Overall, the traditional toys and games industry in South Africa is worth over ZAR 2.2 billion in current retail value terms in 2017. The most lucrative categories proved to be construction, with leading brand LEGO dominating the category.
Unrivalled brand loyalty and wide product ranges aimed at both girls and boys, young and old, continue to solidify their position. The company also continues to use licencing to remain relevant to audiences to drive sales.
With regards to globally known traditional toys and games retailer Toys R Us recent claim for bankruptcy, the local franchise, however, continues to aggressively expand its retail footprint in South Africa and claims to be unaffected by the restructuring occurring in the United States and elsewhere.
It continues with its growth path as it aims to open seven new stores in key malls throughout South Africa. The merging of Babies R Us stores into Toys R Us also shows their commitment to continued investment in the retailer. Future strategies to remain relevant also involves putting more energy and focus on online platforms as they aim to bolster their online presence and take advantage of internet retailing.
Leading traditional toys and games retailers such as Toys R Us and Toy Kingdom continues with elaborate displays relating to specific brands. Leading brands such as LEGO, Barbie and Disney products have entire shelf displays dedicated exclusively to their brand offerings. This is beneficial are their products become easy to identify and wider product assortment means children have more options to choose from based on price and other features they are specifically looking for.
A major content sharing deal between I-flix and LEGO SA occurred in the latter part of 2017. I-flix, dubbed the Netflix of Africa, entered a major two-year distribution deal with LEGO SA to add a wide range of the most popular LEGO series to its extensive library of award-winning titles. I-flix offers its subscribers across the middle east and Africa unlimited access to both stream and download a selection of LEGO Kids content.
The agreement will see 122 episodes across 10 titles added to the streaming service for fans across South Africa and selected countries across the continent such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Zimbabwe to enjoy. LEGO remains one of the worlds most recognised and beloved brands. The agreement will aim to bring LEGO’s premium titles to members both young and young-at-heart on a dedicated channel.
