TOTAL LICENSING
The Changing Times of
We live in changing times. The retail industry has certainly suffered over the last few years – the closure of Toys R Us in the US and UK shook the market and, in turn, the licensing industry. Many bricksand-mortar retailers have seen problems and, at the very least, closures of stores. The growth of e-commerce has exploded, with companies such as Amazon taking an enormous part of the market share of purchases of toys. There is also a difference in the customer – whereas the Boomer generation might prefer to physical go shopping and make purchases, many of the Millennial generation have embraced the ease of next-day, or even same-day delivery. But this being said, while we seem to live in times of instant gratification, there is equally another shift toward local shopping, ethical purchasing and cutting our carbon footprint. It also goes without saying that the rise of innovative technology could mean stores, in the future, with no employees. So, as it seems, we sit on the edge of very shifting times. So what does this all mean for the toy industry? The main players remain the same
– Lego, Mattel, Hasbro, Fisher-Price, Namco Bandai, Nerf and Jakks Pacific. And of course, the fact remains that children still want to play with toys. The demand is very much still strong – and growing. According the The NPD Group, global toy industry sales grew 4% from 2017 to 2018, with sales of over $18 billion in the first half of the year. NPD credits this to the strength of brands within the market, as well as trends and themes such as collectibles, and movie merchandise. In 2017, Mexico saw the largest growth, followed by the US and Brazil. L.O.L. Surprise! led global sales, being
2018 saw the rise of millennial nostalgia, games, collectibles, and slime 66
the top toy sold in the 13 countries studied by The NPD Group. Collectibles, of course, were arguably one of the biggest, and fastest growing trends of the last couple of years.
‘...Global toy industry sales grew 4% from 2017 to 2018, with sales of over $18 billion in the first half of the year...’ NPD
At 2018 New York Toy Fair, key trends for the year were identified as Millennial Nostalgia, Collectibles/Unboxing, Slime/Gross and Games. The latter is an interesting one, as now, game and toy manufacturers are adding modern, and often electronic twists to traditional games. Experiential seemed to be a key word over the last few years as well, with retailers adapting to meet the needs of new, young audiences who enjoy interactive experiences. Of course,