The Romanian toy market, record level of over RON 1.7 billion in 2022

The turnover of the Romanian toy market (manufacturing & trade) increased by 14% compared to 2020 and was almost 8 times larger than in 2012, at the highest level in history, of over 1.5 billion lei in 2021.

 

“For 2022, we estimate the continued growth of the toy market above the European average and exceeding the historical maximum reached in 2021, to more than 1.7 billion lei, based on the expansion of the product portfolio (which influences the process of obtaining the premium status – by incorporating new, interactive, and educational technologies), the development of the green toys segment and the transmission of inflationary pressures to the consumer. The increased number of strategic alliances and partnerships, acquisitions and collaborations between sellers and market participants at European level will also support the growth of the toy market at local level. Sports and outdoor toys are expected  to benefit from an increase in demand amid the high concerns of parents regarding childhood obesity and other health issues associated with the children’s increasing sedentary lifestyles,” said Diana Florescu, KeysFin economic analyst, one of the leading providers of business information solutions in Romania.

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“At the opposite end, we have factors such as the increasing availability of counterfeit products, which can affect the evolution of the local market. These are made from low quality raw materials and can even be harmful to children. The development of e-commerce has propelled sales of counterfeit products by expanding their geographical coverage,” said KeysFin analysts.

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In 2021, in Romania there were 504 companies that had as main scope of activity the manufacture and/or retail of toys (NACE code 3240 – manufacture of toys games and NACE code 4765 – retail sales of games and toys in specialized shops), up 5% from in 2020 and 73% more than in 2012.

TOP LOCAL SELLERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF TOYS

The main seller remained JUMBO EC.R SRL, a Greek-owned company that consolidated its market leadership position in 2021 with a turnover of almost 901 million lei (69% of the total trade), after an annual advance of about 9%.

The second place in the top of sellers is Noriel (INTERTOY ZONE SRL), a company with a majority Turkish shareholder structure, with a turnover of 258 million lei, which concentrated 20% of the total trade. The podium is completed by BRICK DEPOT SRL – the Lego distributor on the local market (37 million lei; 2.8% of total trade), LUXPRIMM SRL (17 million lei; 1.3%) and J&M SRL (12 million lei; 0.9% of total local trade). The 5 largest companies generated 93% of the turnover of toy sellers in Romania in 2021.

In terms of local toy production, the main player on the market is AIRQUEE SRL, a British majority-owned company with a turnover of 30.5 million lei (39% higher than in 2020), which generated 14% of the total local production in 2021. In the second place in the top of producers we find MODELLEISENBAHN SRL, a company with 100% Austrian ownership based in Arad, with a turnover of 19.5 million lei, which is 9.1% of the total production in 2021. The podium was completed by VIESSMANN TRANSILVANIA SRL (16.1 million lei, 7.5% of the total), D-TOYS SA (15.8 million lei; 7.4% of the total production) and BURAK TOYS INTERNATIONAL SRL (15 million lei; 7% of the total production in 2021). The 5 largest companies concentrated almost 45% of the toy manufacturing turnover in 2021.

NET RESULT, 447 TIMES HIGHER THAN IN 2012

The net result of the companies in the toy market (profit minus net loss) increased 447 times compared to 2012, to almost 279 million lei due to the evolution of the trade component, which accounted for 95% of the net result of the market in 2021. The largest player by turnover and workforce, JUMBO EC.R SRL generated almost 96% of the net profit of toy sellers in 2021.

According to KeysFin, of the 504 companies considered in the analysis, 244 registered profits in 2021, 194 had losses, and the rest registered a null result.

EVOLUTION OF THE ROMANIAN TOY MARKET WORKFORCE

The number of employees in the toy market (manufacturing & trade) decreased by 9% compared to 2020, but remained by 83% above the 2012 level, at about 3.6 thousand employees in 2021.

By sub-segments, the average number of employees in toy manufacturing decreased by 13% compared to 2012, to 1.3 thousand employees, which was 37% of the total in 2021. On the trade side , the labour force increased by 407% compared to 2012, to almost 2.3 thousand employees in 2021.

Note: The KeysFin analysis is based on annual, non-adjusted, aggregated financial data reported by companies at the Ministry of Finance (at the end of the period) that have as their core business area one of the following NACE codes: 3240 – manufacture of toys and games or 4765 – retail sales of games and toys in specialized shops.