Last year, he learned just how quickly a small company's momentum can change. Toys 'R' Us dropped Loaded Questions , while smaller chains cut back on their orders. While disappointing, those difficulties also served as a wake-up call. Poses says he's now determined to beef up sales and again land a major contract, like the one with Toys 'R' Us. So far, a few possibilities have emerged.
Poses plans to make.
Poses also hopes to land a major order and a licensing deal for his latest brainstorm, a photo album with Mad Lib -like pages called PictureScripts , aimed at teenage girls. Target has expressed interest in carrying the item, and Poses plans on heading north to Minneapolis to meet with a buyer from the 1,000-store chain. Still, securing orders from national chains isn't easy. In recent years, toy retailers have cut down on the number of vendors they work with in order to save money and win discounts from larger suppliers. Unless a product is really hot, there's no incentive for the retailer to continue dealing with them.