BUSINESS
S ay
•c\Ncs\
'
Silver's Garage.
Sale.
Former Detroiters Find Toys Are
More Than Child's Play In Israel
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
onathan Freier's first
gathering was like a
Tupperware party with
a twist.
He invited friends and ac-
quaintances to his home to
discuss products —what
might sell, what might not,
what could make life easier
for busy men and women.
But the topic of conversa-
tion wasn't plastic bowls and
containers. It was toys. And
the party would be Mr.
Freier's first step in the
creation of an Israeli com-
pany which, for the first
time in the country's histo-
ry, allows consumers to
order toys from a catalog.
Mr. Freier and his wife,
Judy, both formerly of
Detroit, made aliyah in the
1970s, settling in Ra'anana.
Mr. Freier, who was born in
England, took with him a fi-
nance background and a
longtime interest in toys. He
decided to combine the two
in a business that would
allow Israelis to shop from
their homes. He called it Toy
Express.
Before he could begin, he
had to study the market,
which included everything
from wealthy families in
Jerusalem to religious ones
living in the territories. Re-
ligious families often have
many children and do not
allow televisions in their
home — which means they
are quite interested in toys,
Mr. Freier noted.
Mr. Freier hosted parties
where toys were the topic of
conversation and conducted
a marketing survey of the
toy-buying public. He
discovered the Israeli
clientele is quite unlike con-
sumers in the United States.
Israelis are devoted to famil-
iar name brands, they are
skeptical buyers and they
are not so much interested in
cost as whether they can
make small monthly
payments.
Last April, Mr. Freier
completed his first toy
catalog. His two-man busi-
ness already has attracted
more than 1,000 customers.
Mr. Freier and his partner
are responsible for produc-
ing the Toy Express catalog
and handling and delivering
all orders.
Mr. Freier works with im-
porters to select toys for the
catalog. His inventory is fill-
ed with familiar name
j
Clean up while we clear out.
We've acquired three truckloads of fine gently used furniture from a
Fortune 500 company whose offices we designed and furnished.
Included are hundreds of Steelcase desks, chairs, files and tables, as well
as a wide array of other misc. office furnishings—all at fantastically low prices.
Shop Silver's Garage for office & home furniture and office supplies—
you'll never know what you'll find.
STEELCASE POSTURE CHAIRS-59.50
STEELCASE 3-DRAWER FILES-75.00
STEELCASE SECRETARIAL DESK W/RETURN-279.50
DRAFTING STOOLS-39.50
ALL STEEL LETTER SORTERS-30 compartment/
vertical-75.00
STEEL SHELVING—from 39.00
CHAIR MATS—Asst. styles-10.00
BIC PENS—List 3.48 dz.-5.00/6 dz.
FABER CASTELL SUPERITER MARKERS—Black, red, blue,
green. List 10.20 dz.-7.50/6 dz.
FULL STRIP STAPLER—List 22.95-4.45
1" BLACK BINDERS—List 5.40-1.25
2" BLACK BINDERS—List 11.19-2.95
PACKAGED FILE FOLDERS—Letter Size. Asst. colors.
2.95 value-75
cr a
\J OHN LODG
1
0
0
6 MILE
so
r\
3i r
0
DAVISON
EXIT
VICTOR
(LOOK FOR THE
WATER TOWER)
DAVISON
EXIT
DAVISON
Silver's migarace
ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
341 Victor
(off Davison between Davison & 6 Mile)
Look for the Water Tower
869-7682
Fall Registration Open For All Classes!
Directed by International Dancer-
Choreographer Barry Douglas
PRE-REGISTRATION SPECIAL
Register beforec.'1'15, 1990 and SAVE 10%
on you' fiOr'sem
ester of classes.
Offering Prpgt
~
la
frallet, Tap, Jaz..t-Tc4lition, Hawaiian, Pre-School,
Creotie Movement nd BallidiDancing!
Also2Offering:
Street Dancing and Lambada!
CALL NOW 681-4101
3080 Orchard Loke Road, Keego Harbor
36
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 1990
41 . ' 111i
Toy Express: Shopping from the comfort of home.
brands like Matchbox and
Dungeons and Dragons as
well as toys from Italy,
Japan, England and Ger-
many. He offers everything
from baby toys, like a crib
mobile, to a turtle-shaped
sandbox for tots, to a soph-
isticated collection of games,
including Clue and Monop-
oly in Hebrew.
"I'm on my toes all the
time," he said of how he
selects goods for the catalog.
"I listen to what the im-
porters say and try to see
what the public wants."
Mr. Freier publicized his
catalog by taking out adver-
Last April, Mr.
Freier completed
his first toy
catalog. His two-
man business
already has
attracted more
than 1,000
customers.
tisements in newspapers and
magazines. Because Israel is
such a small country with a
limited number of publica-
tions, one woman's maga-
zine can reach as many as
500,000 readers. The news-
paper Yediot Achronot has
2.5 million readers and "a
market everywhere from
Rosh Hanikra (in the north)
to Eilat (in the south)," Mr.
Freier said.
Mr. Freier points to some
of his favorite products new
to the Israeli market: sturdy,
brightly colored trucks,
gyms and doll houses pro-
duced in the United States
by Little Tikes. The prices
on the toys are high, he said,
because the goods are bulky
and expensive to ship.
"Once the market catches
on, the price should go
down," Mr. Freier said. "But
Israeli thinking is, 'The cost
is high and I'm doing well.
Why should I lower the
price?' "
He has no overhead ex-
penses; Mr. Freier keeps his
prices a good 15 to 35 per-
cent lower than those of
Israeli retailers, he said.
But some of these prices,
even at 35 percent lower
than retail, may surprise
American consumers. Along
with remote-control cars,
one of the most popular
items in the catalog is a
Playmobile doll house that
sells for $180. Its price in the
United States, where the toy
is manufactured, is $60. Mr.
Freier said the discrepancy
is the result of lower sales
volume in Israel and the cost
of overseas distribution.
While December is gen-
erally the biggest shopping
month in the United States,
Israel has numerous occa-
sions that draw happy
spenders to the store, Mr.
Freier said. These include
Chanukah, Purim, Rosh
Hashanah, summer months
and Passover.
"Grandparents are the
biggest market at Pesach,"
he said. "Usually they hate
the shops, which are always
crowded. The toys are pack-
ed from floor to ceiling and
you don't know where to
look." So Mr. Freier offers
them an alternative: "It's so
much easier for grand-
parents to give a kid a
catalog and say, 'Here, pick
out what you want.' "
Mr. Freier's next plan is to
expand his business to the
United States. In the near
future, he hopes to open a
Detroit office through which
U.S. citizens would be able
to select toys from the
catalog for delivery in
Israel.
❑