Toy market in India and the world is witnessing some strange trends in recent years. Here’s a light-hearted look at the scenario
Jay Joshi
Toys are a beloved subject for people across all ages. A mere mention of this word fills our mind with memories of childhood. We relate toys with innocence and play. But that is for the ordinary folk. For the shrewd businessmen and entrepreneurs, there is more to toys than just play -the opportunity to make some good money.
In recent years, with the boom of startups and social media, all aspects of our lives are being increasingly commercialised, and toys are no exception (we are not saying this is bad, just stating facts). One of the best examples of how crazy things have turned is the appearance of the famous Taimur doll.
Frankly, one can understand marketing action figures related to movies, or of popular stars but why make a doll of little Taimur? Well, he is a beloved of the media, and a doll based on him could give you both fame and fortune. The doll was first spotted in a store in Kerala. Soon, before we all knew, celebrities such as Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan were seen playing with the doll! We salute the genius mind that came up with the idea to make and market this doll. That guy spotted a great business opportunity there.
But while some people have to struggle and spot narrow opportunities such as this one, for others, their talent, genuineness, and unique style gets them everything. Such is the case of Ryan’s Toy Reviews. This is a Youtube channel of a six-year-old kid who earns $11 million a year simply reviewing toys, and was featured in the Forbes list of highest earning Youtube celebrities. Ryan’s videos features reviews of latest toys on the market, and he later donates most of the toys to charity. Fans seem to love the kid’s purity and excitement at palying with new toys. On his part little Ryan started filming videos when he was three. His mother quit her full time job as a teacher to manage the channel full time.
That said, Not all toys are good, not all of us can afford high-end toys, or not all of us are willing to spend on getting a large number of toys for the kids. Kids might want a toy for sometime and then forget it as their mind takes fancy to a new one. Well, what if you could just rent and exchange toys?
Yes. someone has thought of that too. There are number of ‘toy banks’ or ‘toy libraries’ where you could enroll for a monthly fee and borrow toys, changing to get new ones when you are done playing with the ones that you have. Such services exist in major Indian cities, and are also set to come to Goa. Khilonewala, a toy library startup from Indore is set to pen its store in Goa, and we asked them one key question: what if kids develop emotional attachment to one toy and refuse to give it back? That does not happen, stated the firm’s representative in Goa, Neeraj Naik. Earlier, there were not many toys, but now, there is a lot of choice. Secondly, the company will give new toys to kids when it takes back the old ones, so the kid’s mind will be engaged in new toys rather than the old, Naik said.
