Toy sales slightly rise in '06

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toy sales inched upward in 2006 helped by the last quarter of the year which included the critical holiday season, a report released Tuesday said.

Retail sales for the toy industry slightly rose 0.34 percent and produced over $22.3 billion in 2006, up from the $22.2 billion generated in 2005, according to research firm NPD Group.

The fourth quarter of the 2006 calendar year produced the largest amount of the industry's revenue, which was helped by four super-categories the group names as Youth Electronics, Vehicles, Arts & Crafts, and Infant/Preschool. The super-catergories combined generated over $9 billion in retail sales, NPD group said.

Individually, action figures saw the largest decline in sales for 2006, compared to robust sales in 2005 on Star Wars products sold by toy retailers such as Hasbro (down $0.14 to $28.69, Charts) and Playskool.

Action figure sales fell 9 percent and produced nearly $1.25 billion, but this year the action figure category could see a gain from the release of certain popular movies, the firm said.

"As a rule of thumb, licensed products will comprise approximately 25 percent of total toy sales in any given year," Anita Frazier, an industry analyst, said in a statement. "With movie releases such as "Transformers," "Spider-Man 3," and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," the action figure super-category should realize gains in 2007."

Online toy sales also rose 12 percent versus 2005, while the average retail prices edged up 5 percent which the group said reflects on consumers willingness to spend on higher priced toys.

U.S. toy retailer Toys "R" Us recently saw a boost in same-store sales during the crucial holiday season from popular items like T.M.X. Elmo from Mattel Inc.'s (up $0.19 to $25.31, Charts) Fisher-Price division and new video game consoles from Nintendo Co. Ltd. (down $1.50 to $34.30, Charts) and Sony Corp (up $0.91 to $48.54, Charts).

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