Perspectives: Q&A with May Liang, President of the China Toy & Juvenile Products Association
February 6, 2018 | Toy News Tuesday editors recently sat down with May Liang, president of the China Toy & Juvenile Products Association (CTJPA), to learn more about trends in the Chinese toy market, common interests shared by the CTJPA and The Toy Association in the U.S., and the important work the organization does to elevate awareness about ethical toy manufacturing and align global toy standards. Here’s what she had to say…
- When was the CTJPA launched, what is its primary mission and how did you first become involved?
The China Toy & Juvenile Products Association (CTJPA) is the not-for-profit trade association representing the interests of Chinese toy and juvenile products industry, similar to The Toy Association in the United States. It was founded in 1986 as the China Toy Association, and changed its name to China Toy & Juvenile Products Association in June 2011. CTJPA is the only official representative in the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) appointed by the Chinese government and a governance board member of the Ethical Toy Program (formerly ICTI CARE). The government, trade, media, and consumers recognize CTJPA as the authoritative voice of the industry. CTJPA has the primary mission of representing and safeguarding the rights and interests of industry enterprises, coordinating relationships between members, reflecting their demands, regulating their behavior, maintaining fair competition and market order, providing services for the government, the industry, and the members, and leading the industry’s healthy development.
I joined the association for my personal love of children-related work. In 2000, the Chinese government attached more importance to the toy industry and expected the association to stimulate industry development more actively. So, I was designated as leader of the association. With nearly 20 years of engagement in the industry, I understand the industry more than ever, love it more than ever, and hope to work with my team to support the Chinese toy and juvenile products industry to grow better and stronger than ever.
- Over the years, CTJPA has been a good partner of The Toy Association in elevating awareness of ethical toy manufacturing. What are some of the highlights of that work?
As president of CTJPA and the current president of ICTI, I strive to promote the cooperation among associations in different countries, especially the cooperation between CTJPA and The Toy Association. We have made great progress in improving the awareness of ethical toy manufacturing.
Both The Toy Association and CTJPA are ICTI members. We participated in the revision of the Ethical Toy Program audit rule manual and put forward practical amendments to improve the manual contents. The effort is recognized and appreciated by the industry.
In addition, CTJPA and The Toy Association jointly carried out the toy standards comparison between China and the United States, making efforts to promote the construction of Chinese and American toy quality standards.
In the Star Supplier Program, which was launched to help international buyers to find reliable Chinese manufacturers more quickly and easily, we strictly evaluate toy and juvenile products manufacturers by five criteria. Ethical certification is one of these five criteria. The ethical star will only be issued to those factories that have the certification of Ethical Toy Program, BSCI, SA8000, SEDEX. In this way, we encourage the factories to emphasize and implement ethical manufacturing.
You can find some of these Star Suppliers in the China Pavilion at New York Toy Fair this year. CTJPA makes every effort to generate more business opportunities for these suppliers with good performance in ethical toy manufacturing. We also appreciate The Toy Association for providing the ideal platform for CTJPA and the China Pavilion. We believe their toys will be well-received by the American market.
- What are some of the domestic trends you’re witnessing for play patterns and how that is translating into products being brought to market?
There is no doubt that China’s domestic market has huge potential and is generating great business opportunities. According to the “China Toy Industry Report” issued by CTJPA annually, the Chinese toy market reached US$8.39 billion in 2017. The custom data shows that the import of traditional toys in China was US$541 million from January to November 2017, an increase of 13.59 percent compared to the same period in 2016.
Here are the five industry trends regarding products, channels, and marketing and sales.
- Stricter standards and higher quality: China issued a new national standard for toys (GB 6675-2014) in 2016, laying down specific safety requirements and test methods for child safety protection.
- More comprehensive toy categories and high-tech toys: With the development of VR, face/voice recognition, and robot technology, high-tech toys are more popular than ever. Traditional toys also show new and smart characters with the help of new technology. During the China Toy Expo held in Shanghai last October, we saw an AR Theatre from AR School which combined traditional blocks with the latest augmented reality technology. Using just a smartphone, the fairy tales came to life. The Mabot from Bellrobot is another great example. Kids connect all parts of the Mabot freely, and then control the robot with a graphical programming software.
- More cartoon themes and closer interaction with culture: Guided by the market, more and more Chinese suppliers are eager to increase product sales with licensing. In addition to Transformers, Gundam, Disney, Chinese domestic cartoon IPs are starting to find their place in the market.
