- The French Toy market has so far this year delivered very positive results (+10%) in 7 months. This is something never seen in 25 years!
- Most of top EUROPE markets are growing like UK (+8%) and Germany (+3%).
- As of the end of August in France, volume is + 1 percent and price +3 percent (16 Euros).
- The “Outdoor Toy” category that used to be a main driver is only counting for 9% of all categories and decreasing by 3%.
- Of 11 super categories tracked by CIRCANA, some categories are doing well driven by « KIDULT » (+12y old)
- Games & Puzzles is category N°1 (+23% in August/ 24% of total and cumulated +35%).
- Construction is still up (+46 percent in August / 18% of total and cumulated +31%) driven by Lego (Formula 1 is Top 10) and as a result of the continuing Kidult trend. Second category after Games & Puzzles.
- Figurines is up (+18% in August / 5% of total and cumulated +7%) driven by movies like Dragon and Jurassic World.
- Plush is already in +12% cumulated knowing Olympic Games was a strong plush TO last year.
- Inflation is going down compared to last year (+2,3% in 2024) and should be at +1% in 2025.
- Births are still decreasing (661 000 in 2024, down 160 000 over 15 years). 2025 births have continued the trend, down 2.2 percent in the first 6 months.
TOP PRODUCTS:
- Skyjo from Blackrock games (card game) is still number 1 as last year.
- Pokémon has 7 products in the top 10 and Lego Botanicals 2.
- Top 10 products are mainly KIDULT products.
TOY RETAIL:
- Smyths Toys is opening various new shops in 2025 and is now reaching 52.
- Joue Club and La Grande Récré have now 430 shops and will open 5 new ones. They are growing sales by 8% in 2025.
- KING JOUET has KIDULT sales counting for 21% of global sales, growing and will go to 30% in 2 years. They have opened 3 new stores called « KINGDULT » with assortment 100% KIDULT.
DISTRIBUTION:
- Toy specialists and multi-specialists are still growing sales (main channel)
- Hypermarkets are doing better when supermarkets had a bad summer in sales.
LICENSING:
- It has been a good year again with vigorous activity in licenses which are up overall, representing 28 percent of total toy sales (+18%)
- The top licenses are Pokémon, Lilo Stich, Formula 1, Star wars and Paw Patrol
- Some good blockbusters for children were in theaters the holiday season, which increased sales (Dragon, Jurassic World…)
TRENDS:
- Kidult games are growing, representing 31 percent of total toy sales (+2 points). The adults are buying regularly during all year and the average price is high. They have a unique space in Christmas catalogs (Games and puzzles, collectibles, and building with licenses).
- Budget for adult is nearly 200E/year and they buy in mix nostalgic (80’s/90’s) and manga items.
- Lego again is growing its TO significantly by 61% in 2025.
- Toys from Asia (Corea, Japan and China) are growing strong with Blind Box sales phenomenon. It’s already 15% of total sales (Labubu and others…)
Yann Fresnel has 30 years experience selling toys in EMEA area. His company, Toy Influence represents overseas Toy companies in Europe and France. Connect with him on LinkedIn, or email him at — yann[@]toyinfluence.com
This article also appeared in Edition 51 of The Bugg Report Magazine
