Knowing what girls like
girlscollectables
The Girls Toys market sector continues to be a competitive environment, which continues to surprise with new developments such as the rise in popularity of construction collectables targeted at girls, and the continued integration of technology into traditional play patterns. Tom Roberts reports.
But, as Alison Hubbard of Famosa points out,
classic role playing areas such as feeding, caring and nurturing that large dolls provide will continue to be popular with children up to an older age. She said: “Parents will increasingly look for this type of more peaceful and imaginative play as it provides a much needed break from the overload of high tech and various forms of screen time which children are being constantly exposed to.” And what of fashion dolls? They present a more
modern play pattern for girls, especially considering their strong links to popular culture. Marian Davis of Zapf Creation said that Fashion dolls are “strongly infl uenced” by the latest fashion trends, music and new technology, including augmented reality and on- line platforms. She added: “In the case of Lalaloopsy, Bratzillaz and Novi Stars, digital marketing initiatives, including webisodes and music videos, have been a strategic element of bringing the brands and characters to life.”
And what about the new kids on the block, collectables such as Moshi Monsters and Mega Bloks Barbie? Neil Bandtock, managing director at Vivid Imaginations, said: “There’s absolutely nothing that indicates girls should enjoy collecting, but they evidently do, and when they do they go for the cute toys. That remains constant: if it’s not cute, there’s not much chance of girls going for it.”
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PD data tracks numerous segments in the overall Dolls category, including Nurturing Dolls, Fashion Dolls, Playset Figurines and All Other Dolls. Nurturing Dolls saw a minor decrease of just 2% from
2011 to 2012. Fashion Dolls saw an incredibly strong increase of 20% between the two years, with Playset Figurines also seeing an 11% hike. The All Other Dolls category saw a drop of 11%, but taking into account the strong performances of two categories in the overall super category, Dolls fi nished 2012 11% up. The rise in doll sales is indicative of the success story
of the ‘girls’ category, which is now growing faster than ‘boys’ toys. The boys category in general is under siege and, in terms of split, girls’ toys now account for 47% of the market compared to 53% for boys (in 2011, the split was girls 45%, and boys 55%). The gap is certainly
narrowing fast; girls now have a wider-than-ever range of products to choose from, not to mention new distractions in fashion, music, celebrity gossip, social media, and technology. As expected though, traditional play patterns are
still present with central themes of empathy, sharing and communication still strongly evident. It’s just that the play horizon continues to open up with the infl ux of online games, collectables such as Moshi Monsters, and construction collectables aimed specifi cally at girls. Wendy Hill, UK director of customer marketing and brand communications at Mattel, believes that girls’ construction is an interesting new development and that it will “change some of the historical dynamics in this category”. She added: “Mega Brands, for instance, has just launched the Barbie construction range and that is resonating very well with mums, girls and retailers so far.”
Something to nurture So let’s have a look at the large dolls category. 2012 saw the Nurturing Dolls category drop pretty much in line with the toy trade as a whole, by only 2%. With that in mind, Alison Hubbard believes that there is an enormous opportunity to drive new growth in the nurturing doll market through new product innovation and marketing investment “just like we have seen in the fashion themed market over the last few years.” She said: “Famosa has been successful at constantly evolving its Nenuco brand over the years, and using technology to create new and innovative features and accessories which refl ect both popular play patterns and what a real baby or child would do or use at that age. The focus has been much more on how to design innovative features for the dolls, accessories and playsets so the child can really have the ‘closest experience to being a real mum’. So for example, with the Nenuco Newborn Runny Nose doll when she catches a cold her little nose turns red and bubbles trickle out of her nose.” In agreement, Marian Davis said that whilst traditional nurturing role play is key, consumer
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