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How are they affected by the changing toy industry?

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How are they affected by the changing toy industry?

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Improvement of women's rights
Reducing the emphasis on gender equality nowadays

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LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Women in developed countries are now more educated than men, yet they still earn less, are poorly represented in politics, and less likely to join the top ranks in business or become an entrepreneur, a global think-tank said on Wednesday.

From Canada, Japan, Norway to Australia, young women on average earn almost 15 percent less than men, even though they are more educated, said the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The gender pay gap has remained stubbornly consistent over the past decade despite better policies for working parents, transparency in workplace pay gaps, and quota systems to boost the number of women on boards and senior roles, OECD said.

"Every country faces its own obstacles to reaching gender equality, and to make a real difference we must change public policies in tandem with stereotypes, attitudes and behaviors," Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD said in a statement.

Having to stall careers after childbirth due to inflexible work policies or underlying gender stereotypes, as well as workplace discrimination against women are key factors that prevent women from earning the same as men, the report said.

Apart from work-related issues, unequal parental duties, poor political representation, and engrained social stereotypes were also barriers to achieving gender equality, it said.

But most OECD countries surveyed in the report said preventing violence against women was their top priority.

"These inequalities should have long been resolved. There is no reason for women to trail behind men in social, economic, and political outcomes," Gurría said

"Gender equality is essential for ensuring that men and women can contribute fully at home, at work, and in public life, for the betterment of societies and economies at large," he added.

If the gender pay gap reduced by a quarter by 2025, could add an extra percentage point to projected economic growth across OECD countries between 2013 and 2025, it said.

The think-tank added that if there was an equal number of female and male entrepreneurs, global GDP could rise by 2 percent, equivalent to about $1.5 trillion.

"In the face of sluggish growth, aging societies and increasing educational attainment of young women, the economic case for gender equality is clear," said Gurría.

"We must advance in making gender equality a reality."

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Women in developed countries more educated than men, but still earn less: OECD

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Women in developed countries are now more educated than men, yet they still earn less, are poorly represented in politics, and less likely to join the top ranks in business or become an entrepreneur, a global think-tank said on Wednesday.

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the global trend now
--> More inclusive
--> Higher diversity
--> Realistic
--> Embrace different forms of beauty and reduce anxiety

Don't have clear standards
Promoting self-confidence for your own beauty and features appreciation

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As we look ahead, the shifting focus to self-care and socio-cultural changes means that that definition of beauty will be more inclusive than ever before.

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1. Compare the interview between parents (dad and mum) about their views on barbie
2. Compare the reaction of children from different gender playing barbie

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How do people from different gender perceive barbie 

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How do people from different gender perceive barbie 

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Aim of Barbie --> Gender equality --> potential of girls (1959s) 

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Aim of Barbie --> Gender equality --> potential of girls (1959s) 

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--> Raising sales in the past

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Learn more about Mattel and our brand portfolio, our citizenship efforts, recent news, careers and more.

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--> May affects people toys preferences 

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Enhancement of technology -- Digital toys

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Enhancement of technology -- Digital toys

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Parents' perceptions about the toys chosen

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Parents' perceptions about the toys chosen

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--> related to children's accessibility of Barbie and parental influences

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Hong Kong have a great variety of toys emerging and is enhancing educational toys

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Hong Kong have a great variety of toys emerging and is enhancing educational toys

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The HKTDC also organises study and match‑making missions for Hong Kong manufacturers, arranging visits to specific markets to help establish new business relations.
Industry Trends
Following a 7% growth in 2020, the total export value of global toys and games is estimated to have expanded by 27% in 2021 according to the International Trade Centre, thanks largely to the robust growth in key markets such as the US and mainland China. Sizeable emerging markets such as mainland China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Poland will continue to drive sales, with forecasts of compound annual growth of between 7% and 18% in the five years to 2026.

Online toys and games sales and distribution channels have grown exponentially since the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak, accounting for about half of global sales in 2021. Post‑pandemic, retailers are expected to continue their omni‑channel approach to offer customers a seamless shopping experience as a means to drive traffic and sales. Examples of forerunners include LEGO, which invested heavily in its online retail channels while also opening 165 LEGO branded bricks‑and‑mortar stores in 2021 to give their customers immersive and memorable brand experiences.

Targeting a mass market requires aggressive advertising campaigns or promotional tie‑ins for success. Gradually, increasing numbers of toy manufacturers are partnering with companies from other industries, especially fast‑food chains, in their promotion campaigns. Toy makers are also entering into licensing deals with movie studios to make products featuring film characters, such as Minions, Marvel heroes, Batman and Disney characters. Successful products can also come from popular mobile and video games, such as Angry Birds, Candy Crush, Pokémon GO, League of Legends and Apex Legends. At the same time, social media marketing has become an increasingly important promotional strategy in driving toys and games sales.

Safety standards, regulations and codes of practice have long been major concerns among overseas buyers. In this regard, the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI), with the active involvement of Hong Kong toy makers, has introduced the ICTI Code of Business Practice for manufacturers, distributors and retailers of toys and related merchandise in its member countries. This is accompanied by the CARE auditing process.

