Paris; 24 April 2006 – According to the study carried out by The NPD Group, an international market research company, the games and toys market for young girls is holding out against the "Kids Getting Older Younger" (KGOY) phenomenon, which refers to the fact that children are adopting adult-like behaviour at increasingly early ages. Within the space of six years, this market has actually registered value growth of 22%, reaching a turnover of €1 062k in 2005:
Unsurprisingly, the market for girls remains highly structured around safe bet products. This observation is represented in the top five categories preferred by girls as established by The NPD Group:
| Segment | Weight in value |
|
|
14.2% |
|
|
11.9% |
|
|
10.7% |
|
|
8.2% |
|
|
6.5% |
However, The NPD Group has noted that this market is evolving by incorporating more electronic products (interactive companions and functional cuddly toys, such as Furby) and learning aids (preschool), as well as licensing-derived products. The top seven segments that underwent the highest levels of value growth (2005 vs. 2004) are as follows:
2005 was the year of licensing for the games & toys market. It actually registered value growth of 18.2% for a cumulative period of 12 months. Thanks to the success in 2005 of the "Magic of Pegasus" princesses and the "Dreamteams", Barbie came top of licensing, followed by Playmobil and Dora the Explorer (preschool and large dolls). Furthermore, The NPD Group emphasises the return of Charlotte aux Fraises and the strong position held by the Winx fairies, especially for older girls.
The top 15 properties (*) preferred by young girls between 0-10 in 2005:
(*) a property includes both licensing and brand sales, if the licensor sales directly.
Christophe Portal, Director of the Games & Toys department for The NPD Group, concludes: "Young French girls between 0-10 tend to be into princess/fairy toys or learning aids."
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