The toy industry had high hopes for the final phase of the campaign to compensate for the sales losses experienced throughout the year, but this was not possible. And this Commercial activity did not create the expected dynamism in the last weeks of the yearIt has come to a point where there will be a setback regarding what happened in 2022. So much so that the worst predictions came true and The decline in the national market finally amounted to 3.8% in value and 5.2% in quantities. Hidden behind this negative closure are factors such as the low purchasing power of families and the low birth rate.
After several years marked by the pandemic, the collapse of supply chains, rising costs and oversupply in stores, 2023 was not a year of recovery for the toy industry either. In an environment of uncertainty due to war conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, factors such as generalized inflation recorded internationally have directly affected sales, largely due to consumers’ low disposable income. family. The low birth rate, which has persisted for some time, also did not contribute to the improvement of the situation.
All of this was seen during the year just ended, when business activity remained permanently below the previous year. However, the industry was confident of a rebound in the Christmas campaign, given that the period between October and December represents 60% of total annual sales.. But not even for these.
According to information provided by Circana, a company specializing in analyzing consumer behavior, only the Christmas week was positive. The remaining sales, including Reyes, were below the last campaign. All this means that in the annual calculation there is a 3.8% decrease in economic value. about 40 million fewer than the normal 1,000. There was also a decrease in quantities, specifically 5.2%, so that almost 3 million products were discontinued, leaving a balance of approximately 57 million.
Billing
With these results obtained in the national market, the sector began to wait for the final result of exports, which had a negative performance throughout the year. Despite everything, José Antonio Pastor, general manager of the Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers (AEFJ), underlines that he believes that there will not be a much greater impact on the forecasts in terms of invoicing: “Before the last period of the campaign came, companies had already fulfilled the orders. The only thing that won’t happen is repetition.” So things are like this: The employer’s calculations indicate a decrease in business volume of around 3%, equivalent to around 1.6 billion euros..
According to Pastor, the hope this year is to reduce the high stock levels in stores and thus provide more dynamism than the previous year, at least initially. Despite everything, he regrets it “Wars, expensive mortgages and low birth rates continue, and this does not invite much optimism.”.
Preschool and construction led commercial activities
According to surveys conducted by Circana, the preschool and construction categories led sales in the just-ended campaign. Similarly, electronic toys and mannequin dolls, especially robots and pets, also performed well. The puzzle-like classic had an audience alongside card games. On the other hand, the number of dolls has decreased worldwide, except for mannequins, which continue to be in high demand. Action figures also suffered because there weren’t as many TV and movie licenses available last year.