Stuffed Plush Toys

China is the world's foremost toy supply center, producing more than 70% of global supply. Stuffed plush toys are one of the main toy categories exported from the country.

While still growing, the industry is losing market share to radio-controlled and electronic toys. It is also feeling the impact of rising raw-material costs, as well as a labor shortage.

This new environment has major implications for buyers. Fortunately, the comprehensive industry overview you'll find in this report will help you benefit from these changes.

You'll also benefit from profiles of 98 leading China manufacturers that you can use to leverage your influence with suppliers.

What you'll get

Detailed profiles of 20 major stuffed plush toy manufacturers, with information on their production capacities, main product lines, export capabilities and R&D plans. This information is based on personal factory visits and extensive interviews with senior managers and is available nowhere else

Profile tables of an additional 78 stuffed plush toy suppliers, including key facts such as production capabilities, machinery used, export ratios and OEM percentages

An easy-to-navigate Product Gallery spotlighting 210 top-selling toys with full-color images, detailed specifications and export prices

The results of Global Sources' latest supplier survey highlighting trends in export sales, product design and much more, over the next 12 months

This report covers the following: regular stuffed plush toys, electronic and mechanical stuffed plush toys, and DIY unstuffed toys

How you'll benefit

Get quick-to-use summary listings covering all featured suppliers, with easily comparable statistics, plus verified contact information and website addresses

Obtain details of hot new products before they hit the market and ahead of your competition

Discover what companies are doing to make their designs more appealing to customers like yours

Find out which fabrics and other materials manufacturers are now using to control costs and enhance the look of stuffed plush toys

Executive summary

The stuffed plush toy industry in China has been recovering from major setbacks that slowed production in late 2003 and early 2004. Exports from the country amounted to an approximate US$1.5 billion last year, a year-on-year growth of 2 percent.

The growth rate in 2004 was marginally lower than the projected 5 percent, primarily due to the labor shortage in the more developed parts of China. Output of stuffed plush toys fluctuated as manufacturers took time to hire and train new workers, find qualified subcontractors, and reevaluate worker benefits and production procedures.

Although these issues continue to impact the output of stuffed toys, suppliers are confident the next 12 months will be an improvement over the past year.

The following are some of the key trends we see in China's stuffed plush toys export industry:

• Suppliers will continue adopting strategies to soften the effects of the labor crisis to prevent production delays and lose sales opportunities. Some makers will increase wages and provide workers with better working and living environments.

• While these steps will inflate operational expenses, most suppliers will keep prices at current levels in an effort to maintain competitiveness. However, the rising costs of raw materials such as polypropylene stuffing might compel some makers to increase prices.

• Toy safety will improve. Many suppliers will adopt the China government's updated guidelines on toy safety released in October 2004. The standards are based on international toy safety standards.

• With the rise in demand for electronic toys, suppliers will produce more interactive stuffed plush toys that emphasize learning through repetition of words, music or other customizable features. The increasing availability of locally made IC modules and voice recorders will allow suppliers to bring down prices of such models.

China makers offer regular stuffed plush toys, electronic and mechanical stuffed plush toys and DIY unstuffed toys. These product categories are discussed in detail in the Products & Prices section of this report. A price guide also compares low-end, midrange and high-end models in all three categories.

The Manufacturing section highlights QC procedures, including safety monitoring of products from assembly to packaging.

The stuffed plush toy industry consists of about 1,200 manufacturers, and an additional 1,000 companies that subcontract for exporters. It is predominantly composed of small and midsize makers, more than half of which are foreign-invested or joint ventures.

Industry overview

Stuffed plush toy exports from China are expected to grow by approximately 2 percent in 2004 to US$1.54 billion, from US$1.51 billion in 2003. Although this is lower than the 5 percent growth rate in 2003, it is still significant considering the fact that the industry is highly mature, is continuously losing market share to radio-controlled and electronic toys, and is reeling under the pressures of increasing raw-material costs and a labor shortage.

