The Next Big Thing?—

The Word Is Out: Webkinz Are On The Way

By Nancy K. Crevier

How wonderful would it be for a child to have a plush pet with whom to talk, learn, make friends, or to play with in an arcade, on the playground, or in its very own room? Ganz distributors, the makers of stuffed animals and decorative accessories, suspects that their Webkinz line will make that dream come true for children, and so do some Newtown retailers.

Part Beanie Baby and part Neopet, Webkinz are a line of stuffed animals that come with a secret code allowing the purchaser to enter into an online fantasy world starring that pet. The Webkinz line debuted the spring of 2005, and according to Susan McVeigh, communications manager at Ganz in Toronto, there are presently 700,000 registered Webkinz owners, up from 150,000 reported in the spring of 2006. “The number of daily visits continues to grow,” said Ms McVeigh, “but we tend to average well over 100,000 daily visits from members.”

Once the snuggly pets, from tigers to toads to fluffy pink poodles, are registered at Webkinz by the adoptee, the fun begins.

The cuddly stuffed version becomes a tangible companion for playtime, but up on the screen pops a virtual image of that very Webkinz pet in a room, along with a health/happiness/hunger meter. An initial $2,000 in Kinzcash is provided to purchase furnishings for the pet’s room, buy clothes for the pet, provide the pet with toys, and to select from a variety of foods for the pet. If $2,000 burns a hole in the pocket, just go to the Quizzy’s Question Corner to earn more Kinzcash by correctly answering age-appropriate educational quizzes. A Tournament Arena of computer games and weekly contests are also featured in the Webkinz world. “Adopting” more pets means more playmates on and off line.

“I feel blessed to have such a nice, valuable, educational toy come along,” said Carrie Swan, co-owner of The Black Swan Gift Shop on South Main Street. She and her son, Tom, came across Webkinz at a huge trade show last summer and pegged the virtual pets as the next big hit.

“We knew when we saw the crowds around one of the exhibits that it had to be something big,” said Mr Swan. “There are rooms that are 20 to 40 thousand square feet each on every floor of the exhibition hall, so when you see a big crowd, you know that there is something hot there.”

The Swans were so impressed by the quality of the stuffed animals and the fun, easy to navigate website that they decided to carry the entire line of more than 30 Webkinz and over 20 Lil Kinz. Lil Kinz are miniature versions of the larger Webkinz.

“They are catching on quickly, mostly through word of mouth,” Mr Swan said. Since The Black Swan began carrying Webkinz in September, the majority of their customers have been boys and girls in the lower grades, he said, although youngsters as old as 12 have expressed interest in the winsome stuffed animals and their virtual world.

The Black Swan has a computer set up in the sales area with a registered pet, MaGilla the Gorilla, owned by Tom Swan. Seeing the Webkinz in its “environment” and having the opportunity to experience the virtual game before buying into it is a selling point for customers, said Ms Swan.

There are uses for the virtual play world outside of the home, too, said Ms Swan. She sees a future in the classroom for Webkinz. “Now that giving out food for rewards is frowned on, Webkinz would be so easy to set up as a reward, something to do when work is finished.” For only $10 for a Webkinz or $7.50 for a Lil Kinz, which allow the same accessibility to the site as do their larger counterparts, schools can set up a Webkinz world, Ms Swan said. As there is no additional cost to log in to Webkinz world, she thinks it would be a valuable and affordable addition to the classroom. “The kids could learn from it while having fun,” she said.

There is no classroom Webkinz —yet — in Petrice DiVanno’s fifth grade classroom at Reed Intermediate, but several of her students have heard of, or own, a Webkinz. Ivy Lee and Serena Kiss do not have a Webkinz, nor does Alessandra Lalli, but they are aware of what they are. “I hear other kids talking about them, and they sound cute,” said Serena.

Alessandra has played with the Webkinz at a friend’s house. “I play other computer games, like one called ‘Pets,’ but Webkinz is really fun,” said Alessandra. “If I wasn’t online playing Webkinz, I would play with the real Webkinz and my other stuffed animals.”

Deanna Wildman, Julia Frattaroli, and Emily DeGirolamo are Webkinz owners. Emily and Julia each have one, which they received as gifts from friends. Deanna’s first Webkinz was a present from her daycare provider, but she has since added three more to her collection, and now her brother owns one, as well.

