Melissa Bernstein, co-founder of Melissa & Doug, discusses the insight behind expanding from puzzles into classic wooden toys in the mid-1990s.
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“People actually still want things that are nostalgic and make them remember their past, but they don't want them dusty and like they found them in some old attic. They want them, you know, injected with pizzazz and brought to today.”
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More from Melissa Bernstein
Insight
Melissa Bernstein: Consumers desire nostalgic toys updated with modern flair
“People actually still want Things that are nostalgic and make them remember their past, but they don't want them dusty and like they found them in some old attic. They want them, you know, injected with pizzazz and brought to today.”
Melissa Bernstein: Small independent stores were the only way to launch products
“Well, by this time, we had expanded beyond New England, but definitely the small independent stores. We were firmly convinced that that was the only way we could really get our products out there.”
“I mean, and we don't have, you know, we're not a hit-driven company. We joke that we have a lot of singles and doubles. We don't really want home runs because we don't want it here today gone tomorrow. We're an evergreen company. We want our toys to be around …”
Melissa Bernstein keeps 500 failed toy prototypes behind her desk
“Behind my desk I have about, I can't even fit them anymore, maybe 500 toys that were all my very favorite toys that failed in a big way, some of them entire categories, because every day I want to remind myself when I come to work and come to my desk that the …”
Melissa Bernstein: Toy manufacturers historically relied on reps rather than selling directly
“As a manufacturer, you never went directly into a store. You actually had middle people called manufacturers reps who represented your product into the smaller stores.”
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