The toy industry had a challenging first quarter but JAKKS Pacific fared better than expected.

The company reported an 11% decline in net sales to $107.5 million while its margins and profit increased slightly. On a global level, JAKKS’ action play and collectibles business spiked 19% driven largely by strong sales for products tied to The Super Mario Bros. Movie to partially offset a 23% drop in sales for dolls and role-play products.

“We are pleased with our year-to-date performance as we close the first quarter and are excited about the possibilities for the remainder of the year,” says JAKKS Pacific Chairman and CEO Stephen Berman. “We shipped more than $100 million worth of product in Q1 for the second consecutive year and it is the first time we’ve done that in back-to-back years since 2009. We have challenging revenue comparisons all year, but our significant gross margin improvement lessened the impact in the first quarter.”

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JAKKS is seeing strength in international markets this year with a 7% gain in sales for toys and consumer products while the Disguise costumes business saw a 64% spike for the quarter. Berman says that much of the growth is coming from Latin America, a sentiment echoed by much of the industry.

Looking ahead, JAKKS expects to see sales increase in the back half of the year powered by continued momentum from its gaming-inspired products, Disguise, and upcoming entertainment properties, including Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Wish.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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