly bandz craze

July 19 

Kids collecting and trading Silly Bandz in serious numbers

The bands are cheap, widely available – and now banned by schools in several states for being too distracting.

They're brightly multicolored and scented. Coveted ones glow in the dark. They look like ordinary rubber bands when you see them stacked by the dozens on the wrists of a child, but then they transform into polar bears, letters of the alphabet, mythical creatures, princesses and rock band paraphernalia almost as if by magic.

click image to enlarge
Dominique Hamilton wears her Silly Bandz while playing a game of Mancala. Popularity of the colorful rubber bands that retain specific shapes has exploded. Kids wear, trade and collect them.
Kat Franchino/Staff Photographer

click image to enlarge
Children display their Silly Bandz at Portland’s Riverton Community Center day camp. Robert Croak, founder of BCP Imports, said annual sales of the bands were $10,000 two years ago but now top $100 million.
Kat Franchino/Staff Photographer

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS BELOW

If you have a child in your life, chances are you know about Silly Bandz or one of its competitors.
Silly Bandz, essentially rubber bands that retain specific shapes, are the products of BCP Imports of Ohio. The bands have been on the market for a couple of years, but their populariey with kids has exploded in the last few months -- so much so that Disney and other companies have launched their own lines.
Schools in some states -- including Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Florida, but not Maine, reports Time.com -- have banned them because they are too distracting to students.
Silly Bandz and their ilk are "one of the biggest trends coming out of the recession," said Marshal Cohen, a chief industry analyst of international market research company NPD Group and author of "Buy Me! How to Get Customers to Choose Your Products and Ignore the Rest."
What makes these simple bands so hot?
They are inexpensive: Most run around $5 for a package of 24.
They are accessible: They can be bought from online outlets, convenience stores and retailers like Walgreens and Newbury Comics.
They are collectible: Kids trade them like baseball cards.
At Portland's Riverton Community Center day camp, about 45 fourth-graders (all of whom will be in fifth grade in the fall, as is repeatedly pointed out), hang around in groups discussing which ones they have and which they would like to have. Some trade them right off their wrists, while others carry them in plastic storage bags or looped on a key chain.
Keegan Morris, 10, stores his 30 mostly aquatic animal-shaped bands at home in a box he reserves for items he doesn't want others to get into. He doesn't like to wear the bands often because he thinks they're uncomfortable, but he does like trading them. (He's currently interested in wild animal bands.)
"I'm not really sure why I like them," he said. "I just like the way they look."
With bands representing all the letters of the alphabet on her left wrist, Carlee Michaud, 10, lays claim to owning 278 bands. "Silly Bandz are so much fun," she said. "They are so comfortable, and have so many designs, and you can trade them and share them with friends."
The trading aspect of the Silly Bandz fad is one of its driving forces, making an inert object interactive -- which, in turn, bumps up the bands' popularity and BCP Imports' sales.
The company claims its Silly Bandz packages have blasted to youth obsession without any advertising done on its end. In an interview earlier this month with USA Today, Robert Croak, founder of BCP Imports, said annual sales of the bands were $10,000 two years ago but are now more than $100 million.
Boys and girls alike are obsessed and, as inexplicable as it may seem, adults -- and not just ones with children -- are wearing the child's fashion accessory. Big names in the celebrity world, including actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Mary-Kate Olsen, rock musician Charlie Mars and model Agyness Deyn, have been seen wearing them.
Brittney French, a 21-year-old from Auburn who will be a senior at Bates College in Lewiston this fall, was introduced to Silly Bandz by her 15-year-old sister Taylor.
French wears them, she said, to "get the trendy feeling." While she thinks they are not visually appealing when seen bunched on a wrist, she finds their ability to transform mind-boggling. "I always ask her (Taylor) to take them on and off because they transform into these shapes," she said. "It's kind of weird."
Meredith Alex, an eco-fashion designer and installation artist whose business MadGirl World, is based in Portland, appreciates the bands' appeal.
"One of the things that amazes me the most is this technology that holds them in their shape, time after time after time," she said. "It's kind of magical. How does that happen?"
Alex, who was given two bands by a 3-year-old, also thinks their appeal is a matter of community building.
"They're connecting people," she said. "They're connecting adults and children with no words being exchanged. That's cool."
Staff Writer Stephanie Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6455 or at:

The Silly Bandz Craze

The Silly Bandz Craze



The Silly Bandz Craze

Jul 24, 2010 Kimberly Sernel

The Silly Bandz craze hits the street. - Melinda Shelton
The Silly Bandz craze hits the street. - Melinda Shelton
Insight into the creation of Silly Bandz, the growth of the product, and why kids are so crazy for the hottest fad since the Beanie Babies of the 1990s.

