| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2009 1:00 pm |
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Business 
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Toys will cost more this year Toy makers will scale back their products as production costs rise in China NEW YORK -- Next holiday, that toy that was supposed to talk for a minute will talk for 40 seconds, and that portable electronic quiz game will ask fewer questions.The nation's toy makers -- faced with soaring energy and raw material prices and rising labor costs in China -- are tweaking their new product lines and scaling back their offerings. Parents will have to do more work too -- they'll be spending more time downloading content online into high-tech toys as companies such as iToys Inc. focus on creating online material instead of using a bigger, more costly memory chip inside a toy. Despite those changes, consumers could face anywhere from a 5 to 10 percent price increase on many toys later this year, according to Eric Johnson, professor of operations management at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. That ends a decade of deflation at a time when the U.S. economy may be heading into a recession. "You are going to see more $7.99 toys at the bottom instead of $2.99," said Michael Greenberg, the former CEO of toy maker Shelcore Inc. and now a toy industry consultant. The topic is expected to be a hot issue at the industry's annual trade expo American International Toy Fair, which started on Sunday and features holiday 2008 products. Kathleen Waugh, a spokeswoman at Toys "R" Us Inc., the nation's second-largest toy seller behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc., acknowledged that consumers will see price increases in single-digit percentages across the board starting this summer. She declined to be more specific while the chain works out details with its manufacturers. Melissa O'Brien, a spokeswoman at Wal-Mart, declined to comment specifically on price increases. The falling U.S. dollar against the Chinese yuan, higher energy costs and a new business code in China are forcing Chinese factories to raise prices for exports. The U.S. toy industry, which imports about 80 percent of its products from there, is among the hardest hit. Toys are mostly made of plastic, and are now under increased regulatory scrutiny after last year's highly publicized recalls due to lead and other hazards. Still, the average toy price -- about $7 -- remains relatively cheap because the bulk of toys sold involve card games and miniature cars -- impulse purchases that can be picked up at the local supermarket. And makers argue that toys should still be a good value since prices have been falling for years -- down 4.7 percent last year from the previous year, according to the Consumer Price Index. But any price hikes could further squeeze consumers, who are already paying more for food and gasoline, or manufacturers, who can only absorb so much without hurting profit margins. "This is not a good thing for consumers," said Sean McGowan, a Needham & Co. analyst. "The deflation days may be over." Yolande Sprague, a stay-at-home mom from Rochester, N.H., typically spends about $100 a month on toys for her two sons, Eddie, 3, and Isaiah, 1, but she said she will probably cut back to somewhere between $50 to $80. She was already careful about buying toys, considering their resale value on auction site eBay before purchasing, because of the slowing economy. "Everything is going up. I have a big vehicle and I am paying $80 (weekly) on gasoline," said Sprague. McGowan expects toy sales this year will be at best unchanged from a year ago, following a weak holiday performance. U.S. traditional toy sales fell 5 percent during the October-December period, while business for the entire year fell 2 percent from 2006 to $22 billion, according to a report released by NPD Group Inc. Analysts say that increased safety controls, which some experts feared would drive up prices, is the least of the industry's problems. They blame instead soaring wages, which have increased 20 percent in certain coastal areas in China over the last two years because of labor shortages. A new Chinese workers' rights law pushes more costs onto employers with such mandates as severance pay. Then there are the surging costs of raw materials. Plastics -- a key component of toys -- have risen by up to 25 percent industrywide over the past two years because of higher petroleum prices, Johnson said. Copper has skyrocketed 17 percent so far this year. Another big factor is the declining U.S. dollar against the yuan, which makes buying Chinese goods more expensive. Across the board, toy companies are scrutinizing their lines, even eliminating some perennials if price increases are not justified. Toy companies are also adding accessories to action figure dolls and other products to justify price increases. Companies are also turning to corn-based plastic in their packaging and products to cut down on costs and appease a growing number of environmental groups concerned about the health risks of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a plastic believed to be a carcinogen. Isaac Larian, president and CEO of MGA Entertainment Inc., the maker of Bratz dolls and Little Tikes, said that he's cutting the number of toys for his holiday collection to 1,200 from 1,500. |
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