Here is an update on the Target deal:
It is very interesting how Target decides what products go on the end cap together. There isn't enough room for all 13 parent inventor products, so they make groupings and everyone is there for about a 12 week cycle. They take into consideration packaging size, color, seasonality of products, etc. They want the end cap to look as good and cohesive as possible.
Tiny Tales is not in the wave that is going on store shelves in February 2009, so I might be in the May wave. It will definitely be sometime in 2009 - i.e. this is a done deal we are just working out the details.
I am actually happy that my "set date" as they call it is not February. That would mean I would have to ship to them in January, and have all my products here from China by December. My current process is to order enough for about 300 or 500 kits at a time, then assemble them myself over time. This won't work for Target. Their initial order will be somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 kits, so I have to outsource the assembly of the kits so they all arrive at a warehouse in the States completely assembled and ready to go on the store shelves. I also need to change the packaging to be more Target-ready, as they want to hang it on a peg on the end cap. And to have all that done by December would be tough.
Stay tuned for more details!
A lot to do, but I have a ton of people that have done this before who are being super helpful, and thankfully I have enough time to get it done.