Relevant data shows that there are more than 20,000 toy companies in China, employing more than 4 million people, with an annual output value of more than 100 billion yuan, and their output accounts for more than 70% of the world's total output.
1. Analysis of market status
1. Market capacity:
According to statistics from relevant departments, among my country’s existing population of 1.4 billion, those under the age of 14 There are 400 million children and infants, including 100 million urban children and 300 million rural children. This is a large market for the toy industry. As people's demand for leisure and entertainment increases, as well as people's changing concepts of the functions of toys, the consumer group of toys is also expanding rapidly. Toys are no longer just for children. More and more high-end and novel toys are becoming leisure and entertainment products for adults.
The per capita annual consumption of children's toys in urban China is only 55 yuan, while the per capita consumption of children's toys in rural areas is less than 30 yuan. The average annual toy consumption of urban middle-aged people is only 20 yuan, while the per capita annual toy consumption of rural adults is basically zero. This extremely low difference in consumption amount just reflects the immeasurable development potential of my country's toy consumer market.
2. Industry analysis:
Due to the huge potential of the toy market and the existence of the gap between urban and rural consumption, it is determined that my country’s toy market will be in various grades and varieties for a long time to come. The situation of survival. And what is the direction of consumer demand for toys?
SMR survey results show that as the income of urban residents increases, parents attach great importance to the intellectual development of their children. Buying toys for children is an important way for parents to express their love and develop their children's intelligence. Therefore, toys that integrate knowledge, fun, and use of hands and brains cater to the psychology of urban parents who hope that their children will succeed. 50% of urban consumers have a special preference for electronic toys, 30% of urban consumers think smart toys are more attractive, and 20% of urban consumers favor high-end plush and cloth decorative toys. .
Rural consumers are still dominated by traditional toy types. 48% of rural consumers are willing to buy electric toys, 28% of rural consumers are willing to buy assembly toys, and 24% of rural consumers are willing to buy Buy medium and low-end plush and cloth toys.
Obviously, electric and smart toys have a vast majority of audiences in society, whether in cities or rural areas, and can even represent "toys".
3. Analysis of industry factors:
Global economy
Since 70% of the world is made in China, the global economic situation also affects the Chinese toy industry. The current debt crisis in Europe, the appreciation of the RMB and the recession in the US economy have all dealt a heavy blow to China's toy industry exports.
Take the U.S. market as an example. Unemployment and uncertainty about the future have made consumers very frugal. Another survey by The Conference Board showed that American consumers are also more cautious about online shopping and are less willing to buy high-priced goods. Free shipping and discounts are the focus of consumers' considerations.
Cost of raw materials
The comprehensive cost of raw materials is rising rapidly, especially the prices of toy raw materials such as plastics, chemical fibers, and cotton are rising all the time. However, the ex-factory quotation of toys does not add a penny, and currently it is only about Maintain a profit margin of 2% to 3%. Although production costs are still on an upward trend, orders have now begun to fall, and the chance of price increases during the off-season is even slimmer. If toy manufacturers cannot absorb the costs, they are expected to give up some orders.
Creativity, Sales
Sales are indispensable skills for toy designers. Excellent toy designers are also marketing experts. The biggest difference between designers and artists is that designers’ works are aimed at consumers all over the world, while artists’ works only need to cater to niche tastes. The works designed by designers cannot just be kept in your own home or in a museum. They must bring value recognition to consumers and bring benefits to the company. Designers must not only understand design, but also marketing and promotion. Because he is the one who knows the selling point of his product best, the work is like the designer's own "child". If he does not explore and boast about the potential of his "child", other marketers will be even less interested in this product.
In short, when designing creative toys, designers not only need to consider the entire process from design concept to packaging, but also need to consider how to increase the selling points of the product and how to use marketing methods to make the product more popular and attract consumers. Investors recognize the value of the product and other important factors.
Quality
The "EU New Toy Safety Directive" will be officially implemented on July 20, 2011. This directive is considered to be the most stringent and demanding toy in the world. regulations. Compared with the current directive, the "New Directive" that will take effect next year has higher requirements in terms of physical and mechanical properties, chemical properties, electrical properties, hygiene, warning signs, conformity assessment, and visibility of the CE mark. In terms of physical and mechanical properties, the directive has been extended in many aspects. In terms of chemical properties, the directive has clear restrictions on the use of 66 types of spices. In addition, the directive has announced 15 substances of high concern and formulated stricter restrictions on 19 specific heavy metals. This shows that foreign quality requirements for Chinese toys will also increase. How to cater to the new EU rules will be a major test for the product quality of the domestic toy industry.
