Toy makers have warned that there could be major delays in stocking retail shelves as a result of which all the plans to buy toys in time could be hit – and hit massively.
The toy manufacturers are battling the bottleneck in the global transportation pipeline owing to Suez Canal blockage in March as well as the pandemic menace.
To make matters worse, power outages in China, shortage of resin as well as the never-ending higher labour costs have further escalated the price.
Shipping containers that once used to cost US $ 3,200 now, reportedly, sell for more than US $ 20,000. And even when containers are unloaded, there aren’t enough truckers to deliver those shipments.
In fact, surging transportation costs have made some toy makers take tough calls to hold off shipping all inventory from China to the US.
The situation has been so appalling that MGA Entertainment, which had earlier predicted a sales growth of 50 per cent this year, now expects a growth of just 18 to 20 per cent. That says it all!
However, this is probably the best time for Indian toy manufacturers to leave a mark for themselves. In fact, Indian PM Narendra Modi had recently expressed delight to see India’s youth focus on toy manufacturing in India and contribute towards developing the industry in the country.
Producing about 90 per cent of products for the export market, Indian firm Avanti Overseas Pvt. Ltd. is one such firm that’s already in news for making quality toys in integrated and sustainable manner – and it seems to be on right track.
Raghav Modi, MD, Avanti Overseas says, “We have some customers who are buying and selling 6 million pieces per month all of which is currently being sourced out of China. If we are able to convince them that from the day of order placement to dispatching it on port takes less than 70 days, we could see a significant chunk of this come our way.”
Let’s not forget that Chinese producers are today facing huge issues owing to higher salaries and, if India can match the efficiencies, then the country would be able to negate the China advantage to a great degree.
Read more about Made in India toys at ‘Made in India’ sustainable textile toys are the next big thing; Avanti Overseas has grabbed early opportunities
The pandemic has shown, and proved, that multi-country sourcing is the only way to remain ahead, and the current global crisis faced by toy makers could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for many Indian toy manufacturers like Avanti Overseas.
