| ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The positive turnaround of the economic trend had been on the horizon for years – and now it’s finally evident in facts and figures. 2007 the demand for traditional toys is on the increase again. And that’s something to be proud of, especially with regard to the significant drop in the birth rate and the fact that more and more children stop playing in favour of watching TV. Toy manufacturers in Germany are thrilled that they have been able to even surpass the global economic trend with their unparalleled high standards of quality and variety. Employment figures in the German toy industry have been rising – for the first time in years – by remarkable eight percent in 2006 to a total of 12 000 employees. Children’s brains need games is essential for optimal development of children’s brains. Although this fact has long become common knowledge, it seems to have no influence on the real situation. A rising number of teens in Germany are still sitting in front of TV or computer screens for hours each day. So they lack what they need most: A great variety of sensory input – including electronic media, of course – but they certainly don’t need a two-dimensional optical monoculture. Quite often this monoculture is cultivated by us parents and our constant “lack of time”. That’s why the toy industry started to cooperate with “brain development expert” instead, or simply: with educators and teachers of educational institutes in Germany. And the feedback is overwhelming! Together with Mehr Zeit für Kinder (MZfK) and the Transferzentrum für Neurowissenschaften und Lernen (ZNL) the Deutscher Verband der Spielwarenindustrie (DVSI) has already started their new cooperative campaign “Spielen macht Schule” (Playing goes School). From 2008 schools may apply for one of 850 playrooms provide by cooperative partners. This campaign is accompanied by the DVSI-campaign “Spiel fördert Schule” (Toys support Schools), developed for the DIDACTA 2007. The special DVSI division ‘Games’ provides schools that offer all-day education with board games that promote children’s development and have qualified for use in schools. Toy Safety – the DVSI will close the gap between theory and practise For years the DVSI has been watching the rising number of special safety regulations for toys with increasing unease. Up to now, more than 200 pages of European Safety Regulations have been added to the already existing general safety regulations. So toys have become the most regulated consumer’s goods on Earth. The toy industry seems to be unable to sort out these incredible amounts of regulations by themselves. The DVSI has been the first and only toy association that developed and distributed a comprehensive safety concept – long before the first product recalls in 2007. Their concept relies on skills and knowledge throughout the distribution chain. The main tools are: Toy safety expert training by TÜV-Rheinland and LGA-Nürnberg, special test facilities for toy safety, vocational quality management modules for product conformity and production monitoring. In the meantime, the DVSI urges to overhaul EU Toy Safety Regulations to make sure not only DVSI members play by the rules. The concept will further improve toy safety in Germany, but cannot prevent product recalls completely. After all, there are more than 1.5 million toys showcased at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg and all of them have to be in compliance with 200 pages of special regulations. Facts and Figures Eurotoys closely observes the development of the German toy market, including main categories and distribution channels. For detailed results please visit www.toy.de “News + Infos/Fakten bis Ende 2006”. Official Statistics: 2006:
(Please note: The information of the Federal Office of Statistics in Germany seem to contain an error that we have not yet been able to identify.) Foreign Trade As Germany is an economic hub of toy trade with exports and re-exports, there is a close correlation between import and export sales. Germany main toy supplier country is China – of course. However, the increase of import in 2006 fall down to +1.8 percent compared to the previous year. Imports
Major export countries for Germany are the European Union. While France had been number one export country 2005 it was surpassed by the UK in 2006. Exports
Exports to east-European countries increased from 130.3 million € in 2005 to 183.4 million € in 2006 and now represent 5.9% of the total export volume in Germany. Major non-European export country still is the USA. 2006 they imported goods for 69.7 million € compared to an export volume of 70.9 million in 2005. So the German toy industry had finally been able to stop the drop in exports to the USA. For more information, please consult the Nostheide BB Annual Report, excerpts of which may also be found on the internet at toy.de “News+Infos/Fakten”. Domestic Sales A market research of Intelect Marktforschung Eurotoys revealed the following results for the development of the domestic market (in retail sales):
Demographics:
Outlook on the Christmas Season Toy suppliers suffer from increasing costs for imports from China as a result of rising wages and an increase in costs for materials and – most recently – export licenses. This enormous increase in costs cannot completely be compensated by favourable exchange rates (Euros – US dollars). But imports from China are not only more expensive these days, but they are also delayed. The reason is that the Chinese government issues export licenses only if product safety has been controlled by an independent, accredited institute in China. Toy retailers in Germany are nevertheless confident that containers will arrive in time for the Christmas season. European manufacturers have to cope with a double-digit increase of costs for primary material such as card board and oil-based plastics. But prices will remain stable – at least for Christmas. All in all the industry is looking forward to the up-coming Christmas season – as is seems there are some fine presents for the toy industry in the bag of Santa Claus this year. |
