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Zanybandz, the brainchild of Broken Arrow resident Lori Montag and her business partner, are catching on with kids around the country and are poised to become the next kid-fueled craze.
Zanybandz are the latest must-have toys.
Lori Montag knows the shelf life of a toy craze is short; most toys hit their peak for about nine months, she says. Ten years ago, stores couldn’t keep Beanie Babies on the shelf, but now you can’t give them away, she adds. That’s why, Montag says, she is trying to enjoy the ride while she can.
Montag, a resident of Broken Arrow, and her business partner, Jim Howard, who hails from Birmingham, Ala., are the creators of Zanybandz, the latest must-have item for kids to collect and trade with friends.
With headquarters in Broken Arrow, Montag and her team of 20 are working up to 16 hours a day to fill the growing demand for the bracelets that, when taken off and laid flat, snap into the form of various shaped themes, such as animals, sporting equipment and pirates. Right now, there are 19 different designs. Six more will be released soon, Montag says.
“We knew it was going to be big,” says Montag, who unveiled the bands with Howard at an Atlanta toy show in January. “The reaction from kids — immediately they were wearing 100 to 200 on their arms. They were wanting to trade. You can just see the reaction. It has not slowed down.”
That’s not to say, however, that Montag didn’t have her doubts when Howard came to her with the idea.
“When he approached me with this idea, I said, ‘You’re insane. To bring something out in this economy is crazy,’” she says, although she quickly realized the recession is one reason the bracelets have caught on so fast and so well. Instead of spending $50 on a video game, parents can buy a 24 pack of Zanybandz for $5, she notes.
The craze is just starting in Oklahoma, Montag says, and hasn’t yet reached states such as California or Washington. Locally, at least 20 stores, including The Perfect Touch and Kiddlestix, carry the bracelets. Nationally, Zanybandz are sold in more than 8,000 stores.
“Once it gets into a state, it explodes,” Montag says. “It’s like the Beanie Baby craze.”
In fact, she says, parents are getting into the craze just as much as their children.
“My kids were in the Beanie Baby era. I remember going to the store and waiting for the Beanie Baby. You got a rush finding that one you were looking for,” she says, adding that the new rush is finding that one elusive bracelet. She says parents often say, “‘Oh, my gosh. That’s the one I’ve been looking for.’”
The tie-dye Hollywood designs, which include bracelets in the shapes of a poodle, a stretch limo, a Hollywood star and a dollar sign, are the most popular right now, Montag says.
Zanybandz have come with some controversy. School districts across the country have banned Zanybanz and similar bands, saying they are a distraction in class and can be dangerous when kids snap them.
However, “all that does is fuel the heat,” Montag says. “Our sales usually double. When we hear they get banned, we say we better ship more inventory. Kids want what they can’t have.”
