Toys

INDUSTRIAL CODES

NAICS: 33-9931 Doll and Stuffed Toy Manufacturing, 33-9932 Game, Toy, and Children's Vehicle Manufacturing

SIC: 3942 Doll and Stuffed Toys Manufacturing, 3944 Games, Toys, and Children's Vehicle Manufacturing

NAICS-Based Product Codes: 33-99310 through 33-99310326, 33-99321 through 33-99321116, 33-99323 through 33-99323131, 33-99323 through 33-99323566, 33-99325 through 33-99325236, and 33-99320 through 33-99329100

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Toys are, in their broadest sense, physical representations of working objects powered by imagination. They mimic real-world materials and concepts but ideally not in ways that can harm the user. Toys help a child enter a gradually-enlarging world, though when used by adults, toys are a means to minimize or hide the significance of that world. Human culture has used toys as long as it has used stories and for similar purposes: to instruct, to entertain, and to inform.

The first toys, just as the first tools, were likely objects occurring in nature but modified for human use. Early dolls were made from clay, wood, or fur. What adults used for tools, children use for play. However, adults, too, play games and often play with toys. Adults played early versions of board games such as chess, checkers, and backgammon in ancient civilizations. Such games, created in Egypt, Greece, India, or China, developed established rules. Board games were introduced to different cultures through exploration and military campaigns. For instance, Roman soldiers traveled with early versions of backgammon. During the thirteenth century Alfonso X, King of Leon and Castile, commissioned the Libro de los Juegos, or Book of Games. This first encyclopedia of European games was completed in 1281. It contained the rules for chess, backgammon, dice, and other games designed to entertain adults.

Toys for children were often designed to instruct or inform. Research into medieval times shows boys buried with small copies of weapons and tools; girls, with domestic implements. With over eighty percent of humanity living outside urban centers, toys held survival value: hunting, farming, and fighting practice for boys, motherhood simulation for girls. Dolls are among the oldest form of toys, with wood dolls made in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Talented artisans were recruited by nobility to make dolls. At the time of her death in 1589, the inventory of the belongings of Catherine de Medici contained 16 dolls. Pinocchio was a wooden doll with roots in Italy based on an 1883 book written by Carlo Collodi, also known as Carlo Lorenzini.

Toy shops became common through most of Western culture by the late nineteenth century, following the increased availability of disposable income as a result of the industrial revolution. Outdoor toys were common in the United States. A rolling wooden hoop made from oak and ranging in size from 22 inches to 44 inches was sold with a stick. It was advertised as an outdoor toy for boys in 1979–1880 by Davis Brothers. By the turn of the twentieth century, early U.S. toys included doctor and nurse kits, toys designed to instruct and inform children into playing the roles of professional adults. Children commonly played house or school, another way of assuming the roles of adults. By 1928 two schoolteachers in Wisconsin believed preschoolers could benefit from early learning at home and made toys to that end.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, toys continued to instruct, entertain, and inform. Toys for preschoolers, outdoor toys, and dolls remained popular with a large variety of choices available in the marketplace.

MARKET

The U.S. toy manufacturing industry has been declining. While the sale of toys has been strong, the shipments of U.S.-made toys has been declining since the mid-1980s. Peaking in 1984 at $615 million worth of shipments, U.S. manufacture of dolls and stuffed toys declined to $150 million in 2005. The decline in U.S. manufacturing of games, toys and children's vehicles is more difficult to track to before 1997 when the U.S. Census Bureau changed the industrial codes by which it tracks shipments. However, shipments of games, toys, and children's vehicles stood at $3.9 billion in 1997 and had fallen to $3.2 billion by 2005. The games, toys, and children's vehicles segment of the industry, while also declining, is doing so at a slower pace than is the dolls and stuffed toy segment.

U.S. Census Bureau data for the period 1997–2005 are presented for both industries in Figure 214. Notable in the shipment data for both toy industries is the impact that the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States had on the toy industry. Since the Christmas season is such an important engine for sales of toys, the decline in seasonal sales in 2001 was a important blow to the toy industry. Items in the dolls and stuffed toys segment include dolls of all sorts, toy animals, action figures, and stuffed toys, including parts and accessories. Items in the games, toys, and children's vehicle segment include plastic baby carriages/tricycles, models and craft/science kits, non-electric toys and puzzles, and a non-electric toys category that represented 34 percent of the segment in 2005. This largest game and toy category includes toy weapons, housekeeping, and cooking toys.

