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“The R/C vehicles category is one of the fastest-growing segments for specialty toy stores,” reported independent sales rep Sandy Ruben, whose firm represents leading specialty toy and children’s product lines to retailers throughout the Southeast. “We have seen huge increases in sales of these products over the last few years, but it hasn’t always been this way.”

When R/C vehicles were introduced in the market in the early 1970s, they were primarily sold at hobby stores and were geared largely for adults, he explained. “At that time, the products were too advanced for the children’s market and in those days, specialty toy stores were largely avoiding toys that ran on batteries.” in floor displays with LCD screens. The Mini Twist Graffiti tumbling stunt R/C Car comes in a floor display with 48 cars. Suggested retail is $19.99. For ages 6 and up.

That changed around the year 2000, when Kid Galaxy introduced a line of remote-control vehicles not only geared for 8-year-olds, but also for children as young as 3 and 4 years old. “It was a major transformation in our industry and within months, most independent toy stores were carrying remote control vehicles for the first time,” Ruben said.

After seeing the success of Kid Galaxy, other R/C vehicle manufacturers started aging down their products, too, he reported. “Instead of gearing their products to adults, they started to develop lines for kids ages 10 to 14.

EXOST 360 Aquacross (for ages 5 and up), EXOST X-Crawler (for ages 5 and up) and Flybotic Bi-Wing Evo Plane (for ages

“A second leap in R/C sales started around 2020 and will continue into 2023,” Ruben added. “Some stores report that some of their top-selling toys are in this category.”

Recently, Ruben polled rep principals from around the country to find out what products in this category they were excited about. Here are recommendations from Shelley Huckabay from Toys South, Harry Clayton from Wildthings, Ryan Pedersen from Rocket Reps, Chelsea Bogue from Diverse Marketing, and the team at Sandy Ruben Associates.

Brocky Off-Road Ford Bronco and Dune Blaster from Maisto. Both are for ages 8 and up.