Market overview dolls and soft toys
A comparison of international performance in the doll segment in the first half of 2009 shows that the French achieved the highest growth rates. This product group grew by seven per cent against a background of 6 per cent overall market growth (all figures from NPD Group, Inc.).
At the bottom of the league table was Great Britain, with a fall in sales of 27 per cent, while the total toy market fell by 13 per cent.
In Germany (plus 4 per cent in the toy market) and the USA (minus 2 per cent, projection based on consumer surveys), the doll segment shrank by 2 per cent. Italy’s toy market saw a rise of 7 per cent (a slight increase of one per cent). In Spain the sales of dolls declined by 5 per cent in the first half-year – one per cent more than the fall in the total toy market.
Spain remains the stronghold when we compare the sales of dolls worldwide. The doll segment has a 13.8 per cent share of Spain’s overall toy market, followed closely by Italy and France with a market share of 12.8 per cent and 12.1 per cent respectively.
The market researchers at NPD Group, Inc. found that the figures for market shares were much lower in the USA (10 per cent) and in Great Britain and Germany (each with 8.4 per cent).
In the case of soft toys, the highest market share (8.3 per cent) is found in the USA. This share would be much higher if sales had not declined by 18 per cent in the first half of 2009. This fall was only exceeded in Great Britain, where sales dropped by 21 per cent and the market share sank in consequence to 4.1 per cent.
The highest growth rates for soft toys in the first half-year were recorded in Italy, where this segment grew by 8 per cent. However, Italy’s market share at 3.9 per cent is the lowest by international comparison, although France now has the same market share after a fall of one per cent.
The market share in Spain is relatively high at 5.3 per cent (minus 8 per cent compared with the same period last year). The market share in Germany dropped by 2 per cent to 4.3 per cent.
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