Collectively Speaking

The first toy robot looked great in her office; a second looked even better.

Well, then, why not a whole entourage? Why not, indeed? The passion for collecting needs very little coaxing! Besides … toy robots have been compelling for decades.

“I find toy robots visually appealing and fun,” confirms Esther Han, president of NPD Funworld. “The diversity of colors and characteristics, as well as the fact that they can be wound up to move, are very engaging to me,” she tells Playthings.

Han actually began collecting the toys well before she landed in the industry.

“A friend gave me a toy robot as a gift and I decided to display it in my office. Shortly thereafter, a work colleague gave me another one, and with two, I decided to start a collection. It was not until some eight years later that I ended up joining NPD Group and getting involved in the toy industry,” Han tells Playthings, adding that although she's fond of all toy robots, she does prefer the replicas from the 1950s compared with more recent ones.

She does have a special regard for all toys from that era, though, a period that would include the early '60s, she notes. “Games like the Hula Hoop, Frisbee, Twister; toys like the Easy Bake Oven seemed to innovate and create new forms of recreation,” she says.

And all were must-have toys at some point, a factor that has been missing from the business for a few years now.

Changing times

The industry today, Han notes, “is simply different” than it was, say, 50 or so years ago.

“On the one hand, everyone talks about lack of must-have toys. On the other hand, I think the toy industry today is simply more fragmented than it once was,” she says, adding that the fragmentation is more a reflection of the industry evolving to meet increasingly diverse needs and play patterns.

“While the notion of popular toys is still relevant, the days of the next Slinky may be passed,” Han says.

Nevertheless, she does believe collectors will still have a “soft spot” for today's popular toys.

“Thinking positively, I'd like to think collectors will describe today's toy climate as a transitional one; that this was the time the toy industry had to redefine itself,” she explains.

Today, the industry is thinking more broadly, Han says, and is realizing it has to reclaim its position: to entertain children and adults.

“I think the more qualitative criteria include whether or not toys still teach, engage, and/or entertain consumers,” she tells Playthings.

Collectors will also likely consider today's toys from another historical bent: the consumer profile—and their “share of wallet,” she quips.

“Consumers and how they spend their time and money obviously shift over time,” Han notes.

Given that collectors usually seem to seek out items “that no longer exist or are hard to find, I think dolls and action figures will always be a strong category for collecting. They often represent the cultural context in which they are born.”

Electronic toys may also fill the collectible bill in years to come.

“Maybe there will be demand for some of the electronic toys that are being introduced, since the trajectory of how technology gets incorporated into toys is still in its infancy,” she notes.

True, electronic toys are defining an era. Nevertheless, it is challenging to imagine, though, that they will evoke the same emotional bond to the collector as, say, a doll or an action figure.

Or, for that matter will dress up an office in quite the same way as does a row of colorful wind-up toy robots.

Are you an avid collector of toys and have a story to be told? Please e-mail Maria Weiskott at: mweiskott@reedbusiness.com.