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American Morning
Holiday Shopping
Aired November 28, 2003 - 08:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: They were the focus yesterday for the 77th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And today the doors are back open.
This was the scene a short time ago here in Manhattan, Macy's at Harold's Square, 34th and Broadway. They were piling in already. Retailers hoping the revival of the economy will translate into a strong holiday season.
Kris Osborn is out in Chicago, right along the scene on Michigan Avenue this morning. How goes it, Kris? Good morning.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill. I say hello to you this morning, along with some new friends of mine, T- Rex and Darth Vader, both of whom are made entirely from LEGO. They do say the imagination is limitless.
Of course, some of those new economic numbers you mentioned, consumer confidence, along with the National Retail Federation, expecting $217 billion in spending this holiday season, is some cause for optimism. And some of that is here at the LEGO store. Retailers are hoping that consumer will come in and spend a lot of money.
LEGOs have a timeless quality. They've been around since the early 1900s. And here to tell us right now, Bill, what is sealing and what is hot and popular is Jeannie Martinez (ph).
JEANNIE MARTINEZ: Hi.
OSBORN: We say hello and welcome to you. Who are your friends here? They look pretty colorful.
MARTINEZ: They are called the Rochies (ph). They are a legal- owned (ph) story line that we have going on right here. We have -- these are the bad guys, Rochies (ph). They are called Rochies (ph). They battle the good guys, which are the Tulla Nugas (ph) that are over there in the background.
OSBORN: And this is all made entirely of LEGOs, huh?
MARTINEZ: All out of LEGO. Very simple, very easy to make. A 5- year-old and up can build them. No problem.
And it's also got its own container, too. So they can always have a place to go home.
OSBORN: It looks pretty sophisticated. MARTINEZ: Very easy to make, very playful. And they also combine -- you can combine three of them just to make one huge one. So you're not limited in your imagination whatsoever.
OSBORN: And how much is each one of these?
MARTINEZ: These are $8.95. And the good guys are $7.95.
OSBORN: Oh, see, good guys and bad guys. We've got to balance things out here at the LEGO store.
MARTINEZ: Oh, definitely.
OSBORN: Look at this. We've got a crab, a bug. What are we looking at here?
MARTINEZ: Well, right here what we're looking at is our Make and Create. It's basically what we call our basic set, because a lot of consumers also wanted us to build a back to the basic set. So what LEGO actually did is they created a designer set.
It's -- basically here what you see is designer set. It's a wild collection. But you're not only limited to what you see here. There are 63 creations that you can make with just this set alone.
OSBORN: Very intricate. I mean, I guess the days of a LEGO, Tonka truck are kind of evolved. They're long gone.
MARTINEZ: Oh, no. They're really definitely all about imagination and playing and creativity.
OSBORN: Absolutely. And how much for this if a parent wanted to get it for their kids?
MARTINEZ: Oh, they range from $6.95 and up. So it's very affordable. LEGO also kept in mind that with, you know, the changing times, they also have to be careful with the price ranges. So they were very generous with this set as well.
OSBORN: Thank you so much. Jeannie Martinez (ph) from the LEGO store, taking us right in to see what's selling and what parents might be interested in.
So I send it back to you from Westfield Northbridge. It's a shopping center here along Chicago's magnificent mile, hoping for some magnificent dollars, too -- Bill.
HEMMER: Yes, I bet they are. We used to build barns with that stuff when we were kids. The imaginations are running wild compare to what we had.
Thanks, Kris. Nice stuff. Kris Osborn in Chicago.
Aired November 28, 2003 - 08:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: They were the focus yesterday for the 77th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And today the doors are back open.
This was the scene a short time ago here in Manhattan, Macy's at Harold's Square, 34th and Broadway. They were piling in already. Retailers hoping the revival of the economy will translate into a strong holiday season.
Kris Osborn is out in Chicago, right along the scene on Michigan Avenue this morning. How goes it, Kris? Good morning.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill. I say hello to you this morning, along with some new friends of mine, T- Rex and Darth Vader, both of whom are made entirely from LEGO. They do say the imagination is limitless.
Of course, some of those new economic numbers you mentioned, consumer confidence, along with the National Retail Federation, expecting $217 billion in spending this holiday season, is some cause for optimism. And some of that is here at the LEGO store. Retailers are hoping that consumer will come in and spend a lot of money.
LEGOs have a timeless quality. They've been around since the early 1900s. And here to tell us right now, Bill, what is sealing and what is hot and popular is Jeannie Martinez (ph).
JEANNIE MARTINEZ: Hi.
OSBORN: We say hello and welcome to you. Who are your friends here? They look pretty colorful.
MARTINEZ: They are called the Rochies (ph). They are a legal- owned (ph) story line that we have going on right here. We have -- these are the bad guys, Rochies (ph). They are called Rochies (ph). They battle the good guys, which are the Tulla Nugas (ph) that are over there in the background.
OSBORN: And this is all made entirely of LEGOs, huh?
MARTINEZ: All out of LEGO. Very simple, very easy to make. A 5- year-old and up can build them. No problem.
And it's also got its own container, too. So they can always have a place to go home.
OSBORN: It looks pretty sophisticated. MARTINEZ: Very easy to make, very playful. And they also combine -- you can combine three of them just to make one huge one. So you're not limited in your imagination whatsoever.
OSBORN: And how much is each one of these?
MARTINEZ: These are $8.95. And the good guys are $7.95.
OSBORN: Oh, see, good guys and bad guys. We've got to balance things out here at the LEGO store.
MARTINEZ: Oh, definitely.
OSBORN: Look at this. We've got a crab, a bug. What are we looking at here?
MARTINEZ: Well, right here what we're looking at is our Make and Create. It's basically what we call our basic set, because a lot of consumers also wanted us to build a back to the basic set. So what LEGO actually did is they created a designer set.
It's -- basically here what you see is designer set. It's a wild collection. But you're not only limited to what you see here. There are 63 creations that you can make with just this set alone.
OSBORN: Very intricate. I mean, I guess the days of a LEGO, Tonka truck are kind of evolved. They're long gone.
MARTINEZ: Oh, no. They're really definitely all about imagination and playing and creativity.
OSBORN: Absolutely. And how much for this if a parent wanted to get it for their kids?
MARTINEZ: Oh, they range from $6.95 and up. So it's very affordable. LEGO also kept in mind that with, you know, the changing times, they also have to be careful with the price ranges. So they were very generous with this set as well.
OSBORN: Thank you so much. Jeannie Martinez (ph) from the LEGO store, taking us right in to see what's selling and what parents might be interested in.
So I send it back to you from Westfield Northbridge. It's a shopping center here along Chicago's magnificent mile, hoping for some magnificent dollars, too -- Bill.
HEMMER: Yes, I bet they are. We used to build barns with that stuff when we were kids. The imaginations are running wild compare to what we had.
Thanks, Kris. Nice stuff. Kris Osborn in Chicago.
