Target and KB Toys have responded to Walmart’s aggressive opening salvo in this year’s holiday toy price war with cuts of their own.  Walmart announced that prices on ten popular toys and games, including the red-hot Bakugan game, would be cut to $10 (see “Walmart Fires Opening Price Cut Salvo”).   

KB announced price cuts on “hundreds of items,” with prices cut to $10 or less on over 200 toys.  The company also offers a Super Value Program, and Extreme Value! products, both offering reduced prices on targeted items (KB is offering some videogames as low as $9.98, and some DVDs as low as two for $9.98).   KB is selling Are U Smarter than a 5th Grader, the High School Musical Card Game, Spider-Man Operation, and over two dozen other games for $8.  KB is also selling NFL and MLB Action Figures for $5 each. 

Target responded by announcing that it was shopping its competitors’ stores “to ensure that it has the best prices on the most-wanted items, including popular toys for $10 or less.”

While this year’s holiday toy price war started at about the same time as last year’s, there appears to be a different focus this year:  lower priced toys are being showcased to attract consumers in the current difficult economic environment.