Toy makers expanding into decor

NEW YORK -- It's a child's dream -- bedroom decor just like a Bratz doll's. A bed in the shape of a Hot Wheels car. Or a chair shaped like a Tonka truck.

As toy sales stagnate, manufacturers are no longer putting all their efforts into games, puzzles, and dolls. They're targeting the market for children's decor, from bed boards and lounge chairs to sheets and wallpaper, hoping to showcase their brands in places beyond stores' toy departments.

For girls, products include bedroom furnishings based on the popular Bratz: purple bed canopies, bed boards, lamps, trinket boxes, and bedsheets, all featuring images of the fashion dolls. For Tonka lovers, there are yellow plush chairs in the shape of dump trucks and tables and chairs that feature truck motifs.

By lending a hand in decorating a child's room, toymakers including Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc., Spin Master Ltd., MGA Entertainment Inc. and Toy Quest Inc. are trying to create a business that allows them to sell not only to new customers such as Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., but to be in different aisles of toy stores or mass merchants. And decor is a year-round business, not one concentrated at the holidays, like toys.

''We see our company becoming the P&G for kids," said Anton Rabie, president and co-chief executive of Spin Master Ltd., which generates 20 percent of its sales in nontoy items.

In fact, Spin Master, considered a pioneer in the home decor trend, said that this past holiday season, its foam sofas that convert into beds were just as popular as its hottest holiday toys.

The Toronto company, which began testing home decor for spring 2003 under the name Marshmallow, will be releasing a full assortment this year, including pillows, canopies and footrests that feature characters such as Dora the Explorer and Spider-Man. The products will be featured at the American International Toy Fair, an industry product expo, beginning on Feb. 20.