declare ourselves non- European. Adherence to EU
Ali Mafi 50 Fifty Gifts
Je Suis Européen These articles are, theoretically, supposed to be about matters related to the industry we are in and not a forum for me to vent off on political issues that bother me. I can, however, argue that the EU does concern and affect us all. It is the EU that burdens us with ever-increasing
ridiculous rules and regulations, demanding changes where there is little or no evidence that change was needed. I recall an incident, some years ago, of a change to safety regulations being notified about a year in advance, which I found totally ludicrous. My view is that if something really is dangerous then it should be banned right now, and if it isn’t then it should be left alone. So yes, the EU is a serious pain in the butt and
David Cameron is right, it does need reforming, but we certainly don’t need to leave it. I am tired of being reminded of how many
Eastern Europeans there are living in the UK. Well guys, there are more Brits living in EU countries than Europeans living here, and if you are an Eastern European reading this, in my opinion you are very welcome. To extricate ourselves from the ties we have,
the free trade we enjoy and the contributions we receive as an EU member would be a gargantuan task, and I can assure you we can’t just wake up one morning, put barbed wire across The Tunnel and
Richard
‘red tape’ is taken very seriously in the UK, some might say more seriously than in other member states - particularly where safety is concerned, and rightly so. This is why it affects so many of us who deal in toys and products for children, competing in a market under fire from many sides. These two pictures
from a French
publication summarize that kids are less and less interested in toys. In the old days, as depicted by the top part of picture two,
punishment for misbehaviour meant confinement to an almost empty room with not much going on. The bottom part is pretty self-explanatory. These days when a child misbehaves perhaps it is best to send them to the parents’ room as there is less to do. Given that the toy market is suffering due to many such factors, including kids getting older younger and at the hands of high tech industries, the EU piling on more and more dos and don’ts is not helpful. The majority of you reading this are probably in the UK toy industry and the rules and regulations are generally pretty clear cut, but we (50Fifty) sit somewhere between toys, novelties, gifts etc, and have a constant issue over what category a product falls into.
acquisition. So what does it mean for the play industry?
Gottlieb Global Toy Experts
Mattel buying Mega Brands; what it means for the Play Industry
The status quo in the toy industry just got upended with Mattel’s announcement that they are purchasing Mega Brands for $407.5m Canadian dollars ($366.4m US). The decision by Mattel means that Lego is going to face some heavy duty competition on the construction aisle. No matter what happens, we are going to find out if Lego has been beating up on lightweights or has the muscle to face down a heavyweight. I for one would not bet against Lego, yet I wouldn’t bet against Mattel either. As we wait for the purchase to go through, it is interesting to speculate on the fallout from Mattel’s
1. It removes one of the few publicly held toy companies from the marketplace. That means less competition and interest in the industry’s second tier.
2. It lifts the Mega Brands brand of construction blocks from being a distant number two construction toy (Lego revenues are $4.7b US/ Mega Brand revenues are $400m US) and puts it in the hands of a deep pocketed company that knows how to market and has the brands to do it with.
3. It’s going to be good news for advertising companies as they create marketing for what could be a major war for consumer time and dollars.
4. It’s going to be good news for licensors as Mattel seeks licences to fuel its Mega Brands push.
5. It is going to make life more difficult for buyers who are going to be facing far more difficult choices in space allocation.
6. It’s going to make life more pleasant for buyers who are going to face a more competitive environment which should be good for their bottom line.
For example, we have a device designed solely to
inform us of the time (often referred to as a watch), but it is quite a funky watch in bright silicone, and the question is whether it’s a watch or a toy, and thus which regulations it needs to comply with. We even had a car air freshener declared to be a toy on the grounds that it was colourful and smelled of fruit!
The bottom line is that the EU is a pain, but it is a pain that we are inextricably involved in and that we need to be part of. Moreover, who is to say that an independently run UK safety industry would be any less cumbersome to deal with? Taking our toys and leaving is far riskier than arguing with customs that kids do not, normally, play with car air fresheners.
7. It’s going to make life far more difficult for the other construction toy companies as Mega Brands flexes out to greater shelf space. Initially, that space will probably not come from Lego but from secondary and tertiary players. If they do, they could resurrect the brand.
8. Crayola, Cra-Z-Art and other arts and crafts players are going to be praying that Mattel does not see the RoseArt segment of the purchase as a good fit. If Mattel does, it could mean a resurrection of RoseArt as a significant brand.
No matter what happens, it is important to
remember that Lego is no longer just about plastic blocks. They are now a major player in the digital and movie arenas; two areas in which Mattel is a smaller player. What about Hasbro? According to Gerrick
Johnson in his February 24, 2014 ‘Toy Scout Report’ on Hasbro: “The company seems to be moving away from its Kreo construction line, now making the product as an exclusive at Toys R Us with Dungeons & Dragons, Transformers, Cityville Invasion, and GI Joe themes.” If that is indeed the case, Hasbro may want to take another look at that strategy. Mattel’s move is a change maker and that means all bets are off for all players.
Toyworld 101
Picture one: A sad teddy and doll leaving as the little girl chats to her friends on Facebook.
Picture two: A naughty child being sent to his room for
misbehaving.
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