The industry association, Toy Industry Association, Inc., located in New York, tracks consumer purchases of toys in conjunction with the NPD Group. From the data they collect and publish a breakdown of the market by type of toy can be made. The categories used by the Toy Industry Association differ slightly from those of the Census Bureau and consist of the following eleven categories: action figures and accessories, arts and crafts, building sets, dolls, games/puzzles, infant/preschool, youth electronics, outdoor and sports, plush/stuffed toys, vehicles, and all other.

According to the Toy Industry Association, retail sales in the industry for 2006 were $22.3 billion. The three categories with the largest share of this total were the infant and preschooler category (14%), followed by outdoor and sports toys (13%), and dolls (12%). Arts and crafts was another important category, as was the games and puzzles category.

Imports have played an important role in the toy marketplace. As U.S. production of toys has fallen, the quantity of imports has risen. In 2000 toy imports in the United States stood at $14.4 billion, for items in both Census Bureau toy categories, dolls and stuffed toys, as well as games, toys, and children's vehicles. In 2006 imports of toys to the United States were valued at $18 billion.

KEY PRODUCERS/MANUFACTURERS

In the United States there were 139 establishments manufacturing dolls and stuffed toys in 2002 and an additional 742 manufacturing games, toys, and children's vehicles. Most doll and stuffed toy makers were located in California and New York, while most game, toy, and children's vehicle makers were in California and Pennsylvania. The top two U.S. toy manufacturers are Mattel, Inc., and Hasbro.

Mattel, Inc.

With its global headquarters in El Segundo, California, Mattel employed more than 32,000 people as of December 31, 2006 in 43 countries and sold products in more than 150 nations. The Mattel umbrella includes Barbie, the most popular doll ever, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, American Girl, Radica, and Tyco R/C, as well as Fisher-Price brands, including Little People and Power Wheels. Fisher-Price sells a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. Mattel reported net sales in 2006 of $5.7 billion. Its North American factories are in Tijuana and Monterrey, Mexico.

Mattel emerged from a toy company started by Ruth and Elliot Handler in their garage. The Handlers were inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 1989. They advertised on television on the Mickey Mouse Show in 1955. In the 1960s Mattel introduced plastic toys like See and Say and die-cast toys like Hotwheels. In 1993 it acquired Fisher-Price. It introduced Tickle Me Elmo in 1996 based on the well-known Sesame Street character, and Elmo became the biggest toy craze of the decade. In 1998 Mattel acquired Pleasant Company, the Wisconsin direct marketer of the American Girls brand of dolls, the second largest brand in the world, targeted for girls ages seven to twelve.

Mattel is the largest name in doll manufacturing. It makes Barbie, the number one doll brand targeted toward girls aged three to seven. Since her creation in 1959 as a teenage fashion model, Barbie was introduced in various professional roles with many friends. Ken joined Barbie in 1961. Mattel introduced an African American Barbie in 1980, but only the coloring—not the doll's features—had been changed. Barbie got her first disabled friend in a wheelchair in 1997. Barbie underwent a makeover in 1998 in response to complaints that she contributed to the lowering of the self-esteem of young girls. Her figure proportions were made more realistic and her makeup was toned down. On average, U.S. girls own eight Barbie dolls each. An estimated 95 percent of U.S. girls own at least one. Barbie remains popular by changing with the times. The Barbie Web site had 54 million hits per month, according to 2006 data from Webtrends International Analytics Reporting Tool. Barbie direct-to-DVD movies are consistent best sellers. By the end of 2006, seven Barbie movies had been released including Barbie Swan Lake, The Princess and the Pauper, and Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses.

Hasbro, Inc.

Hasbro began in 1923 in Providence, Rhode Island, when the Hassenfeld Brothers started a company that eventually expanded its product line to include paint sets, wax crayons, and doctor and nurse kits. Hassenfeld Brothers changed its name to Hasbro Industries in 1968, the year it went public. Hasbro grew primarily through acquisitions. Net revenues in 2006 were $3.2 billion. It employs 5,800 people; 3,200 in the United States. It has manufacturing facilities in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and Waterford, Ireland, along with suppliers in Asia. The Hasbro Children's Hospital opened in 1994 Providence, Rhode Island.

In 1928 Playskool, acquired by Hasbro in the 1980s, was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by two former school teachers who believed preschool children could benefit from early learning experiences at home. In 1935 Parker Brothers, acquired by Hasbro as part of its 1991 Tonka acquistion, launched a game about real estate wheeling and dealing called Monopoly, which eventually became the all-time, best-selling game. In 1947 Mound Metalcraft built Tonka trucks outside of Minnetonka, Minnesota. Hasbro purchased Tonka Corporation in 1991.

