Okay, at first I thought, "there is no way in the world that Walmart has a blog."  Then, when I realized it was true, I thought, "oh no.  Walmart has a blog.  I will never, ever read that blog."  Then, I saw a review that said it wasn't evil at all, as most of the world would probably think a Walmart blog would be.  I decided to come here, and I will have to say that I am pleasantly suprised.  I love the tips, new facts about upcoming products, and general REALNESS (is this even a word?) of the authors/corporate Walmart employees.  Congrats, and welcome to the blog community.  I'll bookmark you and check back soon :)

These are some great toys Danielle - I also waiting in line for the tickel me elmo - Maggie would be satified with anything less. :) These are much better than Lions and Tigers and Bears.  Thanks for the sneak peak.

I have a suggestion... you need to include more photos. Just one per post, possibly two if you include it after the jump. Make them nice and wide covering nearly the entire width of the column (not this scattered connect the dots type photo layout). And use only your very best shots - make 'em count. Ask a photo editor - they'll help you. If you're talking about Elmo at the trade show let's see a picture of the Elmo booth!

Hey there interesting to see someone who must be so busy making the time to do this.  What are you hoping to get out of doing the blog ?

Danielle:

The readers of our blog would love to hear about Wal-Mart's plans for the Mattel Disney Pixar CARS for 2008. Anything to share? I think you know what an amazing phenomenom it is for a licensed line to sell out in minutes 18 month after release ...

Great to see the blog. Looking forward to seeing more of your thoughts on Toy Fair.  I attended several in the past as a buyer.  It's an amazing experience.  It's a shame my local Wal-Mart is horrible about keeping the shevles stocked with the latest toys.

Nice Job!!

Normally I don't read blogs but I was reading the New York Times Headlines on my Kindle and there was an article about, WalMart employees doing a blog, and here I am!

Nice work and I hope you all continue to find the time to keep posting, so that we can keep reading. Kudos (I know a little over done but it applies here)

Anyone going to ToyCon in NYC ???  Dammit!  Wish I could go!

Nice post Danielle - appreciate the honesty. I'd love to hear more about your philosophy in selecting toys. It's easy to fall into the trap of believing everything sales reps say. I suspect you don't and have your own view of the market and what consumers will buy.

I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the eco and back-to-basics movement in toys. I'm hoping to see more of those at Wal-Mart this year!

There is a fundamental problem with the entire toy market --- it is boring and everyone carries the same stuff.

What Walmart should consider is to set up a small area for a booth for the smalller manufacturers (all the way down to mom and pop shops) to 'rent' space in a Walmart for a short period of time, say a week, and showcase things that are unique, different, and 'draw' customers into the store for your regular stuff.  By keeping track of what sells at these booths, you also have a great way to get a pulse on the consumer and what they are actually feeling hot about.

For example, this past christmas, there was virtually a consumer revolt about giving toys to kids (not by parents per se, but by the uncles, aunts, etc.) for fear that they might be giving a recalled toy or one that proves to be contaminated. 

Independent toy makers (like the mom and pop shops who actually made things here in the USA) cleaned up.

Walmart's old strategy of relying on ToysRUs, independents etc. to do the market research for you and let them prove the volume before you carry it is a strategy that guarantees blandness, boring stuff that will never catch a new wave.

In fact, it is a fair bet that by the time Walmart got it, the fad is just about passed.

I am not saying you should be risking large volume buys of stuff that is not proven, but you got to have a better way to:  a) get a sense of what is hot, b) get that stuff in stores sooner, c) find a way to counter the boring / yuk image of your stores.

The Elmo doll is creepy but the kids will love it. I saw a video of it and of course, it will be the next holiday hit. I agree about the toy section always having the same old stuff. I had to go to Amazon for my son's Transformers - all you had was Starscream and Optimus Prime. But to be fair, it wasn't just you.

As the mother of a toddler, I am rather dissappointed in the selection of educational toys offered by WalMart.  Target has a wonderful selection of Melissa and Doug but I can hardly find a wood puzzle in your offerings.

Most kids love to explore and invent at this age. Spiderman, Cars, Elmo, Dora and Backyardigans  and other licensed toys are not made for learning. Frankly most of them arent made very well anyways.

Bring basic back and you will double your take.