State of the Industry Top 10 Properties Frozen took the top spot, with sales topping $550 million
Disney Frozen Barbie Ninja Turtles Disney Princess Nerf Star Wars Hot Wheels Lego City Little Tikes Monster High 600
400
200
0
Sales ($Millions) *Does not include Nerf Rebelle sales
of toys. Frozen had more than 300 different items on store shelves last year. Not surprisingly, licenses, which represent 31 percent of total toy sales, or $5.7 billion, grew 6.5 percent—nearly three times faster than the rest of market, which grew 2.3 percent. While the average retail price (ARP) of a licensed toy is
less than a brand, $12.24 for a licensed toy versus $13.02 for a branded toy, the ARP of licensed toys grew 3 percent last year, while the ARP of branded toys declined 4 percent. In terms of the top 10 dollar growth subclasses, there was a nice mix of more traditional boy categories, including building sets, action figures, blasters and shooters, and strategic trading card games; as well as girl categories, including play set-themed figures and fashion-themed dolls and figures. There were also mixed-gender categories that saw growth, including reusable compounds, traditional plush, robotic/interactive playmates, and electronic entertainment. One distinct trend we are seeing—and expect to see more of—are toys with embedded technology in the play. We see this in the last two subclasses on this list: robotic/interactive playmates and electronic entertainment. New product introductions drove the growth in robotic/interactive playmates, including WowWee’s MiP, Moose Toys’ Little Live Pets, and Spin Master’s Digibirds, while Frozen drove the growth in electronic entertainment. While there was a nice mix of growth in boy, girl, and gender-neutral categories, boys’ categories dominated the growth with building sets, action figures, and blasters and shooters, contributing nearly $500 million in sales growth last year. ■
Top 10 Items Five* of the top 10 items last year were also in the top 10 in 2013 Item Description
Corp Manufacturer
1
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Figure Asst.*
2
My First Disney Princess Frozen Snow Glow Elsa (New) Jakks Pacific
3
Hot Wheels Car Basic Asst.
Mattel
4
LeapFrog Explorer Licensed Software Asst.*
LeapFrog
5
Galaxy Tab 3 Kids 8GB
Samsung
6
MineCraft Core Steve w/Accessory
Jazwares
7
Zoomer Dino Asst. (New)
Spin Master
8
Barbie 3-Story Dream Townhouse*
Mattel
9
Nabi 2 8GB Bundle 7-inch Tablet*
Fuhu
10 Disney Frozen Sparkle Doll Asst.
52 • THE TOY BOOK
Playmates Toys
Mattel
*Data as of January 13, 2015 data release. **Data is representative of retailers that participate in The NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service. NPD’s current estimate is that the Retail Tracking Service represents approximately 80 percent of the U.S. retail market for toys. 2014 data = 52 weeks starting January 5, 2014 through week ending January 3, 2015; 2013 data = 52 weeks starting January 6, 2013 through week ending January 4, 2014. ***Oct-Dec 2014 data = 13 weeks starting October 5, 2014 through week ending January 3, 2015; Oct-Dec 2013 data = 13 weeks starting October 6, 2013 through week ending January 4, 2014.
FEBRUARY 2015