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Skill Cranes Trend Positive With Innovative Products And Girl Power

As skill cranes continue to perform well for FECs and street operators, the need to ride the wave of the latest trends remains a paramount concern. The industry itself is, apparently, on an upward trend. Skill crane operators as well as suppliers have reported healthy gains within the past year that are expected to continue into 2018. While consumer confidence is at a high point along with employment rates, not all of the industry's gains can be credited to the economy. Both skill crane manufacturers and...

November 28, 2017

As skill cranes continue to perform well for FECs and street operators, the need to ride the wave of the latest trends remains a paramount concern. The industry itself is, apparently, on an upward trend. Skill crane operators as well as suppliers have reported healthy gains within the past year that are expected to continue into 2018.

While consumer confidence is at a high point along with employment rates, not all of the industry's gains can be credited to the economy. Both skill crane manufacturers and suppliers have been particularly aggressive in their approach to new products. While new lines of skill cranes have become more appealing in appearance. And, too, suppliers continue to innovate with both licensed and non-licensed plush products.

"The industry is definitely growing, and we've been growing as well," said Tabatha Bender of Redemption Plus. "We're growing different areas of our lines. For instance, we've added more products to our Glow Line. We've added a lot of ball items. And we're doing a lot of work on our kits. Now we're doing themed kits, such as a Valentine's Day kit, and other seasonal and holiday kits."

One trend that Bender and others have spotted among skill crane players is increased play among tweens and younger. "We have seen tween trends and below," she said. "I think they are more inclined to play the crane games today than in the past. They're also more attuned to the new trends than adults, which presents a challenge."

As Bender explained, among the favorite items her company is offering to appeal to this market is a fast-food themed plush mix that includes pizza, fries and hotdogs. Other favorites she said include an emoji-themed mix and llama-themed items. However, as Bender is quick to point out, these original items are in addition to the traditionally big selling licensed products that include long-standing superheroes and current movie hits, such as Minions.

Play Time Toys, known for its innovative "2 for 1 Buddy Mixes" that feature a plush toy paired with a candy or small toy item, continues to offer the unique concept. However, the company has continued to innovate with its Movie Mash Up mixes that feature a variety of licensed movie products in a single plush mix.

"One of the things we did this summer is we combined the four hot movies and called it a Movie Mash Up," said Play Time's Karen LaForce. "We did Guardians of the Galaxy, the Emoji Movie, Despicable Me and Spider Man all in one mix. And it worked better than anticipated." As LaForce explained, the cinematic-themed mixes, which were available in jumbo and regular sizes, were particularly popular in movie theaters and were more popular than a mix dedicated to a single film.

Girl Power

Perhaps the most notable current trend in skill crane merchandise is the popularity of products aimed at tween girls. According to industry veterans, this is a new demographic of skill crane players in both FECs and street locations.

"About a year ago, the girl products started going crazy, then we started developing more items and added them to crane mixes. They've been selling really well," said BMI Merchandise's Andrea Petaccio. "The industry never focused on the girl market. It was boys or gender neutral. Now I think it's becoming more equal. I think girls are playing the machines more. And I think that we're also getting much better at producing girl items and mixing them in."

Petaccio is not alone in noticing the trend. However, while her sentiments are echoed by virtually all major suppliers of skill crane plush, few can point to a clear-cut reason for the sudden popularity of skill cranes among tween girls. It remains unclear whether it was a previously neglected market that simply lacked merchandise or a new generation of tween girls for whom cranes are another game to play. It might even be the design of new skill cranes coming on the market, which hold appeal for tween girls as well as traditional players.

However, as industry pros note, the types of products that appeal to tween girls also seems to be changing. As one industry veteran explained, they are not an audience for which traditional princesses hold much appeal. Unicorns, llamas, food-themes and Internet meme-based products seem to attract these new players.

"The girl items are mostly non-licensed," said Petaccio. "For instance, one big seller is a pineapple wearing cool sunglasses and a kissy face."

 A&A Global Industries' Kara Kokoruda also sees the increasing popularity of tween girl items. "Right now we have an Enchanted Girls Mix," she said. "That includes fairies, mermaids, unicorns. Unicorns are very hot, they've really taken off in the last year.  And we have Soda Pop Pals, animals in the shape of a can."

Interestingly, many of the most popular girl tween product offerings seem to be non-licensed. This not only offers operators reduced merchandise costs, but assures a steady supply of merchandise. This is no small thing. Many in the industry are confident the tween girls will remain a permanent demographic among skill crane players. If true, then the industry has its work cut out for it in keeping up with the latest trends.

Karen LaForce of Play Time Toys continues to innovate when it comes to plush mixes, with unique offerings such as the company's recent Movie Mash Up Mixes.	Redemption Plus' Tabatha Bender (left) discusses unicorn trends with product strategist Karla Brown