The playbook has changed. Retail is concentrated, margins are tighter, and risk sits earlier in the cycle. So how are serious operators actually making decisions right now? For this Melbourne Toy Fair edition, senior leaders from privately owned businesses speak plainly about leverage, discipline, and what will separate winners from survivors in the next phase.
What has fundamentally changed in how you assess opportunity today versus three years ago?
At ZURU, we’re constantly evaluating data, social media and content. We have dedicated teams who spend their entire day monitoring and attempting to predict the next trend and how we can capitalise. This has been a considerable change, and the importance of this engine only intensifies with how quickly consumers and trends can shift. Simply, 3—5+ years ago, businesses didn’t have dedicated teams, maybe a person, not entire teams, or Tik-Tok Officers, and now these teams play a critical role in areas such as New Product Development.
With retail so concentrated, where do you now see genuine leverage—product, brand, relationships, or execution?
Not to sit on the fence, but all these pieces of the puzzle are critical. They go hand in hand. Relationships have, and will always be imperative, and these are built on trust and credibility, which takes time. Trust is incredibly difficult to gain and easy to lose; we chase our wins but are accountable and address our learns with our partners. At ZURU, from a brand / product perspective we’re relentless in our approach to providing solutions at a category / brand / product level and then how we elevate our execution. We test, we learn, we review data and we double down or we pivot.
What’s the one thing suppliers consistently underestimate about working with major retailers today?
I can’t speak for other suppliers, from our perspective, we always focus on the solution we’re providing our partner. Retailers see 1,000s of products yearly and are bound to KPIs and objectives (as we all are), we ensure we understand their strategy and objectives and build / tailor recommendations to provide purposeful solutions. It’s a balance of push and pull, and our goal is to become trusted advisors and to ensure we set ourselves up for collective success.
Are we in a defensive cycle, or the early stages of a new growth model for the industry?
Being an optimist, we’re in a growth cycle, though the growth may look different to what it has in the past. With kidult now equating to >20% of global Toy Sales, the blind box craze, Popmart phenomenon, it’s evident where the growth is coming from and naturally some traditional categories are more challenged, currently.
Diversifying retail channels and E-Commerce, which whilst still developing in Australia (in comparison to other major markets) is a considerable opportunity with increased adoption and speed of delivery to the end-consumer.
Looking ahead 3–5 years, what capability will most clearly separate winners from survivors?
Speed is king. Competition is fierce and physical retailers don’t have elastic walls. Those that identify trends, understand the opportunity, and are able to execute, at pace, will win. This is a core principle for us at ZURU and is an area we’re always focusing on and fine tuning.
This article also appeared in Edition 20 of The Toy Universe Magazine
