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local toy makers seek niche markets for fayda (surname withheld), selling toys has been her life for the last 30 years. every day, she squats over her makeshift display of colorful cheap plastic toys, organized neatly on a blanket near al-hussein mosque in medieval cairo, waiting for the occasional low-income buyer. on hand are chinese-made drumming monkeys for £e 3 each, strange-looking egyptian-made contraptions consisting of wheels with bells on a stick for £e 3.50 and ping-pong racket-shaped rattles with human faces on both sides, also egyptian, for £e 3. fayda says toys are good business. “i don’t care where the products come from, as long as people keep on buying them,” she said. by all indications, cairo, along with other middle eastern cities, is a huge toy market. while fayda’s collection of simple, low-cost toys might not show it, toy sales in the region are worth $1 billion each year, according to organizers of an upcoming toy fair that will be held in dubai from may 17 to 19. on average, each middle eastern child is pampered with $263 worth of toys and video games each year. only north americans – who invest immensely in barbie dolls, toy cars and playstation games – spend more on their kids’ toys. europeans spend only half of what middle easterners do. the region is a toy maker’s paradise, said geoff dickinson, managing partner for epoc messe frankfurt, which organizes international exhibitions in dubai. in an article in gulf english-language daily khaleej times on december 27, dickinson said toy manufacturers – particularly from china – are lured by the fact that the middle east has the largest number of toy retail outlets per capita in the world. furthermore, imported toys don’t face serious competition from domestic producers. “the absence of local toy industries and a presence of a large expatriate community make it a favorable atmosphere for international products,” dickinson said in the article. toys made in china and elsewhere are much more popular than locally made varieties. the few local toy manufacturers that do exist produce mainly for export, finding the local market unwelcoming for their playtime gadgets. “there are no big companies here. everyone just imports toys from china,” said mohamed hossam, financial manager at faroplast, an alexandria-based toy and plastics company. faroplast has, however, managed to create a niche for its locally produced balloons and beach sets, which would have high shipping costs if they were imported from abroad. but hossam added that only 6 percent of faroplast’s customers are in egypt. the gulf – which has witnessed a boom in sales of entertainment and amusement products – is the company’s main sales target. “we export mainly to other arab countries and the us, italy and france,” hossam said, adding that a free trade agreement with the united states would boost his company’s sales. although 36 percent of the population is under 14 years of age, toy sales in egypt have risen only 6 percent in the past five years, he noted. in any case, local toy manufacturers admit they cannot compete with chinese supremacy in the business. china commands around 90 percent of the global toy market share, hossam said. but by concentrating on certain items, investing using innovative materials and finding the right customers, egyptian manufacturers can survive in the local toy market, according to omar eid, export manager for toy manufacturer edufun. edufun, which has four showrooms in cairo, specializes in wooden furniture and educational toys – such as wooden alphabet sets and mathematical puzzles. eid said egyptians are becoming more aware of the benefits of pre-school education, and that this has boosted local sales to schools and nurseries. “the government didn’t care about pre-school education before, but now the mentality has changed,” he said. still, 70 percent of edufun’s production is exported, mainly to europe. “europeans prefer natural materials,” eid said. generally, local toy retailers are not convinced about the quality of egyptian-made toys. large toy departments in the alfa market store chain offer no egyptian toys. “one hundred percent of our toys are chinese,” said ashraf bisheer, public relations manager at alfa market’s giza branch. “they are better quality and have a wider selection of models.” he added that if the quality and variety of egyptian-made
toys improves, “we would buy them.” aside from the odd christmas ornament, monopoly board game or uno card set produced under license, no egyptian products were on display at mom & me. “chinese products are cheaper. there are no egyptian toys available,” said the store’s manager gaber ahmed. the kind of specialized toys made by edufun remain a luxury reserved for affluent children in the region; wooden alphabet sets are virtually unknown to the working class. organizers of the dubai toy fair are targeting mainly expatriate populations in the middle east – the most lucrative toy consumer base. expatriate families in egypt often prefer to look elsewhere for their toys. an expatriate mother of a one-year-old son complained that the selection of toys available, even imported ones, was inferior. most of the items for children here have too many unnecessary frills, she added, citing toilet-training seats that play music and baby shoes with flashing red lights – items she said would not sell well abroad. “i don’t buy toys in egypt often, because it’s difficult to find simple things,” she said. sanna negus |
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