Due to inflation, will there be fewer presents under the tree this year? What is already certain, three months before the end of the year celebrations, is that the toys will cost more. “Everything will cost more (…), it will cost more to offer toys to their children,” confirmed Michel-Edouard Leclerc on BFMTV on Sunday.
The magnitude of the price increase remains to be seen. At ToyClub, “we noticed with the renewed toys this year in our Christmas catalog that we had an inflation level of 3.61%, which is still very moderate compared to national inflation”, relativizes the brand’s spokesman, Franck Mathais. Figure close to the level of annual inflation observed by INSEE in September on “toys and party items” (3.9%).
But some players in the sector are much more pessimistic for the Christmas season. asked by West of France, the patron of King Toy and president of the Federation of Specialized Trade in Toys and Children’s Products (FCJPE) foresees an increase in prices “of 6 to 8%” on average. Specialist in large distribution, Olivier Dauvers, for his part, forecasts an inflation of between “10 and 20%” although he acknowledges that “it is not yet possible to know precisely the real rise in prices that the toy market will experience “.
“There are many products for which we are not going to make margins”
Comparing the catalogs of the main retailers, we can already see rises of 5 to 6 euros in certain essential toys (Kapla game, doll, etc.). In question, the rise in production costs in recent months (raw materials in particular) and that of “transport costs linked to the chaos of logistics in 2021 that is not fully resolved”, emphasizes Pascal De Lima, economist of CGI Business Consulting. And add among the causes that pull prices up “the increase in seasonal wages” to overcome “a problem of attractiveness” in the sector.
In this context, consumers will undoubtedly be forced to make concessions, except to increase their budget for toys. Last year it was estimated at 131 euros per child, according to a study by King Toy.
However, Michel-Edouard Leclerc promises an effort by retailers for the Christmas season: “Everything will cost more (…) but we are not obliged to pass on everything (on the price that the consumer must pay, editor’s note). There is many products for which we are not going to make margins,” he said, citing “all Christmas products, because our interest is that the growth in sales is there and it is a pity that we do not earn money.”
Source: BFM TV