Insufficient labor continues to be one of the major challenges faced by stuffed plush toy makers in China, although the situation is not as severe as it was in 2003. Makers located in more industrialized areas, such as Guangdong, Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu provinces, are especially affected by the labor shortage, as workers have been moving from the labor-intensive low-paying stuffed toy industry to other high-tech higher-paying industries.

Worst hit by the shortage is Guangdong, where the concentration of a range of industries offers workers ample job opportunities. In addition, many migrant workers are moving back to their home provinces where the manufacturing sector is prospering.

Suppliers in these more industrialized provinces have been taking a number of steps to ensure the labor shortage does not affect delivery schedules. As in 2003, many suppliers continue to deal with the situation by subcontracting to factories, or by setting up their own supplementary facilities in less industrialized provinces such as Jiangxi, Anhui or northern Jiangsu where cheap labor is readily available.

These provinces also offer the added benefit of lower manufacturing costs. Labor is 30 to 50 percent cheaper in Anhui, northern Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces, as compared with Guangdong and Zhejiang. Land and other overheads are less expensive as well, reducing overall production costs by up to 20 percent

However, the shortage of skilled workers in these areas has limited the production shift to low-end and midrange stuffed plush toys. For high-end toys, suppliers continue to rely on their factories in more developed provinces, where there are easy-to train and experienced workers, as well as English-speaking managers and designers.

Suppliers with factories in the more industrialized areas have had to increase salaries of their workers, and provide them with better living quarters and dormitories to prevent them from moving to other industries.

Apart from the labor shortage, China suppliers have also had to deal with soaring costs of raw materials, especially the main stuffing material polypropylene, the price of which increased by 70 percent in 2004. As a result, some makers plan to increase their export prices in 2005. However, the majority of suppliers will not pass on the increased costs to their buyers, and will instead cut overhead expenses and make do with lower profit margins.

Samples of supplier profile

Canfine Toys Ltd
Canfine Toys is a specialized maker of stuffed plush toys established in 1996. The company produces 400,000 stuffed toys monthly and exports its entire output to the United States, the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

About 50 percent of production is shipped to OEM buyers such as Disney, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, Hasbro and Tomy.

The company's export sales increased by 40 percent to US$7 million in 2004.

Products
Canfine Toys manufactures regular stuffed plush toys and models with light and clock functions. The company has been increasing its line of multifunction toys in the past 12 months. Among these are stuffed toy mobile-phone holders and electronic toys with one or two movements. These models are priced at about US$2.

The company invests US$250,000, 4 percent of annual sales in R&D. It has increased its R&D staff from 27 to 60 in 2004.

The team releases its own themed products and accepts design ideas from customers. All designs are evaluated by production engineers and sales teams before they are approved for production.

Manufacturing
The 10,000sqm facility in Guangdong has 50 assembly lines, 1,000 flat bed sewing machines, nine mold-cutting machines, three cotton separators, three stuffing machines and eight metal detectors. In 2004, Canfine Toys invested in additional machinery, particularly for inspection.

The company has 150 QC members who inspect the toys at each production stage. The QC team sets standards for incoming raw materials and inspection guidelines.

The company evaluates raw materials to international standards. All incoming fabrics and other raw materials are examined based on EN71 standards and approved after tests of suitability for making stuffed toys.

The company performs pull tests of up to 90 newtons or 20 pounds. The stems for eyes and noses are melted so they attach to the toy better. After passing through a small-parts test, the stuffed toys go through a metal detector, and then under an air blower to remove extra fibers and dust. Another QC inspection is done before the products are sent to the packaging area.

Like other companies in the Pearl River Delta, Canfine Toys has also experienced difficulties in hiring experienced workers. Problems in its Guangdong and Jiangxi factories have caused delayed delivery and decreased output. To attract and retain personnel, it has increased salaries and improved both living and working conditions. It has also built another factory in Jiangxi province.

Sample of product gallery

Regular stuffed plush toys Baoshi Group Model: JO-T8346 Minimum order: 5,000 pieces Packaging type: Polybag Delivery time: 30 days Indicated price: US$0.40 Description: Skin material plush; PP cotton stuffing; 7 inches high; available in any color; machine washable

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