Faced with a possible shortage, should you buy your Christmas toys now?

By Julie CaronUpdated on ShareSend by e-mail

With her work colleague, Claire, mother of two boys, wonders: "Do you think I should already take care of Christmas presents?". Aurélie's answer is formal: "Yes! I have already started my purchases, because I don't want to find myself in mid-December without the toys my daughter asked for!", she explains. If Claire, usually accustomed to last-minute Christmas shopping, is thinking about anticipating her purchases this year, it's because a rumor of a shortage in the world of toys is growing.

In fact, like other sectors, the toy sector is suffering from tensions, due to the lack of raw materials, traffic jams on the production lines and the explosion in the price of transport, as indicated in mid-September the CEO of System U on Europe 1: "We lack electronic parts to make toys, but we also lack transport". Can we therefore expect certain products to be missing from the shelves (and therefore under the trees)?

Which toys could be affected by a shortage?

According to Romain Mulliez, President of the FCJPE (Federation of Trades specializing in Toys and Children's Products), the situation is worrying for certain ranges of toys: "We have maritime transport prices which have been multiplied by 10 for a big year. Distributors cannot, within their margin, assume the cost of transport. We cannot make them travel so we will not have them, these products. When you have a big stuffed animal which previously paid 4 euros to come and who now pays 40, we're not going to bring her in. No one is able to take that on their margin." This could thus impact bulky products such as electric cars or large stuffed animals.

What about the must-haves of the season? Several star products seem to be emerging among the hits under the tree: Pokémon cards in boxes and metal boxes, LOL dolls, Beat That and Harry Potter games: Wizard Trials, the Pat Patrol and Lego Mario universes, and the Kidizoom Print Cam from VTech. Could they end up out of stock before Christmas? "It's a possibility, like every year. In addition, delivery problems from China only affect 57% of market sales, so there's no need to worry," said Franck Mathais, in charge of communication at PlayedClub. He explains: "Every year, long before Christmas, we make our orders according to the demand imagined at the holiday season. Some toys expected to be big sales are made and ordered with large stocks. Other less expected toys may meet with great success and become more difficult to find. We will be able to give a more precise idea of ​​possible stock shortages in mid-November. The factories are currently working on the products for 2022", he explains.

How did the brands manage their stock of toys?

Franck Mathais wants to reassure parents: "We encountered very few manufacturing problems. All the toys we wanted will be on the shelves. So no panic, we have stock to delight children on Christmas Day", he confirms. Romain Mulliez does not want to alarm parents either: "there will be some shortages of toys at Christmas but there will be toys", he explained at the microphone of BFM TV.

Foreseeing this logistical tension, some specialized brands have nevertheless chosen to take the lead quite early in the year. This is the case of JouéClub: "To date, we have 20% more stock than usual. Normally, the goods arrive from the end of August until mid-December. This year, we have organized everything so that all of them will be in stores by mid-November at the latest. If we ever experience delays, everything will still arrive in time before Christmas, that was our priority", explains Franck Mathais. Others are currently experiencing supply delays, receiving stock in dribs and drabs, but everything should be back to normal by the rush of purchases.

Should we rush now to buy Christmas toys?

Even if no generalized shortage really seems to be on the horizon, Franck Mathais advises parents to make their purchases as soon as the children's Christmas lists are finalized. "Once the list is made, you can reserve the toys in store. If you are looking for something specific, it is better to do it in advance because there will not be everything until the end. What's more, with the announced delays, it will not really be possible to carry out late restocking", he recommends. "Now, I also understand the problem of storage: depending on where you live, hiding gifts for more than a month can be complicated."

In any case, the parents seem to have taken him at his word and do not want to take any risks: six out of ten will anticipate, according to a study published in the magazine LSA! Thus, 35% of them say they want to buy Christmas toys this month, up 8% from last year. And in November, they will also be more numerous to make their purchases in the first fortnight. In this year 2021, Santa Claus will have to organize himself well!