... These products are cool but they never saw the light of day in the traditional stores," said Jane Saltzman, vice president of merchandising at eToys. "But we have an open toy policy here. Anyone can submit a toy to us and if we think it is great ...

... a little more fashionable. "There's a lot more color. It's a print year," observes Steven Balit, vice president of merchandising for Maillot Baltex, which includes the Baltex, Body ID and Be Creative brands. Black is a safe haven for ...

... because they have all these fashion icons to look up to in sports and music," said Mark Minsky, senior vice president of merchandising at Doneger Group, an apparel buying company, citing baseball player Derek Jeter and rap artist Sean "P ...

... event has so many facets to it, and people will be looking for so many kinds of books," says Bob Wietrak, vice president of merchandising for Barnes & Noble. Promotion for fall releases usually begins right after Labor Day, but tours are being ...

... away from novelty Christmas has been slow yet steady over the past few years, says Robert Kling, senior vice president of merchandising for Pier 1, the chain of home-decorating stores. The economy surely is a factor, he says, but so is ...

... playing and the like. "Absolutely, there's more emphasis on educational toys today," says Lisa Visco, vice president of merchandising at Ayer, Mass.-based Learning Express. "Today, most parents want to feel that it (educational toy ...

... all wear a lot of black and this gives us a way to jazz it up and make it look new," says Mary Jimenez, vice president of merchandising for the shopping Web site, eLuxury. She explains, though, that the season's biker chic look is more ...

... pearl checkered coasters, now on sale for $29, adds to the art deco look. Steve Woodward, the senior vice president of merchandising, says the company is changing its design, particularly for the fall line of home furnishings that will be ...

... School uniforms are much less structured today than they were in the '60s and '70s,'' JC Penney's vice president of merchandising for children in Plano, Texas, says. ''Many schools today will just designate a white knit top and a khaki ...