Distance Playtime

The computer game offers playtime possibilities when time and distance are an issue. Webkinz owners can interact online with each other, making possible virtual play dates when a face-to-face play date cannot be worked out. Friends with Webkinz who move out of town can continue to connect with former playmates via the virtual play world, or visit at the secure Kinzchat room.

Mrs DiVanno’s students do not think that having virtual playmates takes away from one-on-one interaction with their friends. Most of them play for only an hour at a time, and they enjoy having friends come over to play with their Webkinz and other stuffed animals.

 “I play with my other friends in third and fourth grade who have [Webkinz], and a friend who moved to New York,” said Deanna. “I play with my daycare provider, too. She has two of them,” she added with a giggle.

The girls love that they can decorate the pets’ rooms and go shopping for the pets, and playing in the Tournament Arena or entering the weekly contests keeps the virtual playland interesting, they agreed. “The questions [in the quiz area] are good,” said Julia, adding that using the Webkinz site was pretty simple.

“There are good tutorials,” said Julia, and Emily added, “It seems pretty easy to figure out.”

The toy is marketed to both boys and girls, but when asked about Webkinz, the boys in Mrs DiVanno’s class merely looked at each other and shrugged.

Erica Cullens, a fifth grade Newtown resident who attends school in Shelton, agrees that very few boys seem up on the Webkinz, but has other girlfriends who are Webkinz owners. Erica owns a pug, Casey, and loves the Webkinz site. The Tournament Arena, she said, is a lot of fun and she has won lots of Kinzcash there. “I’ve bought lots of food for my pet, a bed, a chair, storage chest, mirrors and wallpaper for his room,” Erica said, noting that decorating Casey’s room is one of her favorite activities.

It is a great way to connect with other kids, said Erica, and through the chatroom, has played online with kids all over the United States and Canada. “It’s really safe,” she said, “so my dad likes it. No one knows anything about you except your Webkinz name.” So far, said Erica, the site is nearly perfect, except for one thing: “You can get jobs in Webkinz world to earn Kinzcash, but then you have to wait eight hours before getting another job. That’s too long.”

Word Of Mouth

The owner of The Magic Garden on Queen Street first heard about Webkinz from her 10-year-old daughter, Maggie, this past summer. “Maggie’s friend had one and they played online at the friend’s house with it, so then Maggie wanted one. Then our son, Ryan, who is 6, wanted one, too. Now, both of them have two Webkinz each,” said Nancy Kost. At the time, her store did not carry the items, but coincidentally, a Ganz representative walked into her store shortly after her children discovered Webkinz and asked, “Do you know about Webkinz?”

The Magic Garden has stocked a limited line of Webkinz since early October, and already Ms Kost thinks they are going to be popular. “They make a great birthday gift, and I’m hoping they will be big for the holiday season,” she said.

As a parent, Ms Kost sees Webkinz as a way for children to be on the computer and be safe. “I don’t like my kids to be on the computer for too long at once, though, but it seems like a good educational tool. My kids play [Webkinz] with their great-aunt after school.” When computer time is up, the children can still continue to play with the actual stuffed creature.

As a retailer, she is looking forward to a Webkinz craze that she thinks could be as big as that of Beanie Babies several years back. “The program is a good educational tool, and I think we’re going to be seeing kids looking for particular pets to add to their collections.”

Webkinz are not new to Andrea Lupo, manager of Joy’s Hallmark in Sand Hill Plaza, where the cozy creatures have been sold for more than a year. “Sales were a little slow last year, but they started really taking off this spring,” said Ms Lupo.

 She came across Webkinz in the Gift Creations Catalog the summer of 2005 and after hearing a representative speak about the new toy, Ms Lupo felt it would be a great addition to the store. “I had my 10-year-old and 12-year-old grandchildren ‘test’ the Webkinz, and they liked them. I think the 10-year-old liked them better. The novelty of going online, naming the pet, and winning points for Kinzcash was fun for them,” Mrs Lupo said. “I pushed to bring Webkinz in, and I’m really glad that we did,” she said. “I think it’s a great concept and I am pleased that the website is protected so well. It seems like a safe place for kids to go online.”

Customers have told her salespeople that Webkinz are not just for kids. “After the kids go to school, apparently there are moms and dads who play with the Webkinz,” laughed Ms Lupo.

With the holidays just around the corner, Ms Lupo is already seeing sales of Webkinz pick up, and would not be surprised to find them wildly popular within the next couple of months. “We sold eight of them one day this past weekend,” she said, and indicated that that could be the start of a trend.

Make room on the shelf — Webkinz are moving in.