Toy & Game Manufacturing Industry Overview

Excerpt from Toy & Game Manufacturing Report

Companies in this industry manufacture electronic and nonelectronic toys and games. Major companies include Mattel, Hasbro, MGA Entertainment (all based in the US), Namco Bandai (Japan), LEGO (Denmark), Steiff (Germany), and Sanrio (Japan), as well as the gaming hardware divisions of Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony.

Competitive Landscape

Growth in the population of children age 12 and younger drives demand for toys; demand for electronic gaming products is driven by personal income and product innovation. The profitability of individual companies depends on identifying market trends and marketing effectively. Large companies can offer a wide selection of toys, and they have scale advantages in purchasing, manufacturing, distributing, selling, and marketing. Small companies compete effectively by specializing in a product segment or by responding faster to market trends. The US industry is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies generate about 75 percent of revenue.

Products, Operations & Technology

Major product segments include nonelectronic toys (transportation toys and sets); electronic toys and games (video game consoles, excluding game cartridges and software); children's vehicles (scooters, wagons, excluding bikes); model and collector sets; and nonelectronic games and puzzles. Other products include dolls; stuffed animals (also known as "plush"); action figures; and doll clothing, accessories, and playsets.