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h-after-China-
Hamleys turn to British after China toy worries
By Mark Kleinman and Jonathan Russell
Last Updated: 6:15PM BST 19 Apr 2008
Comments 7 | Comment on this article
Hamleys, the world's most famous toy shop, is turning to UK
manufacturers for children's toys following a spate of safety
concerns about cheap imports from the Far East.
* Have your say: Would you spend more for British-made toys?
Managers at the famous Regent Street shop have already held
meetings with British toy makers as part of plans to revitalise
the country's ailing toy-making sector and help reassure parents
over the quality and safety of their children's toys.
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Nick Mather, chief executive of Hamleys, told The Sunday
Telegraph: "We are trying to source more product out of the UK...
a brand as famous as ours requires us to do everything we can to
ensure the safety of our products.
"It is a pretty difficult thing to do because the vast majority
of the UK toy industry has come to a grinding halt. For anything
plastic, we, like the rest of the industry, are still beholden to
China."
The Hamleys move comes as concerns spread across the British high
street about its overwhelming dependence on cheap mass-produced
-Chinese imports. As many as 80 per cent of the world's toys are
made in China in huge -factories, with increasingly suspect
safety records. Last week, US toy company Mattel revealed it was
to recall millions of mass produced toys including Barbie Dolls
and Batman play sets because of fears over lead paint
contamination and unsafe parts.
While this is very bad news for the US toy giant and its Chinese
suppliers, in the UK it marks the biggest opportunities home
grown toy makers have been offered in years.
UK companies, such as Orchard Toys and Noah's Ark Toys, makers of
board games and wooden toys respectively, have confirmed a surge
in interest from both parents and retailers.
David Plagerson sole trader and owner of Noah's Ark Toys said:
"We are getting lots of enquiries from customers for British made
toys and -Hamleys have been in touch."
A resurgence in interest in UK toy manufacturers will not come
too soon for the beleaguered industry. It estimated that the UK
produces just £35m of toys per year against total sales in the
country of £2.2bn. Cheap mass produced toys from Hong Kong,
Taiwan and China dominate the playrooms of Britain.
John Bouquet, of Orchard Toys, a company which employs around 35
staff from its base in Norfolk manufacturing toys costing as
little as £5, said: "The problem is the market is shrinking. We
used to consider that the age group for toys went up to 12 or 13,
but that has dropped to seven or eight, after which children get
interested in mobiles and fashion."
To succeed in the UK companies such as Orchard Toys have had to
stick to their core high value 'Made in Britain' market and
resist the temptation to cut costs and outsource production to
China.
"We have been approached by US retailers who asked us to supply
them, but only if we would manufacture from China," he said. "But
we are not prepared to abrogate our responsibility over the
production process to someone else. The only way we can guarantee
standards is if we manufacture our games here."
Safety experts say parents concerned about the safety of their
children's toys should contact the Trading Standards Institute,
which carries a full list of all toy recalls on its -website.
But even if the crisis in China results in a resurgence in the
home spun toy market it is almost impossible that the tiny UK
manufacturing industry will be able to fill the gap left by the
Chinese.
Instead UK toy makers such as rocking horse manufacturer
Stevenson Brothers, plan to trade on their boutique, high value
status. The company claims its goal is to be the best rocking
horse maker in the world. To do that it has kept production low
and values high. The average price for one of the 400 horses it
produces each year is £2,000, all stamped 'Made in Britain'.
Partner Marc Stevenson said: " We have been encouraged to move to
China but as long as I have blood coursing through my veins we
will stay here in England."
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