Growth for European toy markets
NPD Group reveals the first half of 2010 has seen a flat US toy market but growth in Europe.
According to leading market research company, The NPD Group, traditional toy sales in the United States remained largely unchanged during the first half of 2010, while revenue growth in Europe's five largest toy markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) experienced a five per cent increase.
Though strong economic pressures persist in most countries, and the prospect of a consumer recovery is not yet clear, consumers have increased their spend on traditional toys. In the United States, revenue topped $7.771 billion during the first half of this year (Jan.-June) vs. $7.748 billion generated during the same time period in 2009.
Specific to sales performance across the five largest European toy markets during the same time period, the United Kingdom experienced eight per cent growth, followed by Spain with six per cent growth, Germany with four percent, France with three per cent, and Italy with two per cent.
In Europe, sales for the first half of the year only represent approximately 30 per cent of annual toy sales, but this performance is already a positive indicator of a good peak season to come.
"With a strong first half... we are confident that 2010 will record solid single digit growth in Europe," said Frédérique Tutt, EuroToys analyst, The NPD Group. "We are currently seeing growth in each of our five key markets, and consumers seem to react well to impulse categories perhaps indicating a greater confidence into economic recovery."
A good indication of a general recovery within the industry is the continued popularity of properties such as Bakugan and Star Wars. Analysts also anticipate continued growth coming from one of this year's most successful animated films, Toy Story 3. Europe's five largest toy markets show Star Wars as the number one licence for traditional toys, with Toy Story being the year's fastest growing licence, for the year-to-date (Jan - June).
Social Links