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Trade: Game and toy market in Romania: Consumer preferences and sales evolution
The sale of toys and games in Romania might grow this year by 10% to 693.3 million lei (160 million euro) compared to 2012, according to estimates made by research company Euromonitor, which also anticipates a consumer division between high-tech and traditional products.
Sales of traditional toys and games are estimated at 456.6 million lei, while video games are estimated at 236.7 million lei. The study shows that educational toys and games have been the “stars” lately.
The entertainment industry has higher and higher impact on the sale of toys and games.
Licensed products have increasing popularity because of the increased use of the Internet and time spent in front of television. Walt Disney licenses are an example. Construction toys are estimated to grow with a constant annual rate of 5% while prices are expected to drop by 50%.
With Lego, which opened an office in Romania, the popularity of games and puzzles revived and the trend will continue until 2016 when they could reach sales of 51 million lei, according to Euromonitor.
However, toys with small and average prices between 10 and 100 lei have the biggest market share.
8% is held by more expensive toys like Lego Minifigurines- 11 lei or Bakugan Battle Gear -15 lei. This category also includes many no-name toys made in China.
The main store networks in the local market are Smyk, Noriel and Toyplex. Online sales win ground in the people’s choices.More than 90% of toys are imported and Romanian producers have small chances in the fight against international brands.According to Euromonitor the toy and game market in Romania is credited with the biggest potential in the East European area.