2008 has been a very interesting, and troubling year, and moving into 2009 the toy community has been left in uncertainty. The way the large media outlets have handled their coverage on the recession is shameful, and focused far more of fear mongering instead of being truly informative. If there was more of a focus put on responsible journalism and less on seat filling hysteria, the global economy might be in a better place.

While the evening news doesn?t talk about it, recessions are almost as cyclical as the seasons, and seem to come around roughly every ten to fifteen years. Here?s a little secret no one wants you to know: We, as a global economy will survive if we start thinking proactively about the economy.

There is a vicious little circle brought on by a recession that needs to be broken in order to move past it. Simply put, a recession creates mass level panic because the economy is in the tank. The problem is the economy can?t recover until people start spending, people won?t start spending until they have a sense of confidence, People won?t have a sense of confidence until the economy recovers. The solution seems pretty simple when put into simple terms.

It would be silly to think that the toy collecting community could positively impact the recession as a whole, but we should all be thinking proactively on what we can do to protect the manufacturers and independent retailers we like from falling victim while we worry about the larger issue of the global economy.

During Toy Fair, Cool Toy Review had the chance to speak to Matthew Connolly, the National Account Manager at Mcfarlane Toys on this topic. The interview below focuses on the topics pertaining to the recession, and provides an insider?s look at the buying habits of the toy collecting community.


CTR: Judging by the empty booths here at the Javitz Center and the smaller than usual crowds at Toy Fair, it looks like the toy industry is moving into uncharted territory. Obviously, the economy is the reason for this, what have you seen as a manufacturer?

MCIts 2009 and we?re in a strange new world so to speak. Despite some smaller crowds at Toy Fair this year the people who we have met with at the show are here to do business. The retailers are looking to gain some market share now that some of their competitors have shut their doors. We are fortunate to have some strong licences, and products that the retailers and fans are eager to purchase. The media has really been focusing on the negative aspects of this economic downturn which has the consumers holding tight to their hard earned dollars. Which will certainly impact the econmic recovery that needs to happen sooner than later.

CTR: When did the retail market start to change?

MC October is when we started to see the slowdown in the industry, because there was no one at the retail level buying product this will potential effect the Retailers open to buy dollars for 2009.

CTR: So if they base their buying upon last year?s sales, the ripple effect spreads pretty far. That has larger ramifications too, doesn?t it?

MC We live in a global economy. That means as a manufacturer, if people aren?t buying as many of your products you don?t have the capital to make as many new products as you would have liked, or you take very few risks. That translates to the factories, whether you manufacture in the States, China, or Mexico. The money that would be going to those countries to manufacture the producst is not being spent so they?re local economies are feeling the pinch of what?s happening here in the States. It?s a domino effect.

CTR: Are we past the point of no return, or can we do anything to prevent the domino effect?

MC People need to go out and spend responsibly and perpetuate the cycle in a positive manner. The culture of fear doesn?t really work; it just builds more angst and uncertainty. People need to get out there and purchase products, buy responsibly. People?s costs are up and they need to think about housing, food, transportation, and health as their most important needs, but people need to go out and stimulate their local economy and stimulate the national economy. That will plant the seed for a good financial recovery.

The stimulus package and the bailouts can only do so much and everyone?s got to work together as a larger country community and improve their local area at the retail level and by volunteering, giving up their time to give back to their community. I think that?s what will really set the course right and put the country back on its feet and that will transcend to the global economies.

CTR: As mentioned earlier, the media has put a negative spin on it. How realistic is that opinion? Should the media be more responsible and show both sides of the economic situation, and provide their audience with a ?how to survive through a recession? guide?

MC Instead of listing the problems, because we already know where there are a lot of problems with the economy, there should be solutions. The media is a very powerful tool and people are very reliant on the information, whether it is good, bad, positive, or negative. But they should guide people in a direction that is positive. Positive ideas are contagious and as soon as we see there?s a light at the end of the tunnel people will become more confident and they?ll move forward and that will help others.

CTR: You mentioned that while people are faced with a higher cost of living, they should buy responsibly. Seems to me that a lot of toy collectors are waiting for things to hit clearance before they purchase them. While saving money on the products, that doesn?t sound like a proactive solution, and certainly doesn?t sound like a responsible buying practice.

MC We started to see that trend probably around 2004. It could be a very cyclical trend because people are bargain savvy and always want to wait for something to go on sale. They snap up those pieces they perceive to be hot market items and then they?ll wait for the discount [for the rest]. What a lot of those collectors don?t realize is that when something gets discounted at a store level, the manufacturer and retailer are responsible to offset those costs. So when something goes on a deep discount, the manufacturer is responsible to cover some of those discouts.

CTR: Does this purchasing habit affect the price of future releases?

MC I can't say it affects the price, but it certainly can affect how much a retailer brings into their stores, and how many lines a company will produce the following year. So bottom lines are affected for everyone. This can also limit the amount of great items that are developed for the collector's.

CTR: In the last few years we?ve seen a lot of good companies that were producing amazing products at comparable prices go out of business. Has McFarlane been able to learn from their mistakes, and is that how as a manufacturer, it has survived and remained successful?

MC As a company, Todd [McFarlane] always had the vision to become larger than just an art house toy company. His vision was to give great art a good product at a good price for all markets. So we structured our company very early on to meet the demands and systems of the mass market as well as the specialty market. To sell product at a national level you need to have the proper systems in place. In addition to the systems you need skilled staff to operate these systems; if you don?t it is going to make your life very difficult. You might be able to use a rep or a distribution house to fulfill those needs, but it?s not always that easy.

At one time there were many great companies putting out quality products. Perhaps they didn't have the systems to distribute on a larger level, or the fans didn't support the lines at retail which has lead to their disappearance for the Toy Industry landscape. Back in the day there was a lot more competition in the toy aisle so that could have also been a major impact. Now there are only a handful of companies left.

CTR: What would be the most important thing for collectors to do in order to see their favourite companies survive the recession?

MC Shop at your toy stores both big and small. Be sure to support your favorite toy companies. Be responsive to your collecting community, and be an active participant by getting on the forums and talking about what you love. The boards always seem so negative these days, and while it is easy to be critical when you?re not in front of somebody, but I think it is really important for everyone who is a part of the toy community to be positive, extend the olive branch, and just have good time. Toys are fun after all.