Like many other industries, China's toy market has a long history, but obviously not the same with North American and European markets.
First of all, it has great potential in the market, which is well known to 49,000 exhibitors and 2,100 companies participating in the Hong Kong Toys and Games show in early January.
According to data from London-based Euromonitor International, toy sales in China have risen from 89.7 billion yuan in 2011 to 232.2 billion yuan in 2016.
Market research firm Dickson Management Consulting predicts that China's toy market will surpass the U.S. to become the largest toy market in the world by 2022. The market growth comes from the increase of people's income and parents of all walks of life, Find more expensive, better quality toys.
Benya, the director of Hong Kong Dynamics Science Co., Ltd., which produces the Kandy brand telescopes and other branded toys, said: 'Chinese parents have very different buying habits.'
In order to meet the growth of market demand, toy manufacturers in Hong Kong had to leave the comfort zone. Emily Chen, who has been the Hong Kong Toy Commission executive for a long time, also came to the show and asked local companies in Hong Kong to design, manufacture and sell self-sufficient in Hong Kong and mainland China Branded toys, she said: 'I told our members that as a Chinese, they must have a good market feeling. American families live in large areas and toys can be larger, but in China, parents want smaller but more functional Toys
The Chinese government is encouraging more spending on early education and kindergartens, and Chen, who also serves as an executive director of Hong Kong-based toy maker Quan Lee, said such policy orientation has broadened market potential, she said: 'We can target the education market as well consumer market. '
For example, Ricoh (Hong Kong) International Trading Company produces B. Duck rubber duck toys for infants and young children, Shantou Jia Beile Children Products Co., Ltd. launched a series of dancing robot dinosaurs.
However, following an interview for three days (January 8-11), reporters got the impression that most toy manufacturers still insisted on their strategy of always playing the role of a behind-the-scenes maker of large global brands.
Ms. Chan said Allison Group has developed its own brands including the ZIPES racing system, a series of coin banks, series of toys based on Hong Kong's iconic minibus, etc. The company also licenses international brands such as Marvel, Barbie and Thomas fuel tank engines .
During the show, Richard Gottlieb, a toy industry veteran and chief executive officer of New York-based global toy specialist consulting firm, told attendees that to enter the Chinese market, designers must "go beyond the American way of thinking and take a global approach." He said some western companies Believes Disney and Pixar are at the forefront, Kung Fu Panda is very popular in China and around the world, and the recent movie Coco is also popular in China.
In the Chinese market, online sales of toys and games account for 18% of the overall market share, and Techcom predicts an annual increase of 20% by 2022. The growth of online sales is attributed to the development of the express delivery industry. In fact, The speed of the market is also one of the competitiveness, can challenge the price.Gottlieb said: 'We found that New York fashion will soon be globalized.'
In addition, toy exports are on the rise, and Technex reports that China's toy exports have risen 18% in 2016. None of the Chinese companies interviewed planned to shift production to North America or cheaper South East Asia. In the toy industry, buyers relied more Most are online markets. "Potential consumers look for products on Taobao instead of booths," Alex Wong, a sales manager at Shantou Wanger Stationery Co., Ltd., told reporters. "The company produces and sells Wanger, Dr. Duck and Dolby brand of educational toys.
Security is a common concern of parents around the world, Chinese parents are particularly concerned about ten years ago, milk and infant formula added melamine incident led to 300000 infants victims, at least 6 children died.This exhibition organizers Hongkong CST Survey shows that mainland toy buyers listed a series of dangerous chemicals and product safety issues as their key issues of concern.
London-based ThinkPlay Ltd, aiming to relieve parents' concerns, put its Morphun-branded toys for production in Europe, said Colin Simond, managing director. "We make in Poland, close to the UK, and Poles also speak English, We have quality control. '
The factory is highly automated and the manufacturing costs are slightly higher than in China, but the container shipping costs from Hamburg to Shanghai are much cheaper than in the opposite direction. "Symonds said: 'Americans care about value for money, but Europe and Asia favor brands, They like well-known brands. "Symonds relinquished a stable CPA position in 2001 and instead pursued the dream of life, 'Designing something.'
In 2016, China terminated its one-child policy and its two-child policy is expected to drive demand. Dudley estimates that it will add 2 million new babies annually.
One of the more under-developed areas in China is the Star Wars collection of adult toys, a big business in the United States, where children's toys make up over 40% of the market, while in Japan, every five adults Four have their own toys, but in stark contrast, according to data provided by the HKTDC, 99% of China's toy market is child-oriented.