How is Shantou Chenghai's Toy Market Doing This Year?

According to customs statistics, in the first four months of this year, the total value of my country's foreign trade imports and exports was 13.32 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, of which exports were 7.67 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.6%. Among them, there is the contribution made by our country's baby and children's products. China is a major exporter of baby products, and 75% of the world's toys are produced in China. So how does Shantou Chenghai's toy market perform this year?

 

According to the "2023 White Paper on the Development of China's Toy and Baby Products Industry" released by the China Toy and Baby Products Association not long ago, the export value of China's toys (excluding games) in 2022 will be 48.36 billion US dollars, an increase of 5.6% over the previous year.

 

Chenghai, Shantou is known as the capital of toys in China, and its export data continues to grow. In the first two months of this year alone, Shantou’s toy exports reached US$290 million, a year-on-year increase of 31.1%.

 

Xiao Yimian, member of the party group and deputy director of the Shantou City Bureau of Commerce in Guangdong: "In 2002, Shantou's toy exports just exceeded 100 million US dollars. By 2022, Shantou's toy exports will exceed 2.1 billion US dollars. The average annual growth rate for 20 years The rate reached 16.2%. The category of toy exports has also changed from ordinary plastic toys to intellectual toys and electric toys. "

 

So, how did Chenghai's toys achieve year-on-year growth in exports? In the 1960s and 1970s, Chenghai mainly produced plastic toys in small family workshops and sold them to small commodity markets in Chaozhou and Yiwu. After the reform and opening up, Chenghai people took advantage of the port and the hometown of overseas Chinese, and began to process and OEM for foreign countries. After entering the 1990s, with the support of the local government, Chenghai's toy industry changed from OEM to independent brand production, and toy exports entered the fast lane.

 

Since 2000, a batch of Japanese, European and American cartoons have become popular among domestic teenagers and children, and the market demand for toys based on this content has surged. Chenghai’s toy manufacturing companies sensed business opportunities and began to try to transform and upgrade their enterprises. They took animation culture and ip culture as one of the development directions for the transformation and upgrading of the toy industry, and followed the development model of “toys + animation” and “toys + ip”.

 

Toy companies have shifted from pure manufacturing to large-scale comprehensive enterprises including animation and film and television creation, winning business opportunities for enterprise development. For example, domestic cartoons such as "Super Wings" and "Chicken Squad" created by this company have been broadcast in hundreds of countries and regions. The cartoon images are deeply loved by children at home and abroad. The toy products produced are very popular, and overseas orders continue to flow.

 

Today, Chenghai Toys has begun cross-border integration again, extending to digitalization and intelligence, promoting the deep integration of the new generation of information technology and traditional industries, and ushering in a new strategic layout.
The development of Chenghai's toy industry is a microcosm of the development of China's toy industry. From OEM to innovation, from domestic sales to export, it has embarked on a road of high-quality development.

 

Liang Mei, President of China Toys and Baby Products Association: "The current statistical data has continued to grow every year since 2010, especially in 2021. It will still increase by more than 30%. In 2022, it will be greatly affected by the unstable international political situation. As a result, the growth rate of toy exports has slowed down compared with before, but it still maintains a growth rate of 5.6%. Although the advantage of low labor costs is not obvious, the overall comprehensive advantages include processing technology level, comprehensive quality management system, and product innovation capabilities. Our export volume can still be maintained."

 

In addition, during the peak period, Chenghai had 6 listed toy companies and 14 companies listed on the NEEQ, accounting for 70% of the total toy companies in the national capital market. The latest data shows that the annual output value of Chenghai's toy industry is 46 billion yuan, with 125,000 employees, about 4.3 production and operation units, and 168 toy companies above designated size.

 

In terms of product performance, the best-selling toy categories in recent years are also different from those in the past. According to the transaction data of a head toy company, the proportion of toy orders for young children has dropped from 90% to 65%; trendy toys mainly for adult consumers, also known as "fashion toys", accounted for 10% of the total. % increased to 35%.

 

In the exhibition hall of a local toy company in Chenghai, it is worth noting that toys marked with "14+", that is, those over 14 years old, are placed in a more conspicuous position. Chen Feng, executive vice president of the Toy Association of Chenghai District, Shantou City, Guangdong, said that children aged 0-14 and under 16 have always been the main stock market for toy products, and this part over 15 years old has now become a big one. The incremental market will become an important growth point for the toy industry.