There may be more disappointed children this Christmas morning than last year.
That's because it could end up being more difficult to find this season's hottest toys in stock without Toys R Us around. The chain was America's only nationwide specialty retailer dedicated to toys before it liquidated earlier this year.
"Toys R Us, they were not afraid to buy merchandise in December because they could spread it to January, February, March, April," Isaac Larian, CEO of toy company MGA Entertainment, said to Business Insider. "But that's not the situation with the other mass merchants."
A Target or Walmart or even Best Buy store sells much more than just toys. So even though these chains have announced plans to expand their toy sections for the holiday season, and keep them larger even in January and beyond, the focus inevitably shifts.
Basically, it's not just about raw numbers of merchandise. In order to ensure things would stay in stock throughout the holidays, Toy R Us would buy more toys earlier and later in the season than other retailers typically do, Larian said.
That bodes especially ill for shoppers looking for hot toys like MGA's LOL Surprise series of dolls , which has been flying off shelves this season, according to industry analysts. Its success has surprised even Larian.
"A lot of scalpers buy these and charge people two to three times more. It bothers me," he said. "We try to make sure to ship enough goods that that doesn't happen, but it's selling more than we expected."
Larian is hopeful that it won't always be this way.
"Someday, somebody's gonna fill that void with Toys R Us," Larian.
NOW WATCH: 7 things you shouldn't buy on Black Friday
See Also:
- A woman is suing Hilton for $100 million, accusing a person of filming her in the shower and posting the video to pornographic sites
- 8 mistakes you should avoid when shopping for wine at Costco
- The company behind Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut hasn't been caught up in the restaurant industry acquisition spree — yet. Here is what the president is looking for.
SEE ALSO: TOY WARS: Walmart and Target are duking it out to take Toys R Us' place as the holiday-shopping season looms