Playdates 2001 'Top 10 Best Selling Toys' has anointed Lego's Bionicles as the best-selling toy line for the 2001 holiday season.  PlayDate 2001 provides early predictions on what toys will be bestsellers based on an annual survey of retailers.  PlayDate contacts a broad selection of toy stores, software stores, specialty stores, national retail chains, and online retailers, including Toys 'R' Us, toysrus.com, Electronics Boutique, Walmart, Kmart, Meiers, Blockbuster, and independent toy specialty shops. 

 

Lego launched its own Bionicles products along with a host of licensed accompaniments, including comics and a CCG, earlier this year (see 'Bionicles:  Lego's Integrated Approach To Creating a Toy Boom').  In the wake of widespread sellouts (we note that the two largest online toy retailers are sold out of many skus today), Lego has reportedly expanded production to try to meet the holiday demand. 

 

Richard Kummer, CEO of ACD Distribution, the only specialty distributor carrying the toys, told us that he had 'pallets' of the hard-to-find toys in his warehouse.  Rather than waiting to gauge demand before ordering, he said ACD had ordered heavily based on the belief that the toys would be a hit.  His gamble turned out to be correct.  And although ACD is known primarily as a game distributor, he said they're actually selling more of the toys than they are of the Upper Deck Bionicles CCG, which is also doing well.  The Bionicles CCG is widely available from game distributors; for the toys, retailers can try ACD while they still have stock available.