Hasbro owns Scrabble, which debuted in 1948 and has a checkered history. First manufactured by Selchow and Righter, the game was acquired by Hasbro 1989 and is currently part of the Parker Brothers lineup. In 1949 Milton Bradley, acquired by Hasbro in 1984, introduced Candy Land for children as young as age three to play. In 1952 Hasbro had its first major toy success with Mr. Potato Head, which it advertised on television. In 1956 Rainbow Crafts formulated Play-Doh. In the 1960s Kenner Products, purchased by Hasbro in 1991 as part of Tonka, created the Easy-Bake Oven for girls and G.I. Joe—an example of an early action figure—for boys.

After a brief hiatus from the market, Hasbro reintroduced G.I. Joe to the market in 1982 in the 3 3/4-inch scale made trendy by movie action figures. The new G.I. Joe spawned a hit animated television series and best-selling comic book line. In 1984, the same year it purchased Milton Bradley, Hasbro rolled out die-cast cars that transformed into robots called Transformers that retailed at $8 to $10 per car. In 1985 Hasbro Industries officially changed its name to Hasbro, Inc.

Acqusitions in the second half of the 1990s included Larami (maker of Super Soakers), Russ Berrie and Company subsidiaries Cap Toys and OddzOn (Koosh brands and interactive Cap Candy line), Tiger Electronics, Avalon Hill (maker of strategic board games), and Galoob (Micro Machines). In 1999 Hasbro acquired Wizards of the Coast, makers of Pokemon collectible trading cards and owner of the well-known role playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

Other Companies

Ty, Inc. made the plush-like and highly collectable Beanie Babies starting in 1993. In 1999 Ty retired all Beanie Baby manufacturing. Traditional dolls in the collectible segment are made by manufacturers such as Alexander Doll Company and Lee Middleton. Build-A-Bear Workshop was started by Maxine Clark in 1997 using knowledge of retail marketing she gained as a clerk at Payless Shoe Source. Typically located in shopping malls, these stores allow children to design their own teddy bears and other stuffed animals and construct them, usually with little or no adult assistance. By the end of 2006 the company posted sales of $437 million.

MATERIALS & SUPPLY CHAIN LOGISTICS

Reports published by the U.S. Census Bureau as a part of their Annual Survey of Manufactures detail the materials needed to make toys. These are primarily plastics resins and fabricated metals. Plastic is easily colored, heat stable, and durable. According to Standard & Poor's, consumer and institutional goods such as toys, sporting goods, and medical products consume approximately 13 percent of plastics production.

Mattel reported in a June 2007 analysts report that its supply chain initiatives include a materials laboratory to identify alternate sources of raw materials. As a result of the competitiveness of the plastics resins market, Mattel purchases recycled resin from outside suppliers at a lower cost. This also gives it credit for becoming more environmentally conscious. The materials laboratory also identified alternative materials for the popular die-cast cars. The laboratory developed a zinc/steel composite for die-cast cars, where a substitute steel filler saves approximately 20 percent over the cost of purchasing the more expensive zinc.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

While the retail toy distribution channel involves a classic structure wherein toy manufacturers sell products to wholesalers who distribute to retailers, the largest retailers with a nationwide presence have a direct relationship with toy makers. During 2006 Mattel's three largest customers were Wal-Mart at $1.1 billion, Toys R Us at $0.8 billion, and Target at $0.5 billion. Combined, these stores accounted for approximately 43 percent of Mattel's worldwide sales.

Toy Industry Association, Inc., reported that among the top 50 global toy retailers are Best Buy, Carrefour, Costco, Federated Merchandising, JCPenney, Kroger, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Marmaxx, Sears Holding Corp., Target, and Wal-Mart.

Mattel described its current distribution channel in June 2007. Its U.S. products are sold directly to retailers, including discount and free-standing toy stores, chain stores, department stores, other retail outlets and, to a limited extent, wholesalers. Mattel also operates several small retail outlets, generally near or at its corporate headquarters as a service to its employees and as an outlet for its products. Additionally, Mattel sells products online through its Web site. American Girl Brand's products, however, are distributed differently. They are sold directly to consumers via a catalog and through Mattel-owned stores.

The retail toy distribution channel is dominated by five top national retailers who sell 60 percent of toys. Market Share Reporter 2007 reported that Wal-Mart accounted for 20 percent of the retail toy market, Toys R Us claimed 17 percent, Target generated 8 percent, while Kmart had 6 percent, and KB Toys had 5 percent. The distribution channel for toys is distinct due to its absolute reliance on the Christmas season, which accounts for 50 to 60 percent of annual sales. Long-time toy retailers KB Toys, FAO Schwarz, Inc., Zany Brainy, and The Right Start filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the 2003 Christmas season. In 1998 Toys R Us started selling toys online.

