Mattel Inc. recalled more than 9 million Chinese-manufactured toys Monday that either were coated with lead paint or included small magnets that could fall out. The move comes on the heels of a recall earlier this month of around 1 million Mattel Fisher-Price items and a recall in June of 1.5 million Thomas & Friends toy trains, both because of lead paint concerns. Small local retailers don’t often carry these brands, but many chain stores in the area do.

This recall is “major” and it will be “huge in terms of lost sales opportunities and extra retail costs,” said Joanna Kennedy of Tomax Corp., which provides recall management software to retailers.

Target carries brands that were part of the recall, said Carvin Carter, assistant store manager at the Potomac Yards store. There’s a lot of empty space on the shelves right now, he said, and the recall might “slightly affect our sales.” Some customers have been “skeptical” of buying toys in general in light of the recalls, he said.

Customers may look to local toy brands that they consider safer, Kennedy said. Some local toy stores, many of which are independently owned and carry more traditional toys, aren’t affected significantly. Doodlehopper 4 Kids, which has two stores, one in Falls Church and one in Springfield, wasn’t hurt by the recall, Springfield manager Gwen Bowden said. The store already had ordered products for the holiday season, but Bowden is “not worried” about any potential future recalls having an impact on sales.

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Arlington-based Kinder Haus Toys also doesn’t stock many Mattel products, according to assistant manager Laura Grossi, instead importing some toys from Germany.

Though Kinder Haus won’t order Mattel products in the near future, Grossi said, she noted that retailers “can’t avoid China,” as so many products are manufactured there.

The toy industry imports 80 percent of products from China, Toys “R” Us spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh said. Despite this, current sales and holiday-season sales won’t be affected at all by the recall, even though the toy chain had some of the recall items, Waugh said.

wblake@dcexaminer.com