12. March 2009
The toy industry evolves faster than almost any other. New products reach the market in a never-ending stream. Their designers live permanently in the future. But how do they know what kids will be wanting in a year or two’s time? How do trend-setters operate in the playroom? Simba Dickie Group COO Uwe Weiler, with overall responsibility for product management, gives the answers.
When a new toy lands on the retailer’s shelf it may well be two years since it was first conceived. A phenomenon familiar to us in the mobile phone, fashion and cosmetics industries. But very few people know that development schedules in the toy industry are just as tight. If you want to be a product manager in the toy industry you must go in for trend research. Or take up crystal ball gazing. Simba Dickie Group COO Uwe Weiler explains in an interview how to live in the future.
YO-YO: Mr. Weiler, where do you get all your new ideas from?
UWE WEILER. All over the place. Trade fairs, for example; the top ones are in Nuremberg and Hong Kong. We get suggestions from our foreign subsidiaries and customers.
But when products are shown at trade fairs, they’re already done and dusted…
It’s vitally important to detect and evaluate trends and develop them if you like the look of them. And it’s at fairs that you meet licensors from the TV and film industries, who always plan up to two years ahead. Our experienced product managers will see at a glance whether a particular film, for example, is going to launch a fashion and whether a toy can be developed to exploit it.
In other words, the wheel keeps turning and the same things keep coming round?
As far as traditional toys are concerned there isn’t much that is absolutely new. Things come in waves and particular products resurface again and again, but updated and pepped up with additional features.
Can you give us an example?
Clothing trends transfer on to the shape, look and outfits of dolls. Technical wizardry makes it possible for a doll to eat, drink, get sick and behave like a real live baby. Another typical example is the yo-yo. Yo-yos existed more than 40 years ago, but then they invented free rolling, and now the yo-yo is an item of sporting equipment with high-tech ball bearings and couplings. The yo-yo wave breaks every ten years as the up-and-coming generation rediscovers it. Or take hula-hoops: modern hoops include sound and light effects.
But shouldn’t we be aiming to set these trends going ourselves?
Actually we quite often do. One example of a very successful development we initiated is Simba’s little yodeler; another is Eichhorn’s Marbletrax.
Do you rely on gut feelings?
Yes, they’re really important. And so is a good eye. We travel about the world a lot and are always gathering new impressions, absorbing new stimuli; every journey leads to a store toy department, even when one’s on holiday. But the best source of inspiration is the everyday world around you.
And employees’ children, probably?
Yes indeed. They have to try everything out. And our product developers regularly visit kindergartens to observe and question the kids.
What do kids like best just now?
The trend is towards all things fantastical, magical. Horses are in – which explains the great success of our Fillies, little horsey collectables.
What are you working on at the moment?
One of our biggest challenges is to adapt our range to a younger age group. Children are growing out of the traditional toy stage much quicker than they used to and going on to high-tech, music, cosmetics and fashions.
How do you react to the strong high-tech trend?
That isn’t our line and we aren’t about to jump on the electronic bandwagon.
Does the high-tech trend scare you?
No, because every fashion generates a counter-trend. The more everything gets computerized, the more need there is for traditional themes, such as books. What’s more, parents, particularly German parents, want their kids to be more active and do things with their own hands.
Have you anything new to offer to little couch potatoes?
Our new BIG balance boards are very sporty. They develop nimbleness, physical awareness and co-ordination. And they’re just as good for parents as for children.
Does a European big player like you have to tag along with every trend?
Of course we try to exploit trends. But we’re drawing some clear boundaries. If a theme is against our philosophy, we won’t go along with it.
What do you mean by that?
One of our competitors came out with distressed stuffed toys: a cat that had been run over and lost a leg; a dog with a missing ear. I think that’s in very bad taste.
What do you think of toy weapons?
We do offer a few, but they’ve been very carefully thought out. Trends such as Gotcha or Paintball were never in question. We offer toy pistols, but only with a target; boxing gloves, but only with a punch-ball. So if a child does happen to feel aggressive, they won’t work it out on another child.
If a wave looks as if it’s going to last for a bit, you’re ready to ride it…
Indeed. One long-term theme is RC vehicles, where we’ve been the market leader for a number of years, both in toys (Dickie Toys) and in hobbies (Tamiya and Carson).
What model vehicles go particularly well?
Kids’ greatest favorites don’t seem to change much: task vehicles like police cars and fire engines, with additional functions such as light and sound, and motorized vehicles. In the RC segment, the favorites are off-road vehicles such as the Hummer.
What do you anticipate in the near future?
Wavelengths are getting shorter, so we’ll need to react very fast and flexibly. That’s always been our strength.
What still makes Simba Dickie stand out from the crowd?
If you want to be a trendsetter you need to be constantly self-aware and prepared to take risks. Every year we bring out
several hundred new articles. Basically, we adore being inventive.
Stock photography agency: fotolia; Photographer: Michale Kempf
