Toy industry

The Business & Industry Guides series is produced by the Library & Information Service for ICAEW members and ACA students.

We can compile tailored key players reports, mailing lists, market reports, benchmarking reports and industry news. Our enquiry team can also research other industry-specific information, such as taxation, for you. Call us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

Market research reports focusing on this business sector are available from a number of market research specialists. In most cases these reports are available to fee-paying subscribers or on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Some free information is available from the following market research specialists, ranging from industry news to executive summaries of the reports.

Euromonitor
A full listing of reference products and research reports for the toys and games industry from Euromonitor, with a range of global, country and company level reports. Each report provides a contents listing and a useful executive summary reporting on the key trends in each country report.

IBISWorld
Business and industry research specialists offering reports on a wide range of sectors, including game and toy manufacturing and toy retailers. Report snapshots, table of contents and a sample report are available. The company also produces global industry research reports.

Mintel
Report from Mintel covering the UK toy retailing market. The website includes a summary and the option to view a contents listing.

Office for National Statistics

The Annual Business Survey (ABS) from the Office for National Statistics collects financial information covering UK production, construction, distribution and service industries. Statistics available include:

• number of enterprises;
• total turnover;
• approximate gross value added at basic prices;
• total purchases of goods, materials and services;
• total employment costs;
• total net capital expenditure;
• total net capital expenditure – acquisitions;
• total net capital expenditure – disposals;
• total stocks and work in progress – value at end of year;
• total stocks and work in progress – value at beginning of year;
• total stocks and work in progress – increase during year.

The dataset Non-financial business economy, UK: Sections A to S includes statistics for:

• Manufacture of games and toys (32.4)
  See Section C: Manufacturing
• Retail sale of games and toys in specialised stores (47.65)
  See Division 47: Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Toy Industries of Europe (TIE)

Eurostat

Eurostat, the EU statistics hub, collates detailed Structural Business Statistics giving the latest figures for industry, construction, trade and services by sector and country. The indicators available include:

• number of enterprises
• turnover or gross premiums written
• production value
• value added at factor cost
• gross operating surplus
• wages and salaries
• social security costs
• gross investment in tangible goods
• gross investment in land
• gross investment in existing buildings and structures
• gross investment in construction and alteration of buildings
• gross investment in machinery and equipment
• number of employees
• number of persons employed per enterprise.

Statistics within the database are available for:

• Manufacture of games and toys (C324)
  See database section ‘SBS – industry and construction’
• Retail sale of games and toys in specialised stores (G4765)
  See database section ‘SBS – trade’

International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI)

ICTI provides global sales data.

INDSTAT

The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) collects and compiles industrial statistics known as INDSTAT, which give information on:

• number of employees
• number of establishments
• output
• value added
• total wages and salaries.

Statistics by country are available for:

• Games and toys (3694)

UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (Comtrade)

The UN compiles and publishes international import and export statistics in the Commodity Trade Statistics Database (Comtrade), giving figures for goods traded by value, quantity and weight for each country.

Statistics are available for:

• Toys, games, sports requisites (95)

UN Industrial Commodity Statistics Database

The UN provides statistics on the quantity of goods produced by country in the Industrial Commodity Statistics Database.

Figures are available for:

• Dolls representing human beings; toys representing animals or non-human creatures (38)
• Video games of a kind used with a television receiver (38)

UK

The annual Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), published by the Office for National Statistics, includes total employee and employment estimates for different industries for Great Britain and the UK. Figures are broken down to show full-time/part-time and public/private splits. The dataset Industry – Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Table 2 includes statistics for:

• Manufacture of games and toys (324)
• Retail sale of games and toys in specialised stores (47650)

Other regions

Please see individual country profile pages for links to sources of national statistics.

UK

Gov.uk provides some guidance on the main legislation applicable to various sectors, including regulations for toy manufacturers and their responsibilities.

Global safety regulations

Information on specific safety standards and regulations applicable to toys and games is available from the following organisations.

ICTI
List of ISOs and standards from countries worldwide with contact details for the standard-setting bodies.

Toy Retailers Association
Background to toy safety regulations in the UK.

Retail sector and the EU
Guidance for the retail sector on new rules from 1 January 2021. It covers importing and exporting, selling goods, trading with the EU, workforce, providing services, R&D funding, regulations, and the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Consumer goods sector and the EU
Guidance from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy for the consumer goods sector on working with the EU from 1 January 2021.

Trade Tariff

The Trade Tariff is a useful Gov.uk database listing tax, duties and licenses for the import and export of goods between the UK and other countries. The database is searchable by product or commodity code and results can be filtered by date and country. Information also includes links to relevant conditions and regulations.

See import and export information for:

• toys, games and sports requisites; parts and accessories thereof.

Atom Content Marketing guides

The Start Up Donut from Atom Content Marketing provides practical information on starting up and running a number of small business types. Guides cover a range of areas including market research, current trends, regulations, products and services, promotion and pricing. They include:

• Toy shop

The websites of trade bodies in this sector are a useful source of industry overviews, contacts and statistics.

UK

• Association of Play Industries (API)
• Baby Products Association (BPA)
• British Toymakers Guild
• British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA)
• Toy Retailers Association

Europe

• Toy Industries of Europe

Asia

• China Toy and Juvenile Products Association

Global

• International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI)

The ICTI provides a listing of its members throughout the world.

Trade journals, B2B magazines and specialist consumer magazines are another useful source of news and statistics.

• Playthings
• Toy News Online
• Toys 'n' Playthings

Toys and games industry guide: British Library
British Library industry guides provide listings of resources for industry-specific information, including print directories and materials held by the British Library.

Contact the British Library Business and IP Centre for more information.

Articles and books in the Library collection

• View a list of articles and books in our collection on the toy industry

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to book loans.