Richard Gottlieb

Is India Finally Getting Serious About Toys?

Possibly the only country in the world that has the population and infrastructure to compete with China for toy production is India. It is therefore noteworthy that, at least to this point, they have not even appeared on the radar. That may be changing.

Two recent articles point to a possible new trend and outlook in India. One article in the June 19, 2008 issue of The Hindu, entitled “Alyar Calls for Bolstering Toy Industry,” opens by stating: “With China taking a blow in its toy business following reports of lead content in the products . . Mani Shankar Aiyar [a government official] on Thursday said India, particularly the North Eastern states should capitalize on this and emerge as a big exporter of toys.”

Though this may sound like the proverbial “no brainer” it has apparently not been so apparent until recently. According to the article, India, the largest country in the world, currently accounts for just .01% of world toy production. 

That would appear to be just one of those impotent calls for action that government officials sometimes (or often times) make except for another article I found on a website called OutlookIndia.com. In a June 14, 2008 piece entitled “Game Theories,” we learn of a joint project between the Toy Association of India and two engineering schools to create new play platforms and intellectual property.   

Here is how the article puts it: “As part of a[n] . . . agreement between the Toy Association of India (TAI), the [Indian Institutes of Technology] . . . and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the students are conceptualizing and designing a whole range of playthings, traditional and contemporary.” The piece goes on to explain that India has the manufacturing capacity "but not the wherewithal to use that capacity to full advantage."  It is the belief that by supporting the technical schools in developing new toys, India can create toys ". . . that can not just enterain children but be intellectually stimulating as well."

To date, the Indian toy industry has been disappointing in its, at best,  tepid efforts to assert itself into the global toy market.  With a home grown market that is becoming more prosperous and an opening in the global market due to China’s inflating costs of production, maybe India is finally planning to become a player. This is one I will be keeping my eye on.

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on July 6, 2008 | Comments (0)