The outbreak of the Coronavirus is still gaining momentum and this causes concern among people all over the world. And impacts industries, as well.
Naturally toys are among them. There are plenty of reasons to be worries about toys and the Coronavirus. But are these reasons justified?
It all depends on how the outbreak will continue. John Baulch of UK-based Toy World Magazine writes that during the Nuremberg International Toy Fair there were indeed fear among the companies. The reason? The virus has taken over China and that’s where the majority of toys are manufactured.
“And for those who thought it would be fixed in a matter of weeks, that rather optimistic outcome is looking increasingly unlikely; right now, 6-12 months to get everything under control doesn’t seem unreasonable”, he writes.
Some factories are closed, and even MGA Entertainment’s Isaac Larian has said “this is the worst crisis to hit the toys and consumer products businesses in decades. There will be major supply chain issues this year”, as quoted by The Toybook.
Some events are already cancelled and companies are working on ways to make sure the products that do arrive from China get disinfected before reaching the stores. The problem is that the outbreak is currently ongoing and there’s no way to tell what will happen with the virus.
So, yes, the Coronavirus will most likely impact toys as it already is bringing problems to some companies. And if the outbreak continues outside of China then, parents will have to take additional measures to make sure the toys their kids already own, don’t get exposed to the virus. This mostly means no toys outside during the outbreak. Hopefully it will be contained before it reaches to that, but one never knows.
