LEGO - Competitors

LEGO Competition

Now Viewing LEGO's competition in: Toy Manufacture (primary)

Recent Developments

Toy Sales Increasing - Worldwide toy sales rose 5 percent in 2007 compared to 2006, according to NPD Group. North America accounted for 33 percent of sales, followed by Europe at 30 percent and Asia at 24 percent. Worldwide toy sales are expected to rise 20 percent between 2008 and 2010.

US Updates Product Safety Rules - President Bush has signed into law the biggest overhaul of US product safety rules in a generation, subjecting toy makers to stricter regulations. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 mandates increased third-party safety testing of toys before they can be brought to market, and requires toys to have tracking labels that would allow their path from factory to store to be more easily retraced in the event of a recall. Some experts say that US toy manufacturers may benefit from the changes because foreign toy makers must spend more to achieve standards already met by many US toy manufacturers.

Weak Holiday Shopping Season Expected - The 2008 holiday shopping season will be the worst in seven years, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Sales will increase just 3.6 percent year-over-year compared to 4.2 percent in 2007, according to ICSC. The holiday shopping season, which runs from late November through early January, is a key sales period for many toy manufacturers.

Competitive Landscape

Population growth of young children (ages 12 and younger) drives demand. The profitability of individual companies depends on identifying market trends and marketing effectively. Large companies can offer a wide selection of toys, and have scale advantages in purchasing, manufacturing, distributing, selling, and marketing. Small companies compete effectively by specializing in a product segment, like educational toys, or responding faster to market trends. Average annual revenue per US worker is $220,000, although doll and stuffed toy manufacturing averages $140,000.

Full Industry Overview For Toy Manufacture

Toy Manufacture Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US toys and sporting goods is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 4.5 percent between 2008 and 2013.

Toy and Sporting Goods Production Growth Even

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.