KEY USERS

In terms of market share, infants and preschoolers are the largest users of toys. Of the $22.3 billion spent by U.S. consumers in 2006, most spending was in the infant and preschooler category (14%). Other key users are both adults and children who enjoy outdoor sports activities (13%). Dolls tend to be used most by children and represent 12 percent of the toy market by type. Users of arts and crafts, as well as games and puzzles, may be children or adults and are often a combination of children and adults playing together. These two categories of toys represented 23 percent of the toy market based on value of retail sales in 2006.

ADJACENT MARKETS

The primary adjacent market for toys involves licensing agreements for Hollywood movie entertainment characters. Tapping into the lucrative adjacency of entertainment properties is generally credited to director George Lucas who released the movie Star Wars in 1977. The following year miniature play figures such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were rolled out and came to be known generically as action figures. Since the 1980s most child-oriented movies from E.T. to Harry Potter to the Pirates of the Caribbean series had action figure tie-ins. For instance, in 2000 Mattel obtained the licensing rights for Harry Potter, rolling out Harry Potter dolls, games, and puzzles, along with plush and collectible characters.

The Toy Industry Association inducted George Lucas, the director of Star Wars, into its hall of fame in 2007, explaining:

Star Wars was the first entertainment franchise that brought together film, licensing and merchandising. Not only did Star Wars completely reshape the pop-culture landscape, it revolutionized our industry. Star Wars action figures established the 3 3/4-inch scale, which allowed kids to recreate the dynamic scenes of the movies, and spawned a community of passionate toy collectors—kids and adults alike. Star Wars set the industry standard on which most major movie toy lines are based today.

Kenner introduced the Star Wars line in 1977, fourteen years before it was acquired by Hasbro. Star Wars radically changed the profile of the action figure market. In addition to creating the standardized 3 3/4-inch size, Star Wars brought down the retail price, making action figures affordable for all kids. As a result of its 1991 acquisition of Tonka Corporation, which included Kenner Products and Parker Brothers, Hasbro acquired Star Wars and a wide range of licensed properties, such as Batman.

According to its Web site, Hasbro has licensing agreements with the entertainment industry's premier companies, such as Disney and Lucasfilm. Hasbro teamed up with the Walt Disney Company in 2000 and became the master toy licensee for all Disney films, and was named official toy and game company for Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Euro Disney. As part of the agreement, Hasbro worked with Disney to design and develop a special toy store, called Once Upon a Toy, that opened in Downtown Disney in the summer of 2002.

According to its 2006 annual report, Mattel has agreements to license entertainment properties from, among others, Disney Enterprises, Inc. including Disney characters such as Winnie the Pooh, Disney Princesses, Cars from Pixar, and all Disney films and television properties for use in Mattel DVD board games sold in North America; Viacom International, Inc. including its Nickelodeon properties Dora the Explorer, Go-Diego-Go!, and SpongeBob SquarePants; Origin Products Limited including Polly Pocket!; Warner Bros. Consumer Products including Batman, Superman, and Justice League; and Sesame Workshop including its Sesame Street properties.

Hasbro is expected to have the biggest seller of the 2007 summer move season with its Transformers action figures. Hasbro introduced Transformers in the 1980s, and the Transformers action film directed by Michael Bay is based on the Hasbro line of toys. Concurrent with the release of the move, Hasbro updated its Transformers line to include the Optimist Prime 18-wheel truck that transforms into a blaster with one pull of a handle. Typically, the studios license the rights to toy manufacturers and also receive royalties of 7 to 15 percent of the sales, according to a June 2007 article in the Los Angeles Times.

Hasbro also has the master toy license to three Marvel superhero movies in theaters in 2007: Spider-Man 3, Transformers, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The June 2007 Los Angeles Times article reported that Hasbro needs $1 billion in Marvel-related sales over the next five years to make a profit on its licenses. Toward that end, Hasbro signed deals with 230 licensees worldwide for T-shirts, bedding, cellular phones, and shoes for its Transformers brand.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

During 2004, 2005, and 2006, Mattel spent $171 million, $182 million and $174 million, respectively, in connection with the design and development of products, exclusive of royalty payments. Although classics such as Barbie, Monopoly, Scrabble, and Slinky have demonstrated strong, long-term sales performance, few toys or games stay on the shelves for more than a year or two. Toy makers continually update products. The traditional toy industry has competition from video games. While traditional toy industry consumer spending grew 4 percent from $21.3 billion in 2002 to $22.3 billion in 2006, consumer spending for video games grew from $10.3 billion in 2002 to $12.5 billion in 2006, an increase of 17 percent.

