Abstract
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive
environment
Executive summary
Economy affects toys and games sales performance
The poor economic environment in Brazil affected the performance of toys and
games. High unemployment and the reduction in the incomes of workers kept
consumers away from stores. Toys and games manufacturers were forced to reduce
the unit prices of their products and so value sales for these companies were
reduced.
That said, current value sales of toys and games managed to surpass R$1.5
billion in 2003, an increase of nearly 30% over the review period as a whole.
Traditional toys and games increased by 38% over the review period as a whole,
while video games increased by just over 12%.
Mounting competition among fashion dolls
Fashion dolls were the most competitive area of toys and games as a whole.
Sales of fashion dolls are very significant to Mattel, Estrela and Gulliver,
which are among the largest manufacturers of traditional toys and games in the
market. Towards the end of the review period, there was a lot of investment in
' hip' fashion dolls and their accessories, because 8- to 12-year-old girls
want a doll that is closer to their reality. The main dolls in this category
are Barbie and My Scene from Mattel, Susi and Driks from Estrela and Bratz and
Lil' Bratz from Gulliver in partnership with MGA Entertainment.
Illegal commerce constrains video games
Illegal sales of video games, both hardware and software, affected the sales
of the official market in Brazil. However, some measures have been taken
against illegal copies of video games software through Government laws and
educational programmes.
Compared to other countries, sales of PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube are
very small. The most popular video games consoles are the ones that were
released 10 to 15 years ago because the price of these is more attractive to
most people who have low incomes. In Brazil, the average salary of workers is
about R$835 per month.
Future trends
It is expected that toys and games will see a strong performance over the
forecast period because there will be investments in the economic and social
environment of Brazil by the Government. Investments in programmes combating
the black market have also been increasing.
Sales of toys and games should also be influenced by the reduction in the
import tax for toys and games. The import tax was approved by the World Trade
Organization to protect the Brazilian toys and games industry from 1996 until
2006. After 2006, import tax reduction should translate to the Brazilian
consumer in the form of lower prices, which should promote further sales
growth by making toys more affordable.
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