Fads come and go and it is usually difficult to predict their staying power. One of the newest fads of today relates to a flimsy-looking neon rubber band, typically worn in bunches by preteen girls. These bands are not the same jelly bracelets Madonna made famous in the 1980’s, rather, these are the newest, hippest, craze of the 2010’s, Silly Bandz.

The Origination of Silly Bandz

The origin of the Silly Bandz craze began with Robert Croak, who Susan Berfield of Business Week reports “went from promoting concerts in east Toledo to the center of one of the hottest kiddie crazes in years.” Croak had been selling custom t-shirts, mugs, and other random paraphernalia for quite some time, when he went to a China trade show with a business partner. There he saw rubber bands that stretched into animal shapes.

Taking a step back, Croak considered changing these bands into a thicker material worn as an accessory. While the idea itself was not original and previously marketed in the US, the concept of turning the silicone jelly rubber bands into tradable pieces of jewelry was innovative. Also unique is the purely viral advertising approach, which truly represents the organic development of the product and the power available to the entrepreneur with little extra cash to spend on a marketing campaign.

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The Growth of Silly Bandz

When Silly Bandz are worn, they appear as weirdly-wavy bracelets. The bracelets become uniquely shaped objects when removed and placed on a flat surface. Since the creation of the original animal shapes, the company now offers a variety of options that include Western themes, Princesses, and Rockbandz. Generally, the sales of the Bandz come in packs of 24 for under $5. While Silly Bandz is a private business without public sales figures, Berfield writes that estimated profit margins are at 75% after considering both shipping and packaging costs.

Another sign of the success of the product is the rise of competition. Now included in the race for the consumer is the Birmingham, Alabama based Zanybandz and even more daunting is Disney’s alignment with the competitor Character Bandz/Forever Collectibles. Sean McGowan, a toy industry analyst for Needham & Co says, “Very often a second company ignites the whole market.” Rapid growth and potential for the product's longevity is also evidenced by the quicker than normal expansion of the Bandz into the faith-based market.

While Silly Bandz are not at the level of the Beanie Babies fad of the 1990’s, there is promise. In addition, licensing opportunities abound for Silly Bandz, with names like The Simpsons and Dora the Explorer in the mix along with promises of extensions into celebrity packs with sports and entertainment figures.

Why Do Kids Love Silly Bandz?

Anthony Mason of CBS News reports on how hugely popular the bracelets are with kids, some wearing so many on their arms they are cutting off circulation. Fox News reports that stores can hardly keep the bracelets stocked. The kids actively try to outdo each other by having the most bracelets and trading them amongst one another, turning them into a sort of playground currency.

The Silly Bandz craze is becoming so intense that some classroom teachers outlawed wearing the bracelets in school. Tara George of the New York Times reports that in some New Jersey school districts, arguments amongst students were erupting, with some students stealing the Bandz from other students who had many. It appears, however, that banning the bracelets has only intensified their collectability, further ratcheting up the craze.

Predictions for Silly Bandz

While many cannot forget other previous fads like Pokémon or Beanie Babies, the future predictions for the Silly Bandz craze remain unclear. Due to their affordability and collectability, the bracelets continue to be a hot commodity. Whether or not they have market staying power, however, is undecided. Creator Robert Croak insists that there is unlimited potential. He also notes that all fads fade and he accepts it, but will not allow it to limit his attempt to fully maximize the promise of his creation.

© 2010 Kimberly Sernel


Read more at Suite101: The Silly Bandz Craze http://tweenteenfashion.suite101.com/article.cfm/the-silly-bandz-craze#ixzz0vO3SyplO