Word: toying
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There's a kid in Alex Gonzales' seventh-grade class--we won't mention any names--who still plays with X-Men plastic action figures. "He's kind of weird," says Alex, 11, of Fontana, Calif. "None of us play with X-Men anymore. We like PlayStation better." Toy-industry experts call this "age compression"--boys shunning G.I. Joe and girls dissing Barbie at ever younger ages in favor of computer games and sporting goods. And it is just one of the obstacles confronting Toys "R" Us as the nation's No. 1 retailer of playthings tries to get itself...
This marks a sad pass for a brand name that, while dreaded by many parents, spelled excitement to a generation of kids, many of whom have kids of their own. Founded by Charles Lazarus in 1957, Toys "R" Us was the original "category killer"--industry jargon for a chain of large stores that offered low prices on almost every product and brand in its category and killed competing local retailers. (Think Home Depot or Petco.) Lazarus transformed an industry once dominated by mom-and-pop toy stores, eventually launching 1,462 Toys "R" Us outlets and gaining a 25% market...
...always known that Harvard has its share--if not more than its share--of people who as children preferred a trip to the bank to the toy store. As first-years they handed out business cards and smarmy handshakes and as seniors they believe the CEO of Goldman has a direct in with God himself. (As I-bankers always say, it's all about connections...
Take an automated laboratory at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Conveyor belts transport blood or urine specimens in containers that resemble toy railroad cars from a collection point to a computerized analyzer. The machine takes a sample with a dipstick; the computer reads the results and flashes them to the monitor of the doctor in charge of the case. The lab will save the salaries of dozens of people who "used to move the specimens around by hand, read the test results on a screen and then telephone the doctor," says Scalzi. The lab cost $7 million...
First he had a kung fu grip and military missions. Now he has a firm handshake and political aspirations. Yes, perennial boy toy G.I. Joe will have a new general on base later this month when Hasbro rolls out an action figure modeled after former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff COLIN POWELL, the latest addition to Hasbro's Historic Commanders Assortment. Powell (the doll) eschews fatigues for a decorated dress uniform and tie. But after a tough day of reconnaissance in Mom's petunia garden, the general and company might want to kick off their combat boots...