2. The future of China’s toy industry
The future of China’s toy industry can be summed up in the following points:
1. Brand establishment and integration:
Establish your own independent brand and understand the consumption patterns and tastes of mainland residents. The main reason is that in the past, the vast majority of toy companies in my country were OEMs for foreign brands, or designed products according to the requirements of foreign customers. The products were all labeled with foreign trademarks, and the toys that were truly independently developed and produced accounted for less than 1/3 of the total exports. . Therefore, when facing the domestic market where brands are the top priority, the disadvantages of the lack of independent brands are obvious. Since most mainland customers are brand-conscious, if the toys produced by the manufacturer do not have their own brands, customers will not have much confidence in the toys. Another risk of switching to domestic sales is that the mainland has a weak awareness of copyright. If a manufacturer engages in export and domestic sales at the same time, overseas customers may worry that the toy manufacturing technology has been infringed.
In addition, many "three come and one supplement" companies must transform from OEM processing and production methods to ODM independent design and OBM self-branded methods, and cultivate and develop a group of well-known brands with independent innovation as the core It is an advantageous toy enterprise with strong competitiveness.
2. Explore the adult toy market with huge potential
my country’s toy industry has performed well in recent years both in terms of output value and growth in export earnings. Become a major toy production and export country in the world. However, in my country's toy industry, the market demand for adult toys is large, supply is small, and varieties are lacking. There are already signs of product obsolescence. The main manifestation is that the toy industry has not yet stepped out of the children's world. Most toy manufacturers have a narrow product development range, and it is difficult to find adult toys in the toy market.
So far, there are no companies specializing in the production of adult toys in my country, and there are also few adult toy counters on the market. Almost all of the more than 7,000 varieties of toys produced in Shanghai are aimed at children; there are more than 3,000 varieties of children's toys in the Beijing toy market, and there are only a handful of adult toys... Among the more than 30,000 toys currently on the market in my country, the vast majority For toys suitable for children aged 4 to 8 years old, there are relatively few toys suitable for infancy, early childhood, and childhood, and toys suitable for adults are even rarer. Guangdong Province, my country's largest toy production base, basically focuses on children in toy development. It is not difficult to draw the conclusion that children's toys are popular and adult toys are scarce. This is the current situation of my country's toy industry.
More and more adults have begun to fall in love with toys, which shows that the sales targets of toys are expanding from children to adults. Toys developed for adults have gradually become a new hot spot in the toy market. . According to analysis by industry insiders, compared with children’s consumer groups, adult consumer groups have more financial strength to purchase toys. Therefore, the toy consumer market for hundreds of millions of adults in my country contains huge business opportunities.
At present, the development of adult toys in my country is still blank, but in the United States and Japan, the successful development of adult toys has brought huge returns to toy manufacturers. In the United States, there have long been professional companies producing adult toys, and more than 40% of the toys are specially designed and manufactured for adults.
The consumption power of Chinese residents has been continuously improving in recent years, and the market conditions for domestic sales of toys are already in place.
At the same time, with the rapid development of content creation industries such as film and television culture, book publishing, and online games, toys, as a must-have traditional derivative, have opened up space for cross-industry cooperation.
3. Strengthen domestic sales of products
With the continued development of China's economy, the improvement of people's living standards, and the "one-child policy", mainland parents are more willing to spend money on their children. Toys will account for an increasing proportion of consumption in the national economy and individual households. Last year, domestic sales of toys in China were not only unaffected by the financial crisis, demand even increased significantly by 10% to 15%. Last year, there were more than 16 million newborns in the mainland, and there were about 360 million children under the age of 16 nationwide, accounting for about 20% of the population. According to a social survey conducted last year, China's children's consumption accounts for about 30% of total household expenditures, and the total monthly consumption of children aged 0 to 12 nationwide exceeds 3.5 billion yuan. However, the per capita annual toy consumption of children and adolescents under the age of 14 in China is only US$2.4-3.6, which is far lower than the per capita annual toy consumption of Asian children of US$13 and the per capita annual toy consumption of children around the world of US$34. Assuming that China's toy consumption reaches the average level in Asia, the market size is expected to exceed 30 billion yuan.
The 30 billion market represents that domestic sales will account for 1/4 of the annual sales of the Chinese toy industry. However, it is currently a market that many toy industry manufacturers do not pay attention to. Therefore, for the domestic market, domestic sales Enterprises should increase their investment and strive to make the Chinese market another American market and the most steadfast and powerful pillar of the Chinese toy industry.
Sailixin Competition Network Ancient Home Economics