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Jane Merriman
London, Oct 10: British children, tired of the high-tech Tamagotchi, are rediscovering the joys of the old fashioned yo-yo. True to its name the yo-yo has bounced back into favour inBritain this year, and manufacturers and importers are struggling to cope with a surge in demand as children clamour for the toys.
Hamleys, the famous London toy shop, predicts yo-yos could be the blockbuster this Christmas, marking an unusual shift away from electronic gadgetry and media-inspired toys like virtual pets, the Spice Girls or Teletubbies that have topped previous years' best-seller lists.
Toy retailers say as many as 200,000 yo-yos are being sold each week, and some are already predicting shortages as demand spins out of control.
Major British importer Kidz Biz is now bringing in 50,000 yo-yos a week, more than double imports this time last year.
"It's really taking off now," said a company spokesman. "It will skyrocket into Christmas and beyond."
Hamleys says it spotted the first signs of the yo-yo'sreturn to favour at the beginning of the year, but it really took off in May and June.
Hamleys chairman Howard Dyer said the toys had made a comeback since the summer and there was now a yo-yo craze.
"It's become a real cult with school children, we're already selling a lot."The Regent Street store has set up a special yo-yo department, which sells a range of 14 different kinds, costing from five to six pounds ($8.50-10.15) each up to 110 pounds for a stainless steel model, the "SB2", in a presentation box.American yo-yo champion Yo-hans has already visited the store to give demonstrations of the latest yo-yo wizardry. And now a national championship is planned for Britain.Demand has been fuelled in part by new high-tech versions of the toy, complete with clutch mechanisms, flashing lights, sound effects and glow-in-the-dark colours.
The latest models make it easier to do a whole range of tricks, with outlandish names like Walking the Dog, Round the World, Splitting the Atom, Lunar Loops and ScottishFlag.
Bandai, the Japanese company behind the Tamagotchi virtualpet, launched its Yomega X-Brain yo-yo in Britain in August. Already a hit in Japan, the yo-yo uses "smart" technology for a clutch mechanism which makes the yo-yo spin for longer at the bottom of its string. Another Bandai yo-yo, called the Stobe Yo, has strobe light effects.
Bandai says the yo-yo's appeal has widened from the original playground toy to a trendy accessory for skateboarders.
For the more discerning yo-yo fans, Asprey's, the exclusive London jeweller, has a silver-plated yo-yo costing 60 pounds.
Some British schools have already banned the toys for safety reasons, something which industry experts say will only spur demand to new heights.
Yo-yo mania is nothing new.
The first craze is believed to have been in France in the 17th century and there are claims that Napolean was a yo-yo fan, using it to relieve stress.
Yo-yo mania hit the United States in the 1920s and 1930s when Donald Duncan, an American entrepreneur,began large-scale production after purchasing manufacturing rights from Philippine immigrant Pedro Flores, who made yo-yos in a factory in California.
"It comes back time and time again, the blessed yo-yo," said Robert Nathan, manager of the British Toymakers Guild.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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