- Online sales popular with accelerated channels integration: The China Toy Industry Report 2017 shows that 40 percent of Chinese consumers buy toys through online channels including online retailers, Wechat shops, and brands’ official websites. But, with the new O2O concept, the integration of online and offline channels is becoming a new trend. For example, JD, a leading shopping website, is planning to open one million JD convenient stores and 5,000 maternal and baby shops over the next five years. Alibaba opened its first self-service supermarket in Hangzhou. Baby Tree, a domestic maternal and baby services supplier, set up strategic cooperation with Mattel to establish a community preschool education center chain across China.
- Global toy giants expand businesses in China: Global toy giants continue to grow their presence in China’s domestic market and are speeding up their expansion for bigger market shares. LEGO opened its first authorized shop in Shanghai last March. Toys”R”Us, facing challenges in North America, opened new stores and expanded its business in Asia, particularly in China. Hamleys opened its third store in China, which is the biggest Hamleys store worldwide. At the same time, CTJPA is committed to supporting companies’ growth in first and second tier markets, and their expansion in third to fourth tier markets.
- This year you’ve organized the participation of several Chinese toy companies at Toy Fair. What do they hope to accomplish during their time in New York?
CTJPA’s China Pavilion at New York Toy Fair will include 38 Chinese exhibitors. They are all reliable suppliers with rich export experience. They join the event with three main objectives. First, to strengthen their cooperation with existing customers; second, to explore new opportunities and discover potential partners for expanding their businesses, especially in the North American market; and third, to showcase upgraded made-in-China toys to the world toy market featuring brands, creative designs, and innovative technology integration.
When you visit the China Pavilion, you may find Star Supplier logos at some booths. Star Suppliers are evaluated according to five criteria: quality certification, social accountability certification, annual export value, corporate competitiveness, and CTJPA membership. Star Supplier logos are only issued to suppliers who meet three out of five criteria. Therefore, they are strongly recommended to international buyers. Plus, all visitors can collect the Star Supplier brochure at the China Pavilion Information Center located in the lobby to find more details about Star Suppliers. We also provide on-site matchmaking services to guide international buyers to Star Suppliers in matching toy categories quickly.
- What’s on the horizon for CTJPA in 2018?
CTJPA will continue to play the leading role as the only authoritative voice of our industry in China recognized by the government, the industry, media, and consumers.
In addition to its work on developing and reviewing national product safety standards, providing constructive suggestions on industry-related policymaking by governmental organizations, and preparing industry research and reports, CTJPA will focus on two major issues: better connecting industry suppliers with channels, both domestically and globally, and enhancing industry awareness of product safety and supplier reliability.
To enhance industry awareness of product safety and supplier reliability, we will continuously push the “Safety Commitment Brand” targeting China’s domestic market, and the “Star Supplier” program targeting the export market. After the strict verification of these brands and suppliers, the association makes every effort to distinguish them from competitors. On the other hand, we use online resources such as websites, social networks, and offline activities to promote these Safety Commitment Brands and Star Suppliers, and to help buyers identify them quickly and easily.
CTJPA will continuously enhance the interaction between brands and consumers by holding the Kids Fun Expo in Beijing in July and in Shanghai in October. With the theme of playing and learning, we design the Kids Fun Expo as a great party for families and kids, where they can learn and play with toys, interact with toy brands, and have fun. In 2017, around 200 brands from over 30 countries participated in Beijing Kids Fun Expo, attracting 170, 876 consumers with their children. The fair concluded with total onsite sales of RMB 7 million, and 128 media placements. We expect a better Kids Fun Expo in 2018 and a bigger industry carnival.
Last but not least, to better connect toy suppliers with channels, CTJPA will once again organize China Toy Expo, Asia’s largest toy fair, in October 2018. The fair will gather 2,400 exhibitors showcasing 4,300 brands under one roof. It’s expected to attract over 70,000 professional industry visitors including retailers, wholesalers, distributors, chain stores, supermarkets, and department stores, and agents from across China, as well as thousands of importers, trading companies, and other buyers from overseas countries. In addition to that, CTJPA will provide matchmaking services at the China Toy Expo and other worldwide industry events, such as the fairs at Hong Kong, Nuremberg, New York, and other locations.