Toy Retailer Finds Niche
A Madison-based toy distributor could be a place to turn for parents worried about the safety of their children ’s toys in the wake of a spate of recalls.
Last spring, Milanie Cleere, 31, moved Oompa Toys, her online business specializing in European toys made of nontoxic, natural materials, to a 15,000-square-foot warehouse at 1311 W. Badger Road.
Cleere has seen a 200 percent jump in sales since the first in a series of recalls of toys made in China was announced earlier this year.
Mattel alone has recalled millions of Chinese-made toys, including popular Barbie, Polly Pocket and “Cars ” movie items, because of concerns about lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.
Though “just a blip on the outside of the radar of the toy industry, ” Oompa — which features toys for children through age 6 — has grown organically, Cleere said. “I ‘ve never taken out a loan. ”
The company now has 12 full-time employees, with plans to hire extras for the holiday season, and offers more than 2,200 products made by 51 companies, which produce items by the hundreds, rather than the thousands.
Especially in the past two months, amid the recalls, customers are asking, “How do you know your toys are safe? ” said Cleere. So she makes it a point to get to know the owners of the companies she carries.
Photo by Oompa Toys.
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