Setting sail in rogue style
By Lisa Casinger -- Furniture Today, July 2, 2007
High Point — In anticipation of the current Disney film "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," mass merchants have been packing in movie-themed products for months now.
Kids Today started seeing pirates popping up on a variety of products as early as January, and the trend has continued.
Some kids retailers across the country have picked up on this and are flooring pirate merchandise in hopes of captivating kids and raking in some doubloons.
Miami-based Genius Jones isn't big on themes, according to owner Daniel Kron, but it does carry a collection of pirate-printed bed sheets from France, one of the store's most popular patterns. Kron also carries pirate jigsaw puzzles and recently started selling a "Mutiny on the Bounty" children's book.
"You won't find any 'Pirates of the Caribbean'-licensed merchandise in our stores," Kron said. "There's no denying parents have been asking for, and buying, more pirate-themed merchandise for several years now, and at least some of that interest can be directly attributed to the success of the Disney movies.
"Now, if you want to talk future trends, get ready for Star Trek. There's a new Star Trek movie tentatively scheduled for a Christmas 2008 release. That should rekindle interest in the series among nostalgic baby boomers and Gen Xers, and soon enough they'll be buying Star Trek merchandise for their kids. For fall 2007, we'll be selling distressed T-shirts printed with vintage illustrations from the original Star Trek TV series."
Scott and Samantha Jasper, owners of Treehouse Kids Co. in Cincinnati, just put pirate bedding and accessories — Pirates Cove by Nina Selby's Cotton Tale Designs — on the floor along with some Gund plush pirate playsets.
"We are waiting for a few more things to come in, but we love the pirates theme and hope our customers do too," Samantha Jasper said. "We thought it was a fresh idea, and people seem to like the theme since the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies."
The Pippin McGee store in Lafayette, La., also carries pirate-themed products, although owner Kim Crouchet said they don't do that well with themes. She's flooring a pirate-themed bunk bed with accessories like rugs and bedding.
"Although we think the vignette looks adorable, we've not had much interest in it," Crouchet said. "It has helped to sell the bunk bed, but there's not been a lot of interest in the bedding. Overall, we don't do that well with themes aside from the normal sports themes and camo. Our best-selling duvet is from Pine Cone Hill and it has a multitude of warm colors in it; we mix in a theme around that."
If you're thinking of incorporating pirates into your store, a few options we've seen lately are shown on this page.
