Feature
Construction Toys
Look what I made…
With the construction toys category experiencing a boom during the past year amongst both children and adults, toy manufacturers and retailers are hoping to build on that momentum for the rest of the year ahead. Sam Giltrow finds out more.
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ccording to the NPD Group, building sets experienced significant growth in 2020 – up 18% on the previous year – and sales are still going strong. Lego saw its global consumer sales grow a staggering 21%, claiming this was largely driven by more people of all ages taking to brick-building during lockdowns. Marius Lang, UK & Ireland head of marketing at Lego, says: “We have an incredibly strong portfolio which offers creativity for all ages and interests, and, in addition, we also began to see the benefits of large-scale investments designed to support long term growth, such as in eCommerce and product innovation. Our agile supply chain allowed us to fulfil huge online demand and our Lego colleagues around the world worked incredibly hard to bring opportunities for play to children and families.” During this time, Lego enjoyed many successful launches including Lego Super Mario, Lego Dots and Lego Vidyo music video maker which, through Lego’s partnership with Universal Music group, combines children’s creativity and passion for music with Lego. Marius says that during the past year, The Lego Group has seen more people of all ages building with Lego bricks including many new adult builders, and it has been developing new Lego sets which tap into passions and interests in different ways, providing a more sophisticated and immersive building experience. For example, the company recently launched the Lego Art World Map which allows builders to immerse themselves in creating a stunning representation of the earth from 2D Lego tiles, even pinpointing where they have travelled.
Licensed properties remain a key part of the company’s product portfolio and, with the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter this year, the Lego Group has announced eight new Lego Harry Potter products, plus the arrival of exclusive minifigures. The Star Wars portfolio has also seen a number of new additions, and the Lego Super Mario range will continue to evolve and expand. Licences are gaining more importance for Mattel too, which also enjoyed a great year according to UK marketing director Kelly Philp. Its popular Mega construction range grew in share and value in 2020 and Mattel not only ended the year as the number two manufacturer in the building sets supercategory, but its renowned 60 Piece Bag remained the number one item in junior building sets. “We are in a fantastic position to continue this success in 2021 and have already seen this momentum continue in the first half of this year within junior building sets,” Kelly tells Toy World. Indeed, Mega’s sales value was up 23% YTD, whilst it also saw continued share growth (NPD Report April 2021). As with any toy category, Kelly says innovation is key, and Mattel has continued to add to its existing product lines and introduced some exciting new ranges to its portfolio. “We are seeing licences as a particularly important area to continue to innovate, with a number of new items planned for launch this year, not only in our existing licensed product lines such as Pokémon and Halo but also with brand-new lines joining the Mega range, such as Barbie and Paw Patrol: The Movie,” adds Kelly.
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This summer will see the launch of the new Mega Barbie building sets, with the line including a range of themes, from the fan favourite Dreamcamper to a Beach Adventure play set. There will also be a partnership with Paw Patrol: The Movie, with the new movie line in stores this summer, ahead of the cinema on 13th August. “Paw Patrol has been doing incredibly well (+17.4% YTD - UK, Total Market, May 2021) and with the movie launching in August, we’re really looking forward to seeing this line out in the market,” says Kelly. “And with the Barbie brand on such an incredible trajectory of growth, this is the perfect time to join the two brands together” she explained. “Our existing licences also continue to remain important to our line; Squirtle is set to join the great range of Mega Pokémon already in the market, while there will also be new Halo lines launching later this year.” Although the construction market is dominated by the bigger players such as Lego and Mattel, their popularity helps draw kids into other construction brands, according to Clive Wooster, MD, Geomagworld, the leading brand in the magnetic construction field: “Lego shines a spotlight on the construction market which is helpful to bring it to a wide audience,” he explains. Clive says that after allowing for store closures in early 2021, the momentum for construction toys seems to be continuing: “Listings are strong, Christmas orders look healthy, and we are planning for a year of growth.” He adds that Geomag is a unique offering product-
