Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 8, 1990 TAG: 9007040355
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: EX1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It's a clash between two comic-inspired characters: bratty Bart Simpson versus the dapper Dick Tracy.
Yep, thanks to manufacturers and merchandisers, the chic copper and the undoubtedly obnoxious kid have made a successful transition from film and television to T-shirts, boxer shorts and countless other items.
But which character is winning the war for the hearts, minds and dollars of consumers? Is Dick too dated for today's kids? Is Brat . . . er, Bart, too annoying to appeal to adults?
Depends on who you ask.
Byron Paddock, men's merchandise manager for JCPenney at Tanglewood Mall, said T-shirts featuring Bart and the rest of the Simpsons have far outsold Dick Tracy shirts in the store's men's department.
"So far, they are the best-selling printed T-shirts and have been for the last month," Paddock said. "At the rate they're going, they're going to be bigger than the Batman promotion we had last year."
The Tanglewood store's men's department recently sold 84 Simpsons shirts in seven days, Paddock said. In comparison, only 10 Tracy shirts were sold during the same period, he said.
Interestingly enough, the department's Dick Tracy shirts have been most popular with younger kids, not adults who might have grown up with the comic strip, he said.
The Simpsons shirts available at JCPenney seem to have broader appeal, Paddock added. People in all age groups buy them - "some people buy them as a gag gift."
Other retailers in the Roanoke Valley - including Spencer Gifts and Hills - also have selections of Simpsons and Dick Tracy goods. Spencer Gifts at Tanglewood Mall has devoted substantial display space to its Simpsons merchandise, which includes T-shirts, hats, posters, Bart and Lisa dolls and a one-dimensional cardboard Bart that's over five feet tall.
The store also has some of the area's most intriguing Dick Tracy merchandise: a mug with a three-dimensional image of Tracy's face, a campy yellow trench coat and felt fedora, and 8-inch dolls modeled on Tracy and film villains Pruneface, Flattop, Itchy and Big Boy.
Dawn Perez, assistant manager at Spencer Gifts, said she thinks the dolls will become collector's items. "We had one guy come in who was a collector and he bought Dick Tracy and Madonna," she said. The store sold out of Madonna figures - inspired by the Breathless Mahoney character she portrays in the film - the first day they were on display, Perez said.
A group of Dick Tracy goods, ranging from lunch boxes to watches to boys' underwear, is available at Hills stores. Rocky Carneal , manager at Hills' Hershberger Road store, said the Tracy merchandise is selling about as well as the store's Simpsons and New Kids on the Block pieces. "I would say right now it would be pretty even," Carneal said.
He also expects sales of Dick Tracy paraphernalia to continue to pick up. "I think as the summer goes on and more and more people see the movie . . . it should become more and more popular."
And the New Kids merchandise is holding its own, Carneal said. "It still hasn't lost its punch."
Though sales of Tracy togs got off to a sluggish start compared to the sizzling Simpsons goods at JCPenney, Paddock's not worried about having lots of detective duds left over when summer ends.
"The movie just hit . . . and it's kind of hard to sell something before the movie comes out. We'll probably see more movement as people go see the movie and want to have something to remember it by. That's what people buy a T-shirt for."
One piece of Tracy paraphernalia - the good-guy's trademark fedora - has sold at a rapid pace, Paddock said. But there's one difference between the store's hats and the one Tracy wears in the movie.
"We didn't buy the yellow; we thought that was too chancy. But we bought the black and that sold real well," Paddock said. "We got in 12 . . . I might have one left."
The Tracy tops are running a close race with Simpsons shirts in JCPenney's children's department, said Melinda Leland, the Tanglewood Mall store's children's merchandise manager.
The initial popularity of Simpsons clothes for kids surprised her, Leland said. She thought the show would have a greater following among teens than younger children.
"I thought `Ugh, I wouldn't let my kids watch that.' To be quite honest with you, I only got about 12 [shirts] and they sold right out from under my feet."
Leland said she also thought the Dick Tracy shirts would be more popular with adults, "because that's what we used to watch on TV." So she only ordered a few for children - and they sold quickly, too.
There's no doubt which Simpsons character is in demand among the youngest of the young crowd: "Bart. Even for the girls," Leland said.
At JCPenney stores nationwide, Bart Simpson tops are the best sellers among men's T-shirts, said Carol Edwards, national publicity manager for the chain's men's division. JCPenney stores in Roanoke and across the country also have "Days of Thunder" and "Jetsons" T-shirts - the film featuring the animated space-age family that opened Friday.
If you think you've seen more character clothing this summer than in past years, you're right. "There's just a lot more out there in the marketplace," Edwards said. After the chain's success with last summer's Batman merchandise, "a lot of the studios who are into this licensed apparel have come to us."
What's selling well at New York Fashions Inc. in downtown Roanoke are Simpsons T-shirts with a twist: black Simpsons characters. The shirts are popular among the store's primarily black clientele, said store owner Harry Maghera. The store has sold between 18 and 24 Simpsons shirts each week since it started stocking them about a month ago, Maghera said.
Black Bart also figures on shirts at Style Plus on Campbell Avenue downtown.
Maghera said he expects a group of Bart Simpson T-shirts with an "Air Simpson" logo to arrive soon. The tops depict Bart dunking a basketball in Michael Jordan-style shoes.
"People are already asking for those," he said.
by CNB