Concern over a possible shortage of toys at Christmas

The post-pandemic Covid-19 economic recovery? This is good news, but also bad news for the players in the toy market, who find themselves, in full preparation for the peak of Christmas activity, trapped in a global recovery in all sectors.

“A 40-foot container [environ 12 mètres] to bring back the merchandise from China, which cost us $ 3,000 before the Covid [2 555 euros], is now worth around $ 19,000 ”, explains Julien Vahanian, director of the Wilson Games company, which has 80% of its products manufactured in Europe and 20% in China. “In general, we start manufacturing after the Chinese New Year, at the end of February, says Philippe Bernard, Managing Director in France of Goliath, the maker of the Triominos game. From March to May, this is the manufacturing period, and shipments are made between June and August. Shipping prices started to soar in May. In July, the containers were already worth $ 12,000. “

“We will not be able to deliver everything on time, because the entire supply chain has become much less precise”, Julien Vahanian, director of Wilson Games

Fewer ships are on the road, and manufacturers are facing slowdowns in container turnover. The normal rotation, which was forty-eight to seventy-two hours, is now fifteen days ”, explains Mr. Bernard. Without counting “The boat stuck in Egypt, which [leur] wasted a fortnight in the transport of products, and the closure of the port of Yantian for ninety-six hours for cases of Covid “, continues the boss.

Forced to “reduce volumes”

In addition, for toy manufacturers, there is an increase in the price of raw materials (wood, cardboard, packaging, electronic components, etc.). A third effect, induced by the first, causes other tensions. To avoid the astronomical costs of transport, some manufacturers have ordered from factories in Europe. “Suddenly, this saturates the production capacities of the factories where our products are manufactured and causes longer delivery times”, says Vahanian. He must supply the stores according to precise rates between September and December 15. “We will not be able to deliver everything on time, because the entire supply chain has become much less precise, continues the entrepreneur. Some orders that we had placed in March have just been delivered to us, whereas they should have reached us in July. “

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