Toy industry trends in Germany

Connectivity remains an important factor in product innovation.

According to the market research firm Euromonitor, higher birth rates and more extravagant parents contributed to the growth of the toy industry in the country in 2014, both for traditional toys and video games.

The German market, where the international toy fair Spielwarenmesse is held annually, prefers locally known traditional brands, bucking global trends. This contributes to a small number of licensed products. Lego is among the most important players, especially with the recent licenses with Star Wars and DC Comics Super Heroes.

The decrease of crude oil prices in June 2014 led to a favorable consumer climate and higher disposable incomes, thus parents were more likely to spend on toys and games, particularly high-end ones such as robots and video game consoles.

The toy industry in the country is highly fragmented, which means that no single player enjoyed a double digit share during the review period. In spite of the limited licensed products, Lego's range of construction toys such as Star Wars and The Avengers were pretty successful. Sony overtook Nintendo as the leading player with its release of PlayStation 4, as well as outperforming Xbox One from Microsoft.

German consumers still prefer shopping at brick and mortar stores, with pure online retailers suffering significant losses. Toy stores implement a multi-channel strategy by having actual stores and online shops, as online retailers are also gaining popularity.

Obstacles that manufacturers need to watch out for include low birth rate, increase of tech-savvy children and economic downturns.

See a comparison table of children's tablet suppliers on GlobalSources.com