Wal-Mart (WMT) appeared to have pulled off a holiday season coup on Tuesday when the company said it would sell thousands of hard-to-find Elmo T.M.X. dolls online for four days this week.
"We're very excited to surprise our customers with one last, big opportunity to purchase the hottest toy of the year — Elmo T.M.X.," said Mike Simas, Walmart.com's vice president of merchandising, in a press release.
The $40 T.M.X. Elmo is one of the most in-demand gifts of the year. The furry, red Sesame Street character — who laughs and kicks his feet when tickled — has proven a popular pick with parents and children this holiday season.
Soon after the doll’s much-anticipated September release many toy retailers, including Wal-Mart, broke the news to T.M.X. hunters that Elmo was out of stock.
But Wal-Mart’s most recent announcement has raised suspicions that the world's largest retailer may have hoarded the dolls and timed their release for the prime-shopping season.
The company says that is not the case.
When asked how Wal-Mart.com got its hands on such a large quantity of the much-sought-after toy with less than two weeks to Christmas, company spokeswoman Amy Colella told FOXNews.com, "We recently secured the additional [Elmo dolls]."
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FOXNews.com's Heather Scroope and Catherine Donaldson-Evans contributed to this report.
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