The future of China's toy market

American Toys R Us Bankruptcy, Chinese Toy Exports Not Yet Affected, the growth space of the Chinese toy market is remarkable.

The world\'s largest US toy retailer Toys R Us recently announced bankruptcy news like a bomb sparked heated debate, what impact will this have on China\'s toy industry, the world’s largest toy production and export base? How the future prospects for the toy industry in Guangdong and the country?

China is the second largest toy consumer in the world, 2015 implementation of the “two-child policy”, gave birth to the international toy giants competing to enter the Chinese market, Toys R US can be described as the vanguard. Since 2006, Toy R Us has continuously opened more than 140 stores in China. Toys R Us recently declared bankruptcy in the United States, will it affect China\'s business?

Toys R Us currently has 7 stores in Shenzhen

Li Zhuoming, president of the Guangdong Toy Association, responded by saying: “American Toys R Us is a world-renowned toy retailer, the news of its bankruptcy is sure to make the industry undeserved, but the disappearance of old channels will soon be replaced by new channels.

According to industry sources, Toys R Us currently bankruptcy is liquidation of the UK and US operations. Toys R Us Asia as an independent legal person, its dominant business in China should not be affected.

It is understood that Toys R Us has continuously opened more than 140 stores in China since 2006. Currently there are 15 stores in Guangdong Province, of which 7 are in Shenzhen. After the bankruptcy filing, Toys R Us is still in China accelerated market expansion. On October 1, last year, 10 stores were opened in cities including Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Currently, all stores operate normally.

Affected by electricity suppliers, toy sales channels Shangchao Department Store and District Street shops have shown a downward trend in recent years, but online sales have developed rapidly. At present, the company\'s online sales (including B2B and B2C) account for about 20% to 30% of annual sales. On the domestic e-commerce platform, toys sell well in traditional products such as building blocks, stuffed toys, and baby toys.

Half of the world\'s toys are produced in Guangdong

Toys R Us declared bankruptcy in the United States, and Lego’s European and American market performance continued to decline... Although the world toy market is sluggish, the growth potential of the Chinese toy market is remarkable. The development of the toy industry in Guangdong cannot be underestimated.

“Guangdong is China\'s largest toy production and export base, with 70% of China and more than 50% of the world\'s toys produced by Guangdong enterprises,” said Li Zhuoming.

As the world\'s largest toy production and export base and the world\'s second largest consumer of toys, China\'s toy industry last year was still producing much more, selling well! The data shows that last year the Chinese toy industry performed generally well. According to data from the relevant departments of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Bureau of Statistics, the main business income of the industry last year was 235.71 billion yuan, an increase of 8.5% year-on-year; The total profit was 12.78 billion yuan, an increase of 8.8% over the same period of last year; There are estimated to be more than 7,000 toy manufacturing enterprises in the country, and there are 9,659 companies with export records in 2016 alone.

According to Li Zhuoming, Chinese toys are very easy to sell in 2017 due to the stimulation of innovative products, the recovery of European and American economies and other factors. The annual export of products was 44.15 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 31.2% year-on-year, created a new high in the growth of the world financial crisis in 2008 over the past 10 years. As an industry-recognized high-quality procurement platform, Guangzhou International Toys Fair has attracted 53,856 domestic and foreign merchants since 2017, and has also set a peak since the exhibition was held. The 30th Guangzhou International Toys Fair this year has been expanded to 100,000 square meters, an increase of 23% year-on-year, and nearly 4,000 booths have been set up, but supply is still in short supply. The global sales of innovative products such as “fingerprint monkeys” were stimulated last year. It is expected that more new products will be exhibited this year. According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs, in the first two months of this year, China’s toy exports reached 21.27 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.9%. The situation is optimistic.

The growing space for the Chinese toy market is impressive. In the past few years, the world market has been sluggish, and the performance of Lego’s European and American markets has continued to decline, but it has maintained a double-digit increase in China. According to the “2017 China Toy Industry Operation” provided by the Guangdong Toy Association, in 2017, China’s toy imports reached US$1.082 billion, an increase of 4.35% over the same period last year. In 2018, the number of foreign exhibitors at the 30th Guangzhou International Toys Fair rose to 35, a year-on-year increase of 95%. This shows that from one side, businessmen from all countries are optimistic about the Chinese market.

Wu Shaojun, deputy general manager of Guangdong Le Dr. Educational Equipment Co., Ltd., believes that the living standards of the Chinese people have been continuously improved and consumption has been significantly upgraded. Toys that can develop children\'s intelligence, improve children\'s ability to innovate, and have practical skills have a great market.

Good market prospects

For the future development prospects of China\'s toy industry, industry players are unanimously optimistic. Europe and the United States are the world\'s major consumers of toys. In 2018, the European and American economies are expected to further pick up. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast: In 2018, the global economy will grow steadily, reaching 3.8%, which is higher than 3.7% in 2017. As a result, the export-oriented Chinese toy industry will remain prosperous.

Guangzhou International Toys Fair is known as the “Chinese toy market trend indicator”. At the same time, it is also a place for the Chinese toy industry “Huashan Sword”. It is reported that during the exhibition this year, in addition to business matchmaking, the organizers also organized several concurrent sessions. Including “2018 Toy Industry Marketing Summit and Chinese and Foreign Toys Awards Award Ceremony” “China Cartoon Image Marketing Conference Venue and ELBM Chinese and Foreign Animation Game Brand Authorization Matchmaking Meeting” “Internet Age Children\'s Quality Education Innovation Forum” “Mother and Baby Ultimate Swiss Toy Retail Training” And the “Toy Ecommerce and New Media Innovation Application Forum”, etc. Focus on research in the area all the way to the construction of the new international situation, the Chinese toy industry innovation and development issues such as how to promote the healthy development of the industry.