Chatsworth-based toy maker MGA Entertainment, Inc has launched a $229 mini-mansion, which features a swimming pool, drive-in theater and waterslide. The LOL OMG House Of Surprises just hit the shelves ahead of the holiday season at Target Corp, Walmart Inc. and Amazon.
But folks at MGA and other retail leaders urged consumers not to wait too long to snap up toys or other items that top your holiday list.
“Get out and buy toys now,” said Ed Desmond, executive vice president of the Toy Association said this week. “If you see toys you think the kids are going to want for Christmas, pick them up now and tuck them away to make sure you have them. Right now, stores have a pretty healthy supply. We just don’t know what’s going to happen when we get down the road closer to Christmas.”
RELATED: Do your holiday shopping now, toy executive says, as port congestion continues in LA, Long Beach
Desmond’s remarks came during Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka’s monthly online news conference to provide updates on what has been an unprecedented, months-long, record-breaking surge in cargo.
MGA Entertainment is one of many toy companies grappling to secure sufficient supply reaches the shelves ahead of when most folks start purchasing gifts.
Since October, ports have been scrambling to clear the backlog due to lack of access to empty containers, shortage of equipment and longshore workers who move cargo off of the ships. Currently, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have a record of 146 ships.
“Because of the shipping container crisis, there is going to be a major shortage of toy products this year but the demand is still going to be there,” Isaac Larian, MGA CEO and founder, wrote in an email. “What is not going to be there is the product to fill the demand, so I highly encourage shoppers and parents to buy now for the holidays.”
Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero said a week ago that both ports will need to continue adapting to the ongoing consumer demands that require port efficiency and a close watch on port customer costs.
Jonathan Gold, vice president of Supply Chain and Customs Policies for the National Retail Federation, said the organization’s holiday outlook won’t be released for a few weeks.
But, he said, early holiday shopping is anticipated this year.
Desmond, meanwhile, said more in-person shopping is expected compared to the 2020 holidays, when the country was in the middle of a deadly winter surge of the coronavirus.
“As things have opened back up,” Gold agreed, “the economy is in a much different spot than it was last year.”
The ports Friday announced new measures, including expanded truck pickup and return hours, to improve freight movement and reduce delays.
Both ports announced they will expand the number of hours that trucks can return and pick up containers, and the Port of Long Beach is expanding operations into nighttime as a first step toward reaching a 24/7 supply chain.
Larian, meanwhile, expects his posh new pink-and-blue doll-dwelling to fly off the shelves.
“Kids love dollhouses,” Larian said. “Parents want sustainability. We combined both — this is a wooden dollhouse — that fits all dolls small and big and fashion dolls including Rainbow High, Bratz, Nanana surprise, LOL OMG and even Barbie.”
The LOL OMG House of Surprises rotates 360 degrees and offers a 1980s aesthetic and 10 spinning rooms with a rooftop patio, stocked-up fridge and swimming pool, which can be filled with water. Dolls can be purchased separately.
Amandine Consorti, the company’s vice president of design, said she drew inspiration for the toy “from different art and design styles. Design details and color palettes came from 20’s Art Deco architecture to 50’s Retro Diners and 80’s bright neons, geometric shapes and tossed prints.”
Staff writer Donna Littlejohn and City News Service contributed to this report