As the life cycle of toys becomes shorter, product development risks increase. This will impact the profit margins of Hong Kong suppliers. The response must be to invest in R&D, develop in‑house design capabilities and create value‑added features so that products cannot be easily replicated by competitors. Against this backdrop, an increasing number of toy companies have started to create unique toy collections. For instance, TINY, a Hong Kong brand of toys and models owned by Toyeast Limited, is producing different scale replicas (1/18, 1/43 & 1/64) of models, accessories and scenes that have gained wide recognition among collectors and the younger generation.

Children today are growing up faster than previous generations. Kids as young as 12 are enjoying video games, computers, music and cosmetics. This challenges toy manufacturers to create innovative toys that capture the interest of children. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for toys that can develop players' brain power, creativity, coordination and natural senses. Educational and hi‑tech toys featuring science, technology, robotics, engineering, arts and maths (STREAM) topics have been gaining greater attention in toys and games fairs worldwide. Some local educational toy shops such as " Me100fun " offer blogs and discussion forums providing professional advice to parents.

There are many opportunities in the metaverse for the toys and games industry. Traditional brands like Toys "R" Us have already expanded into the metaverse by launching their own digital assets/products or so‑called non‑fungible tokens (NFTs), with the aim of broadening and deepening customer engagement. The iconic Hong Kong IP character, B.Duck, has launched its own NFT project in 2021 as the first step to developing its own metaverse community. As a new form of online‑to‑offline (O2O) marketing and product development strategy, popular IPs may eventually be turned into physical products according to their traffic in the metaverse, while crossovers with other metaverses and/or online games can be made more readily accessible.
CEPA
Under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), the mainland has given all products of Hong Kong origin, including toys, tariff‑free treatment from 1 January 2006. According to the stipulated procedures, products which have no existing CEPA rules of origin can enjoy tariff‑free treatment upon application by local manufacturers and upon the CEPA rules of origin being agreed and met.

The promulgated rules of origin for toys to benefit from CEPA's tariff preference are similar to the existing rules governing Hong Kong's exports of these products. Generally speaking, for toys manufactured from textile fabrics, cutting and assembling, identified as the principal processes for the purpose of delineating their origin, must be done in Hong Kong. For toys manufactured from plastic sheets, the principal processes are cutting of plastic sheets, joining of plastic sheets by heat sealing and setting of a valve, which must be done in Hong Kong. Detailed information is available here.
General Trade Measures Affecting Toy Exports
Systematic obstacles to the toy trade are minimal in the traditional markets. There are no quantitative restrictions for toy imports into these markets. This applies to both Hong Kong and mainland products. In particular, the EU completely abolished the import quotas on mainland toys from January 1998. MFN (most‑favoured‑nation) tariffs on toys imposed by the EU and Japan remain largely in the 0‑5% range, while free access is in general granted by the US except for electric lighting sets of a kind used for Christmas trees (HS code 940530). That said, product requirements on safety and environmental protection are increasingly stringent in overseas markets.

In the US, all toys intended for use by children 12 years of age and under must be third party tested and be certified with a Children's Product Certificate (CPC) as compliant to the federal toy safety standard enacted by Congress, and to other applicable requirements as well. The federal toy safety standard ASTM F963‑17 is a comprehensive standard addressing numerous hazards that have been identified with toys. All children's toys manufactured or imported into the US on or after 28 February 2018 must be tested and certified. In 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) mandated that the voluntary toy safety standard in effect at that time become a nationwide mandatory children's product safety rule.

The China Compulsory Certification (CCC) scheme on toys came into effect in June 2007. Six types of toys ‑ children's vehicles, battery‑operated toys, plastic toys, metal toys, toys with shot projectiles and dolls ‑ are subject to CCC certification. Products in these six categories that have not been certified or do not carry a CCC mark are not allowed to leave the factory, be sold in, imported to, or used in other business activities on the mainland. In addition, the Measures for the Administration of Inspection and Supervision of Toy Imports and Exports (Revised) sets out provisions for the supervision and management of the recall of defective import and export toys that may cause injuries to children. Since May 2019, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) has been designated as the governing body for the inspection and supervision of imported and exported toys. For the import of all toys listed in the Catalogue of Products Subject to Compulsory Product Certification (the "Catalogue"), original CCC certificates are now required by the GAC. Otherwise, they will remain subject to spot‑checks in accordance with the prevailing GAC regulations.
Product Trends
Video games: In 2021, the global video games market was valued at US$196bn, accounting for more than 65% of the global toys and games market. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2022 to 2030, leading the growth of the global toys and games market according to Grand View Research. The pandemic has reinforced the trend towards digital entertainment, so the sales of video games are expected to remain robust in years to come. Other factors behind the growth of video games sales are the enhanced internet connectivity in emerging markets, the rise of e‑sports and the rapid product development and innovation from industry players along the value chain from console leaders to game developers and publishers.

