The toy industry is in full swing, only it seems like the big players in that market don't realize it.
Intertoys is bankrupt, but that was foreseeable from afar. The number of households with children in which both partners work has grown significantly in recent decades. The hallmark of these households is limited time. Hence, this group is quick to embrace new digital capabilities that make life a little easier. Households with children were the first to buy iPads, they subscribe to Netflix more than average, and they are big online shoppers. So as a chain that relies heavily on this target market, you have a problem with physical stores. Apart from the fact that other stores where the target group already buys anyway (Kruidvat, Action) also rely heavily on toys.
The target audience is online
The next sector in the toy industry to watch out for is media. Although it is a smart move by RTL to acquire BrandDeli (which includes Nickelodeon), that will not be enough to make up for the declining advertising revenues on children's channels (minus 25% last year). Stroom conducted another new measurement of the Kids & Media Monitor at the end of 2018 and it showed that among children Youtube is the most favorite channel to watch videos. So to stay relevant in the youngest target group, we should not invest in even more broadcast channels, but in good online brands.
That is exactly what the strong toy manufacturers are doing. For example, Lego is making good games for the iPad and Playmobil is investing heavily in online content (movies, coloring pages, etc.). But even "old-fashioned" toys are being fully embraced again by children as a combination with a computer or iPad is developed such as the programmable Meccano robot.
When I was young, MTV started in the Netherlands. Of course we also listened to radio. But MTV was on TV and that alone made MTV by definition cooler. Now if you are 18 and want to know what's in you go to Vice because TV is not cool anyway. My little son is 7 and I like to watch Clockhouse with him. But if you ask him yourself, he'd rather be Minecrafting on the iPad. Much cooler. Nothing new under the sun.
Rutger Mackenbach - Director Stroom