Toys
As we quickly approach the holiday season many shoppers are unsure what to pick for kids. The childrens toy sector is vast, with the omnipresent big barn toy outlets accounting for a large slice of all sales. It’s definately a far cry from the simple traditional toy shops found in towns and cities half a century ago and so is the volume of toys available.
China manufactures most of today’s toys. The consumer market drove the toy manufacturers to produce cheap plastic toys allowing for thousands companies to emerge. It was the price advantage of China that created big manufacturers to move their entire lines of productions to Chinese companies. In 2007 Mattel was forced to recall several million toys because quality control is not tightly enough controlled. Because of these frightening occurrences, the children’s toy market has shifted recently towards toys that are more old-fashioned. The popularity of high quality wooden toys has grown steadily and the number of independent toy retailers has increased to reflect this. Wooden toys are growing in popularity with parents because of their sturdiness, high quality and advantage to the environment. With the current economic climate causing many manufacturers serious headaches it would appear the traditional wooden toy may prove to be more resilient to an economic downturn. A well made toy can be enjoyed for years, adding value to the cost and gratitude from the parents.
This holiday season skip the cheap Chinese toys at your local “superstore” and go straight to a local toy shop where you will find reasonably priced, well-built toys that will keep your children entertained for the rest of year.