Small toy manufacturers how to break the golden rule?

Status of the most comprehensive in the history of the toy industry chain analysis, Small toy manufacturers how to break the golden rule?

Toy industry there are two value chains, one is the content industry-driven toy industry value chain, such as Bandai, Disney, Hasbro and other toy companies. The other is the R & D design-driven toy industry value chain, such as the toy giant LEGO.

Through content-driven toy industry value chain, the main product is anime toys, derivatives as a cartoon image. The anime character of a toy may come directly from the comic, perhaps from a popular cartoon, or from a character in a game or movie or film. If the animation image is widely welcomed by the market, the toys derived from the anime image are also likely to become hot products in the market, such as the Frozen series toys, which swept the world after the Frozen Snapshot released last year.

The R & D-driven toy industry value chain, its products are often based on market demand, highlighting a toy function. Such as Lego\'s building blocks toys to develop children\'s creativity and imagination, smart toys can nurture the child\'s expression skills.

Toy brand operation

Brand and IP are the core of a toy business, and the ability to run brands and IPs is at the heart of the toy industry. We can from the Mattel and Hasbro on the core brand and the importance of IP can be seen on the brand and IP is the actual operation of the giants of the subject.

Toy giant has long been in the IP industry chain across the board to promote: Establish a core brand in the upstream, actively reserve IP and cooperate with well-known brands; In the midstream desalination of manufacturing operations efforts to enter the movie animation, shares of TV channels, diversion for toys; In the lower reaches of the channel and sales, give full play to the advantages of linkage between the upper reaches of the river, play a large effect, and actively layout of emerging markets. Not just America\'s two giants have this action, Japan\'s Bandai dream palace, the domestic Austrian flight entertainment and so on from the original toy or game business starting to lay out the whole industry chain end of the IP.

The development of the whole industry chain does not mean the blind development of toy derivatives. For different types of IP, its profit point is different. Some IP movie box office receipts are not high and have been developed into a game with very high revenue. However, if they are expanded into toy derivatives or main parks, they can not guarantee profitability. Under the strategy of the whole industry chain, we should see the value point of IP and choose the appropriate IP to develop the toy derivatives.

In addition to product image creation, toy companies should pay more attention to commercialization. Mature enterprises relative to the advantages of just getting into the business, not with its own IP how good, but because of its ability to commercialize IP and the brand power accumulated in the market.

China\'s toy manufacturing industry isn’t lack of creative IP image, but the short-term bias on the commercial operation and commercial operation is not mature enough. Therefore, in the transition process of China\'s toy industry, in addition to emphasizing the creation of product image. In order to better realize IP realization, we must also enhance the commercialization and cultural output capabilities .

Mattel which with a large number of IP made sub-brand management, such as sub-boy brand, girl brand, preschool brand, etc., and then decided to derivative product development market. The girls\' brand mainly develops toys such as clothing, dress up and dolls; the boy brand models cars and movable dolls, while the preschool brand explores "education + toys." The organic integration of these IPs and derivatives has created the US-Thai derivatives industry chain.

Toy R & D Design

You must understand a wide range of complex toy world. In-depth understanding of existing toys is the basis for our innovative design of toys, especially the toys in foreign toy markets. More than half of the countries in Europe and the United States toys can not buy in the Chinese market, therefore, from the "universal" on Taobao toys is not enough. Innovative design of the original concept of toy products, toy design is the correct way to open. In fact, the basic functions of many classic toys have not changed in a hundred years. What designers need to do is to use new technologies, new materials and new techniques to upgrade and integrate existing toys through new artistic expressions.

Toy manufacturing

From the manufacturing point of view, the toy industry chain is mainly raw material suppliers. Mainly include plastic industry, hardware industry, electronic parts industry and packaging industry. Toy manufacturers need to be distributors through the product to consumers, so the downstream include retail, wholesale and other sales industry.

Many toy companies, regional industry cluster phenomenon is obvious. The most important toy production and export base is "five provinces and one city": Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Zhejiang and Fujian.

In product categories, Guangdong and Fujian dominated with electric and plastic toys. Jiangsu and Shanghai dominated mainly plush toys; mainly Zhejiang-based wooden toys formed a relatively obvious industrial cluster effect. Among them, Guangdong Province is also China\'s largest toy production and export area, mainly concentrated in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Shantou Chenghai, Foshan Nanhai, Jieyang Jiexi and other places.

The export of toys shows the characteristics of "one high, three low" and the core competitiveness of the industry is not strong

At present, the toy export enterprises mainly OEM-based, its exports of more than 70% of the toys belong to the processing or sample processing. Because OEM production, such companies do not have R & D funding, there is no ability to analyze the safety performance of toys, just engaged in simple sample processing. Therefore, the product\'s brand effect is not obvious, a single means of sales, competition is grim, resulting in a direct result of China\'s toy exports "one high and three low", that is, high export volume, low technological content, low value brand, low economic efficiency.

Toy logistics and transport

Logistics loss is inevitable, and now are basically customer-designated logistics, they control their own costs. Customers found that freight generated in the loss, manufacturers are first to supply them, and then by looking for logistics complaints. Logistics services are very good in recent years, they will soon be damaged compensation, generally not a lot of loss, the customer will confirm when receiving, if there is loss, will allow the site to confirm logistics, forwarding photos to the dealer, before If there are problems, first of all will be shirked responsibility, the manufacturers have no way, but in order to calm down customer advice, you can only lose a little bit of their own.

The current existence of the brutal logistics, the phenomenon of rough loading and unloading widespread, in order to effectively deal with this phenomenon, manufacturers have two options: First, strengthen the overall product packaging materials, so that products more anti-drop compression. Second, depending on the circumstances change logistics company. But in practice, choosing one is more practical for the company. The goal is to find the best effect between packaging costs and logistics losses. Logistics caused by the loss is not small, their current logistics are using their own designated companies to ensure safe and convenient transportation.

The way of buying

Downstream toys sales channels, including wholesale channels, department stores, supermarkets, stores, maternal and child chains, e-commerce platform.

Traditional toy sales channels are: First, the wholesale market; Second, large department stores to sell high-end, mainly the international brand toys; Third, supermarket stores, low-cost toys is an important store. In recent years, specialty stores and franchise chains are developing. For example, Toys R Us, Friends of Music and Li Jia Baby continue to emerge and become one of the channels for most parents to purchase toys.

For small and medium sized toy companies to break the golden rule

1. Take the path of differentiation, specializing in vertical areas

For example Funko company focused on the collection of toys, Funko not through the development of IP, but through a wide range of IP development companies. According to public information, Funko signed a contract covering more than 10,000 kinds of characters, including Star Wars, the role of the Golden Girls, NFL athletes, and even Hillary and Trump.

2. deepening technological advantages, rational use of IP image

Like our company Ballstar, Ballstar, hailed as a high-tech toy, is a technology-centric enterprise whose toys combine electronic attributes and educational attributes primarily aimed at the intellectual development of younger children. Ballstar does not create IP, nor IP as the core, the main advantages of its products and technology attributes and educational significance.

3. Make full use of channel advantages and marketing tools

Such as McDonald\'s, it is not a toy manufacturer, there is no technical advantage nor the field of toys. But according to Nutrition Nibbles, McDonald\'s exports 1.5 billion toys a year out of 35,000 stores worldwide. McDonald\'s currently has 35,000 stores worldwide, covering 119 countries, the daily number of people into the store as high as 62 million people. McDonald\'s with its huge channel advantage, and promote the sale of toys.