Toy Industry Takes Shellacking, But Will Survive

Friday, 06 February 2009 10:54

Posted February 6, 2009

The toy industry has taken a shellacking. Kids choose computer/video games and electronic gadgets over toys; costly, high profile safety recalls have given the industry a black eye, resulting in overreactions by legislators around the country; commodity price swings have wreaked havoc with product costing, labor and electric power shortages in China, and thousands of Chinese toy factories going out of business or just getting out of toys. We lost our beloved toy building, and the NY Toy District is no more. And now a global economic meltdown. So it goes.   Things are tough all over.

Toys Matter. We will survive. No other industry brings more new products, nor so much innovation to market each year than the toy industry. No industry puts more feature and value into their product, at a better price, than the toy industry. On occasion I hear people say, “there’s nothing new or interesting in toys.” The average person is unaware of all the new and interesting, and at times amazing and revolutionary new technologies and innovations embodied by toys.

Some of the very first electronic consumer products were toys and games such as Milton Bradley’s Starbird Intruder and Simon, or Parker Bros Merlin. The first consumer product with electronic speech was an MB game. Webkinz is an innovation in product connected to the web. Our Hydrogen Rocket system was an entirely new technology in the marketplace, not just in the toy aisle.   If engineers were to look closely at some of our mechanisms in toys such as TMX Elmo, they might find mechanical solutions they have never seen before that can be adapted elsewhere. The toy industry is a source of constant innovation, but no one reports on it, and very few are even aware of it.

I maintain that no other category of product can have such a profound influence on our future. We can be proud of what we do, and yet strive to always do better. We need to shine a bright light on this industry and the constant stream of fun, but also education, innovation, and inspiration that we bring to market each year.   Go team go!

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written by Bob Mackey, February 11, 2009

As a kid, I was a baseball nut. I remain so today. I spent thousands of hours playing a game called Strat-0-matic. My dream of playing for the New York Yankees did not quite pan out, but this game, at least for me was the next best thing. I played this game, usually by myself well into my teens. I too am gratefull to the toy/game industry.

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written by bruce, February 12, 2009

Hello Bob,
Great to hear from you, and thanks for the comment. I will look forward to hearing you speak, and reading your new book on the insanities of the corporate world. I think we all dreamed of playing for the Yankees or Cubs, or whomever, when we were young. I played sandlot baseball every afternoon, every weekend, every summer (until football season), year after year after year. But I never played Strat-O-Matic. Seems I missed something in my misspent 'yout'. I will be on the lookout for one.

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