Educational values: Parents seek products that can deliver additional benefits to enhance their children's cognitive, social, physical, intellectual, aesthetic and emotional development. These include puzzles, construction sets, scientific toys, and arts and crafts. These have been particularly valued during the pandemic with children out of school and stuck at home. Parents' enthusiasm for educational toys is expected to remain strong beyond the pandemic, with a cumulative growth rate of 8% expected through 2024, according to Euromonitor International. Some internet retailers offer subscription box services and on‑demand, curated educational toys which have been highly sought after, especially in markets like the US.

Licensing: Despite cinemas worldwide being forced to close during the pandemic, key players such as Mattel, MGA Entertainment, Funko, and LEGO continue to license out their characters to other industries. Mattel, for example, announced a new collaboration of Barbie with the Hello Kitty brand in November 2020 to create a product line aimed at both adults and children. Meanwhile, video games publishers are licensing out their popular game content. One recent example is the multi‑year, global toys licensing deal between Riot Games (the publisher of one of the world's most‑played PC games, League of Legends) and Spin Master (a Canada‑based multinational toy company) announced in late 2020.

A thriving collectibles market: For many reasons, including the desire to relive their childhoods, some adults and even seniors are collecting toys. Today, the collectables market has grown to become a significant portion of the toy industry. These consumers have high spending power, and show great interest in vinyl toys, model cars, action figures and statues. With the sophisticated molding and manufacturing technology now available, manufacturers can design and make high‑quality collectibles which are meticulously scaled and detailed. Hong Kong‑based manufacturer Hot Toys is well‑known for making high quality action figures from popular movies, video games, comics and celebrities. Traditional toy manufacturers often introduce two lines for the same product, one for kids and the other for collectors. For example, Mattel has a strong collector business in Barbie dolls, Matchbox die‑cast cars and the Hot Wheels racing system, in addition to the children's line of these toys.

Metaverse: Brands are now exploring the potential of the metaverse market, which sets out to offer an extensive online platform for gaming and interaction. As more people enjoy playing across digital and physical worlds, brands are seeking different channels to enter the virtual space and build their communities. For instance, LEGO and Epic Games announced a long‑term partnership in April 2022 to develop a safer and collaborative environment for a better metaverse experience. Brands are also leveraging their intellectual properties to launch a wide range of NFT projects to whet the growing appetite for virtual collectibles.

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Hong Kong produces a wide range of toys and its toy industry is particularly strong in plastics manufacturing. These products include dolls, doll houses and other accessories, action figures, construction sets, toy guns, make-believe toys and gimmicks such as beauty kits and doctor's kits.

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--> The public attention and preferences that Barbie received
--> associated with socio-contextual factors?

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Barbie's weight is constantly 110 pounds 

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Barbie's weight is constantly 110 pounds 

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3. Interview the sales
--> The age group of people buying Barbie
--> Which group occupy the most? (to see the age group that Barbie has a high prevalence)

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1. Toy shops field visit (e.g. Toys R us)
We can observe:
a. The kinds of Barbie dolls that are in stock
b. The price of different Barbie dolls
--> Reflect their popularity

2. Interview the sales in the toy shops (consumption pattern of customers)
--> Ask them about the sales of different Barbie dolls and making a comparison (The more the sales the more popular that kind of Barbie doll is)
-> Which kind of Barbie would they import more
--> Compare the sales of barbie and other toys

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Promotion videos that children can be anything they want

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Promotion videos that children can be anything they want

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E.g. children can be lecturers, doctors, lawyers...
encourage confidence

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2. Interview ECE related ppl (students, kindergarten teachers, coordinator), parents of children
- How Barbie influence young development (gender identity, self-actualization, self-esteem... )?
- Whether kindergarten provide Barbie and why?
- Will parents buy Barbie to their children? And why?

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The trend of gender-neutral child-raising practice 

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The trend of gender-neutral child-raising practice 

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'Boy or girl?' Parents raising 'theybies' let kids decide

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A small group of parents across the U.S. are raising "theybies" - children being brought up without gender designation from birth.

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1. Survey: getting data from girls and boys, who age between 18 years old to 25 years old
--> Ask for their toy preferences
--> Find out the trends in childhood (Recall from their memory: Do they own a barbie in their childhood?/ How they observed their classmates playing with Barbie/ Recall whether the toy stores had lots of Barbie in stock in their childhood?)

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Toys targeted at girls, which is a fashion toy for dressing up and accessories decoration

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Toys targeted at girls, which is a fashion toy for dressing up and accessories decoration

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--> Fit with girls' interests

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How do societal and contextual changes affect the popularity of Barbie nowadays?

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How do societal and contextual changes affect the popularity of Barbie nowadays?

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The movie: Barbie (2023)

Movie discussion from the public
In terms of:
--> Fashion, the childhood memory of playing with this toy, the design of Barbie

Design purposes: a design for girls

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Aqua - Barbie Girl (Official Music Video)

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Real-Life Barbie Doll: Model Valeria Lukyanova Transforms Herself | Good Morning America | ABC News

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Which kind of barbie has a higher prevalence?

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Which kind of barbie has a higher prevalence?

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What are different kinds of Barbie and their price

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What are different kinds of Barbie and their price

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How do different age group of people perceives Barbie

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How do different age group of people perceives Barbie

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1. Observe children's Barbie playing

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Background