FEATURE
CONSTRUCTION
Spin Master
Still building after
all these years The construction market has been one of the foundations of the modern toy market, the building blocks on which the entire business is built. And it’s only set to
T
rends may come and go, but construction toys are timeless. The construction toys sector is a perennial favourite and one with a history stretching back across decades – one of the undisputed leaders in the field, LEGO, is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2022, while Meccano has been a mainstay of the UK toy market for more than 120 years since Frank Hornby first dreamt it up in Liverpool at the end of the 19th century. And while it has always welcomed change and technological upgrades, the fundamentals are the same. The global market for construction toys, analysts believe, is set to grow in 2022, rising by more than 6% to a mammoth $9.6 billion (up from just over $9 billion last year). The expected growth this year and beyond – the annual increase of around the 6% mark is set to
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Constructive play is a developmental process that continues and should be encouraged, for several year
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continue for some time and will see the worldwide construction category rise to a total value of more than $12 billion by 2026 – is being partly fuelled by a move to more sustainable toys and a warmer, eco-friendly structure. As experts at Reaearch and Markets outlined in their most recent report into the construction arena: “The introduction of ecofriendly construction toys is the key trend gaining popularity in the construction toys market. Key players are coming up with ecofriendly and sustainable products as concerns over the safety of the raw materials used in construction toys have grown and to maintain a competitive edge over the other players.” It is this innovation and ability to adapt to current trends that marks the development of the construction sector. Innovation and a refusal to stand still is helping take construction
forward, agree many of those involved in the business. As Mattel UK marketing director Kelly Philp notes: “Innovation is a key development and business driver when it comes to creating all toys and we are constantly innovating to create construction toys that will evoke children’s senses and encourage development and creating products from durable materials, so our toys can be passed down to future builders.” Mattel has gone even further, not just using sustainable materials, but also using its construction sets to highlight the imprtance of green values. Marketing firector Philp explains: “As sustainability has become an important factor in people’s everyday lives, and the Mega Green Town line was designed to help teach kids to respect and care for the environment, which reflects the changes in the market of making sure brands and products are taking a step forward to
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