The addition of electronically driven features to toys is also an area receiving a great deal of R&D attention in the early twenty-first century. The incorporation of digital media in toys and games is another focus of many redesign projects. DVDs are being incorporated into games to make the experience more engaging. The latest version of the Game of Life uses a Visa card rather than cash and electronically keeps track of points, speeding the game pace significantly.

CURRENT TRENDS

A trend seen in many areas of fashion and entertainment during the first decade of the twenty-first century is also showing up in the toy market. The trend is the retro trend, the revival through reissue and remaking of previously successful products. The aging of the Baby Boom generation (those born between 1945 and the early 1960s) is often cited as a motivator behind this trend to reissue games and toys that were popular when this large generation was in its youth.

Another trend that is influencing the toy market in the latter part of the first decade of the twenty-first century has to do with the increasing use by U.S. toymakers of subcontractors located outside the United States. To take advantage of low labor costs, many toy companies having been contracting with suppliers in countries like China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. This trend is so common that Toy Shippers Association, Inc., part of the Toy Industry Association since 1989, negotiates competitive ocean freight contracts for member companies that import toys from Asia, giving members equivalent economies of pricing to those enjoyed by large toy makers such as Hasbro and Mattel command.

The increased influence of foreign made toys in the market has lead to another trend, that of growing concern about the materials used in the manufacture of toys. In 2007 the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission tested many products coming into the United States from Asian producers and found high levels of lead in them. This discovery started a series of recalls that shook the toy industry. Mattel announced recalls of more than one million toys found to have paint containing high levels of lead. In August 2007 it announced another recall of more than 9 million toys that contained small magnets that could come loose and be swallowed by children. The recall regarding magnets involved 63 varieties of toys sold before January 2007, including some Polly Pocket, Doggie Day Care, Batman and Barbie toys.

On September 4, 2007, Mattel announced that as a result of its ongoing investigation of its toys manufactured by its Chinese contractor, it would voluntarily recall 11 toys lines globally, including eight pet and furniture play-sets sold under the Barbie brand and three Fisher-Price toys, due to impermissible levels of lead. No Barbie dolls were included in this recall. In total, the September 2007 recall involved 522,000 U.S. toys. The voluntary recall resulted from Mattel's August 2007 promise of extensive testing of finished products combined with thorough investigation of vendors. Several prior subcontractors are no longer manufacturing Mattel toys.

TARGET MARKETS & SEGMENTATION

In marketing toys, toymakers must appeal to both the children, for whom the toys are intended, and the adults who care for them. Mattel reported during its June 2007 shareholders meeting that it has documented increased toy spending per capita in the United States since families are having fewer children and starting those families later in life.

Hasbro is segmented by the markets it targets. It calls these segments boys, girls, development, creative play, board games, and action figures. It also has youth electronics and electronic games, part of the electronic games industry. Mattel segments first and foremost into the largest consumer spending market: infants and preschoolers. Fisher Price has four segments: baby gear, infant toys, preschool toys, and rescue heroes. Mattel also targets, simply, boys, girls, and adults. For adults it has Matchbox collectibles, Barbie collectibles, and Scrabble, among others toys and games. For preschoolers it has Barney, Disney, and Dora the Explorer. Mattel also targets girls ages seven to twelve with its American Girl brand dolls and accessories, which represented 7 percent of its $5.7 billion sales in 2006.

Mattel operates its own American Girl stores in Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; and Los Angeles, California. The American Girl outlet store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, sells excess product. The second American girl store opened in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue in 2003. The 42,000 square foot store was modeled on the Chicago, Illinois, flagship store and includes a café and a live action theatre. American Girls starred in three made-for-television movies since 2004 that aired on the WB network and were produced by actress Julia Roberts.

In August 2007 Mattel opened a new American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Atlanta, Georgia, at the premier North Point Mall. The 12,000 square foot retail site features a shop, a bistro, a doll hair salon, and private party rooms. The boutique offers a collection called Dress Like Your Doll of clothing for girls. In the 77-seat bistro, favorite dolls can sit next to their owners in special seats. Mattel plans to open a similar boutique and bistro in 2007 at Galleria in Dallas, Texas.

All available evidence suggests the human desire for playthings appears to have no limits on complexity, price, or customer age, and has lasted our entire history.

RELATED ASSOCIATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

American Specialty Toy Association, http://www.astratoy.org

Game Manufacturers Association, http://www.gama.org

National Scrabble Association, http://www.scrabble-assoc.com

Toy Industry Association, Inc., http://www.tia.org

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see also Board Games, Video Games & Consoles