Exciting prizes come in all shapes and sizes. Yet trying to cover the gamut of items that will entice people to play just one more game in hopes of winning is a tall order for any company.
Dawn Noyes, president of Play Time Toys, admits that it was a challenge starting out in the toy supply business and trying to cover all the bases. However, Play Time Toys has its roots in operations and has grown organically over the years, which contributes to their success.
"We started as an operator, looking for merchandise for our own machines on the street," said Noyes. "We had a number of different types of machines, and thus we were looking for a variety that included plush, novelty, beanies and candy. We knew we needed something different. No longer could we rely on simple product designs, which only satisfied the win factor for traditional players. In order to increase revenues, we needed to appeal to traditional as well as non-traditional players of all ages and grab their attention, enticing them to play for a prize they just had to have."
As the company evolved into being a stand-alone prize supplier, Play Time Toys has kept its focus on the same market that it first sought out as a buyer. As new equipment was introduced, the company's variety of merchandise expanded. "Today we are a full-service prize supplier for the amusement industry, offering everything an operator needs regardless of the type of equipment, all designed to increase revenue and appeal to the widest clientele," summarized Noyes.
In keeping with that outlook, Play Time Toys has broadened its offerings throughout the years. For instance, a new development is their expanded candy line, which now includes mixes ranging from candy/toy assortments to 100% candy or 100% toy mixes and more. The goal is to offer a mix for every type of location and every play-until-you-win customer.
"Candy cranes are a must in every gameroom location. They appeal to the younger crowd, including the hard to capture young females, who are willing to play continuously," said Play Time Toy's George Asbate. "In addition, the value per vend is great for the consumer and generates exceptional gross profit for the operator."
"When developing the new candy line, we had to establish new relationships for the product, but the concept remains the same, getting the best value for the vend," added Noyes.
Play Time Toys has a team of experienced professionals standing behind their efforts, starting with Noyes who got her start working on a route headed up by industry veteran George Asbate, who later became Dawn's husband. Along the way, Dawn also managed to earn a law degree and MBA, which she uses in her current role "every day."
Dawn's sister Tracy Noyes also plays a pivotal role behind the scenes. "Tracy and I worked from the ground up on the route, from merchandising cranes to repairing equipment. We've done just about everything," said Noyes.
"That experience gave us a great knowledge base about the industry and allows us to purchase and design mixes that are ideal for our customers," explained Tracy Noyes, who now manages the administrative aspect of Play Time Toys.
"I never have to worry when she is at the helm. Her level of commitment to a positive work environment is something you rarely find. She is determined to make sure that Play Time Toys continues to exceed expectations," said Noyes.
More recently, Asbate sold his route operation and rejoined Play Time Toys, where he will rely on his industry knowledge to match up the right product mix with the emerging trends in equipment design. "Having George here with all his experience and depth of knowledge is priceless," noted Noyes. "What works here may not work in other areas, and different games appeal to different clientele. Looking for what's hot and what's not is a constant in our business. George's love for this industry shines through his efforts and provides him a natural talent that is unmatched."
Handling sales at Play Time Toys is a team of industry veterans with nearly a century of combined experience. Charles Caplan, Dick Pirics and John Sullivan are seasoned supplier reps. "We learn a lot from each of them every day, and more importantly they enhance our commitment to honesty and integrity," said Noyes. This spring, Play Time Toys added another key member to its sales staff, industry veteran Georgia "Gigi" Meyers, who has deep knowledge of the novelty and candy business. "Gigi has guided the development of our candy and toy lines. Her knowledge and excitement for this industry are invaluable. We are lucky and excited to have her join us," said Noyes.
Play Time Toys employs the aforementioned executives as well as many other talented professionals in their office and warehouse facility, including Karen LaForce who is in charge of marketing, sales and customer support; Dawn "Jersey" Perez who assists in customer support and administration; and Lisa Montgomery who moved up the ladder to purchasing and design. "It is such a pleasure to work with the people who make up Play Time Toys' success. We are very fortunate to have such a great group of peers that make coming to work a pleasure," concluded Noyes.
Play Time Toys offers a great variety of prizes, including but not limited to plush, beanies, novelties, candy and bulk products. Their plush items range in price from $.90 to $3 and include licensed and generic goods themed to seasonal and sporting events, hot new trends and different geographical favorites.
Each year, they work hard to bring product for all the major seasonal events including Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, Easter, NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NASCAR, summer fun, patriotic, Halloween, Christmas and more. "There is always a variety to choose from so that our customers can maximize revenue with one simple call," said Asbate.
Other areas of interest and growth include a broad range of goods for four-inch capsules, hanging mixes for the lower-end merchandise game prizes and, not surprisingly, the higher-end prize categories for games like the popular Stacker.
"At the higher end, we are always trying to come up with something unique that offers our customers the ability to compete with retail trends," said Noyes. "We've had great success with interesting items like underwater cameras, Mp3 players, digital cameras, blue tooth headsets, handheld TVs and digital picture frame key chains, which tested really well on the street."
Current hot items include their plush biker mix, all motorcycle-related items in jumbo or small sizes, and higher-end merchandise game prizes like those mentioned above. In addition to their regular plush lines, Monster and Big-One plush packs, they also are on the spot with merchandise related to movie releases. This summer's features include Iron Man, Kung Fu Panda, Hulk and Batman just to name a few. The newest novelty specialty is knobby balls, which are expected to be a sure winner at a great price.
Every merchandise item at Play Time Toys, whether plush, novelty, candy/toy or other, is individually selected to insure that it is suitable for the amusement industry. That means attention to every color, size, fabric, design, as well as safety. In fact, as LaForce noted, Play Time Toys even custom designs all their bouncy ball assortments, changing styles and variety on a regular basis. "Variety and quality are very important to capturing the appeal of today's players," said LaForce.
Looking ahead, the future for Play Time Toys is bright. They appreciate the loyal relationships they have formed with their customers and realize that without that support their success would not be possible. "Our focus has always been to maintain our integrity while providing the best product at the best price," Noyes reiterated.
As a show of their loyalty to customers, Noyes said the company has worked hard to increase inventory levels as it became evident that the cost of manufacturing would continue to increase, all as part of their effort to keep the cost of goods for operators as low as possible.
"I think the most rewarding thing we have accomplished so far at Play Time Toys is the network of relationships we have established with our customers," concluded Noyes. "Our focus has always been on providing a service along with our merchandise. When our customers receive product, they are also getting decades of experience in merchandising, marketing and quality assurance, which amounts to maximizing revenues. We remain dedicated to working hard to preserve the respect and commitment of our customers and for an industry we cherish."
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