The Toy Book (TTB): Which toy categories do you expect to expand in 2015? Which do you expect to contract?
John Gessert (JG): We are starting to see more interest at the consumer level in toys that promote or support basic play patterns. We have received notes from consumers that complement our products not only for being made in the U.S., but also for providing a basis for good basic role playing that results in active play that promotes imagination. Another role-play area that seems to be increasing from initial line reviews for fall is in doll-related play. It appears that demand for doll accessories has increased for 2015.
It appears that the demand for entry-level riding toys is diminishing as we go into 2015. This may be the result of pressure at retail for shelf space more than customer demand or children moving to entry level, more-sophisticated riding toys (e.g., bicycles).
TTB: How have you seen consumer expectations change over the past decade?
JG: The two main areas where we have seen a change in customer expectations are in accessibility and assembly. Today’s customer expects to be able to find, examine, purchase, and praise or complain about products. They want—and, frankly, expect—to be able to do all of these activities at the tip of their finger–or thumb, as is more often the case today.
The second would be ease of assembling products. Customers are placing a high value on ease of assembly more so today than in the past. It doesn’t seem that consumers are against all products that require assembly. They seem to take issue with excessive assembly. In response to this trend, we have both engineered and re-engineered products to reduce the amount of assembly, trimming off parts from clusters, and eliminating fasteners like screws.
