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In certain retail circles, the hunt is on for the next must-have schoolkid collectible.
It’s no small task.
After pumping out retail sales of more than $100 million a year — $5 to $7 at a time — Silly Bandz is seeing demand slacken, and retailers are searching for the next fad to draw in the pre-teen crowd. Some stores are wondering if another neon-colored trinket — slap watches — could fit the bill.
Slap watches — whose straight, plastic bands curl around a wrist when they’re slapped against it — are being aggressively pushed by some merchants as the latest in cheap, colorful, mix-and-match fashion.
The low-priced timepieces, which are being cranked out under a number of different labels, already sold briskly at select outlets during the holidays. Discounters and luxury stores alike are hoping 2011 will be an even bigger year.
“We had a very aggressive plan with them during the holidays and we exceeded it — it was extraordinary,” said Scott Schramm, general merchandise manager for Henri Bendel, whose upscale Fifth Avenue store is selling a model called the TKO Slapper for $50.
“Silly Bandz may still have a little life on the West Coast, but they are completely over on the East Coast,” said Allen Ash of Almar Sales Co., which expects to sell a million slap watches this year.
Meanwhile, a growing number of retailers have begun stocking slap watches that mostly sell below the $20 mark.
Robert Croak of BCP Imports, who has been credited as the creator of Silly Bandz, began distributing slap watches last fall, and current customers include Macy’s, Toys “R” Us and Target.
Nevertheless, Croak believes that slap watches “don’t have the collectability and tradeability that Silly Bandz do,” and says the Silly Bandz business hasn’t dried up completely.
“People are forgetting that Silly Bandz are still new in places like Kazakhstan, Spain and Finland,” Croak said. “You can’t get them in North Africa.” james.covert@nypost.com