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By Ed Avis
Wondering how to bring in some extra sales during slow months in your store? New NCA Vendor Member Super Impulse might have the answer. The company, which joined the NCA in January, makes a line of the “World’s Smallest” toys and games that are affordable, fun impulse purchases that sell year-round.
“We have found a niche in the market that no one else has,” says Susan Gray, the company’s director of sales and marketing. “We get licensed by everybody, like Mattel and Hasbro, and they ask us to make the same identical item but in the smallest version.”
The tiny toys that Super Impulse sells all work just like the regular size version. For example, the tiny Rubik’s Cube looks and plays just like the classic toy, and the tiny Monopoly game has all the same pieces, cards and money as the big version. Even more amazing are the tiny versions of classic arcade games like Pacman and Space Invaders – they work exactly like the version you played as a teenager, including all the levels, but they fit on a keychain!
“In our version of the classic game Operation, if you touch the edge with the tweezers while you’re trying to get the rib out the nose beeps, just like the real game,” Gray says. “But our version is 2 inches long.”
Making tiny versions of popular toys and games involves a lot of careful engineering and attention to detail. Despite the amazing level of quality of the tiny items, they are priced to sell quickly – 90 percent retail for $6.99.
The company started with five items about a decade ago and today has a 133-page catalog with multiple items on each page. Sixty new items were added in 2021. The large selection means there are products to suit any season – tiny Care Bears are great for Easter, miniature games keep kids occupied during summer road trips, and thumb-nail size Draculas and Frankensteins are perfect Halloween add-ons.
“Our products sell year-round; we don’t have a slow season,” Gray says.
Making It Easy for Stores
Don’t feel overwhelmed by the vast selection of items the company offers. Gray can make the choice easy by providing a spinning store display stocked with the company’s 12 hottest items. Or, if you prefer, you can tell her what shelf space you can provide and she’ll select from among the company’s best sellers.
Another option is to start with a point-of-sale item and see how that sells. For example, do you remember Wacky Packages, those funny Topps cards from the 1970s that poked fun at consumer goods? Super Impulse has taken that concept and created actual tiny products with the Wacky Packages labels. They sell them in little tubs with five “grocery items” per tub, plus one sticker and a checklist. It’s the perfect, nostalgic POS item.
“Basically I want NCA members to know that we have the capability of bringing items to them that can increase their revenue year-round,” Gray says. “We make ourselves available 7 days a week. I will even do a Zoom meeting on a weekend if needed. We are customer-oriented.”
Currently the company is offering a special for NCA members. If you order a floor display for $120, you’ll receive 6 free mini arcade games, which typically retail for $19.99 (do the math and you’ll see that you basically get the floor rack for free). Or you can order a floor display prefilled with six each of 12 of the company’s best-selling items, plus the six free arcade games, for $588. The company’s Buyers Group discount is 5% off plus free freight for orders of $500 and up.
To learn more, click here to watch Gray’s presentation during the NCA Zoom Fashion Show, or contact Gray at susan@superimpulse.com for a catalog.