CORE TIP: In recent years, in addition to traditional channels such as supermarkets, shopping malls, and wholesale markets, plush toys also have some emerging sales channels. In addition, as a new trend of cotton dolls, all plush toy companies can pay attention.
INTRODUCTION
Recently, the news that dolls such as “Lina Belle” and “Bing Dwen Dwen” have been robbed has become the focus of public attention. A reporter from the Chinese and Foreign Toys All Media Center noticed that whenever a popular IP appears, its first popular peripheral products will have plush toys.
As a conventional toy, plush toys have obvious seasonal disadvantages, usually hot in autumn and winter, and dull in spring and summer; but they also have advantages, which can be used as toys for infants and young children, as a choice for adults, and as gifts for others. At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, plush toys are selling well, especially various products that fit the theme of the New Year. Looking at the whole year, emerging channels are rising, which is expected to become a new channel for plush toys.
YEAR-END RED GOODS ARE HOT SELLING
Shijiazhuang Nansantiao Jinzheng Toys City is a toy wholesale market radiating to Hebei, the three northeastern provinces, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and other places. The manager of the toy city told reporters that after entering the winter, the sales of plush toys in the toy city are particularly good, especially the various zodiac series and Internet celebrity series. “The plush toys that fit the zodiac and New Year’s themes are called ‘red goods’, and they are generally sold in the previous year. In January last year, the outbreak of the epidemic in Shijiazhuang led to a backlog of ‘red goods’ in merchants, so everyone is more cautious this year, except for a few The strength of stocking is relatively large, and most merchants do not dare to stock up in large quantities. However, this year’s “red goods” have done particularly well, and the demand for supermarkets has skyrocketed. Many merchants can only temporarily transfer goods from manufacturers, and because of the epidemic, heavy snow, etc. The logistics and transportation are not smooth due to factors.” On January 24, when the reporter interviewed Ren Manager, the “red goods” in the Shijiazhuang toy market were basically sold out.
In addition to products that fit the New Year’s theme, “big goods” (products with larger sizes) also sold well a year ago, such as large white goose, long throw pillows and other products. Manager Ren said that at the end of the year, many companies will purchase high-end plush toys as gifts for employees and customers. The plush toys of Shijiazhuang Nansantiao Jinzheng Toys City are mainly from Guangdong, Shandong, Hebei and other places, both original and authorized, which can meet the needs of different customers.
The end of the year is the hot selling season for plush toys. During the rest of the year, merchants will take timely response to sales strategies based on current customer needs to promote sales. Manager Ren said that because plush toys are very suitable for gifts, they are also sought after by many people during various festivals. During the Spring Festival, “red goods” and “big goods” are easy to sell, and the daily best-selling models include various dolls, IP products and other products.
EMERGING CHANNELS WORTH ATTENTION
In recent years, in addition to traditional channels such as supermarkets, shopping malls, and wholesale markets, there are also some emerging sales channels for plush toys.
★Chain of boutique/department stores. More and more chain boutiques/department stores in shopping malls and commercial streets, such as MINISO, Chaopin Zhishang, X11, Nome, Minihome, Ximei Eslite, etc., are new channels for plush toys sales. Fun Nest Culture, Laiyang Shihong, Meng Shiqi and other game companies have cooperated with this channel. According to reports, chain boutique/department stores are mainly for young people, and the retail price of products is not high, ranging from a few yuan to dozens of yuan. These channels are very flexible, usually selling what is popular, and can quickly update the products sold according to changes in market trends. Cooperation with these channels requires companies to understand market trends and develop products that fit market trends and consumer preferences. Generally speaking, products with IP authorization, cute style, popular color matching and other characteristics are more popular.
Given that most of these channels are chained, if cooperation can be reached, it will make a considerable contribution to the performance of the company. Some companies in the interview said that the chain boutique/department store channel contributed 50% of their performance.
★Grab the doll machine. In the early years, when the upsurge of catching doll machines resumed, the driving effect on the sales of plush toys was more significant. In recent years, shopping malls, commercial streets, tourist attractions and other places have special claw machine stores. The claw machines displayed in the store are of different sizes, and the plush toys in the claw machines are also different sizes. Every holiday, you can always see these stores crowded with children and adults.
Regarding the claw machine as a plush toy sales channel, the industry has different views, some agree and some deny. However, according to the reporter’s observation, unlike a few years ago, most of the claw machines were low-end and counterfeit products. Now the channel is obviously mature and formal, and the number of genuine authorized and high-quality original design products is increasing. A merchant who operates a claw machine in Tianhe City, Guangzhou told reporters that young people have requirements for products when grasping dolls. Products that are not cute, ugly, or of poor quality cannot attract customers, so they will look for products that match them when choosing products. Young people like it.
★Trendy play channels. In 2021 alone, there will be hundreds of new trendy play stores across the country, and the trendy play channel is undoubtedly the most popular channel at the moment. Plush toys also intersect with Chaowan channels, such as Chaowan brand launching blind box products of plush toys. The reporter also saw in the store of TOP TOY that some very delicate plush toys are displayed on its shelves, and the retail price ranges from seventy to eighty yuan to two or three hundred yuan. From the price and channel characteristics, it can be seen that the plush toys sold by the Chaowan channel should not only be fashionable in design, but also of good quality and exquisiteness. Liao Tangkui, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Mengshiqi Cultural Industry Co., Ltd., said that he also noticed that some manufacturers and fashion channels in the industry are trying to continue to promote exquisite and high-end plush. The effect remains to be seen, but it is the brand and image of plush toys. Upgrading points the way.
★Member store. Opening a membership store is the transformation direction of some hypermarkets now, such as Metro, Carrefour, Yonghui, etc., all of which are increasing the membership store model. Some plush toy companies have also cooperated with member stores, and contributed well to the company’s performance. This type of store serves members, has a relatively high positioning, and has high requirements for product quality. It is suitable for companies with mid-to-high-end positioning products. Furthermore, in order to protect the rights and interests of members, the price of products in member stores is usually lower than the market price, so it is more suitable for companies that want to promote their brands more, and short-term, pop-up and other forms of cooperation are the best.
A TREND TO WATCH
From the perspective of the best-selling plush toys in the market, the IP licensing category is definitely the hottest, especially the popular IP; there is also a market for original design plush toys, such as the original series of pink pigs and Lolita rabbits, which are mainly promoted by channels. In addition, in recent years, there is a trend that plush toy companies can pay attention to, namely cotton dolls.
Cotton dolls, that is, dolls made of cotton, first appeared as star peripheral products, and then gradually developed into personalized trendy play products that integrate cultural creativity, cute economy, and spiritual consumption. According to the “2021 Cotton Doll Player Insight Report” released by Weidian, among the cotton doll users, “post-95s” and “post-00s” account for more than 69%; in 2021, the number of users who buy cotton dolls online will reach one million, The transaction volume reached 1 billion yuan.
There are differences in the production of cotton dolls and plush toys, mainly in that the requirements for craftsmanship and details are higher, but the general process is the same, so there are many plush toy foundries that also provide cotton doll foundry business, and some When the foreign trade factory was transformed into domestic sales, cotton dolls were taken as a key development project. Therefore, regardless of whether the company has the strength to produce cotton dolls, this trend is worthy of attention.
Post time: Feb-25-2022