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52Toys preps for broader expansion

By Zhong Nan | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2022-01-13 16:35
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Consumers look at various toy products at a store owned by 52Toys in Shanghai in May 2021. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese collectible toy retailer 52Toys concluded its series C financing of $62.8 million, a notable move to support the company in investing more in innovation and store expansion in the coming years, its top executive said.

Generation Z, a typical consumer group consisting of youngsters born from 1995 to 2009, are relatively well-off, more likely to pay more for emotional preference and active on social networks. The demands to shift basic functional material needs to deeper spiritual satisfaction are growing stronger, said Chen Wei, CEO of 52Toys.

Chen said loneliness, pushed by fast urbanization and other factors, has been soaring among young consumers, adding toys are one of the practical ways to ease such a feeling by providing companionship and comfort.

Since its establishment in 2015, the Beijing-based company has positioned itself as a collectible toys brand and has been investing heavily in research and development so as to create a diversified product portfolio. After more than six years' growth, it already has become a major collectible toys brand in China.

In this time, 52Toys has built a large sales network with more than 10,000 cooperative offline retail terminals across China. It also opened retail stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and other large Chinese cities by the end of 2021, aiming to deliver immersive shopping experiences to the young generation.

The firm also plans to open stores overseas when the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under better control globally, as it sees huge demand and growth opportunities.

Before the pandemic, the firm participated in various exhibitions in New York, San Diego, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

There is huge demand for trendy toys in China, even in smaller and more remote areas, said Guo Xin, a marketing professor at Beijing Technology and Business University.

"In addition to art toys, other categories of collectible toys, such as assembled models and animation statues, all have promising market prospects," she said, adding blind boxes have emerged as one of the most popular categories, occupying a big market share in China's domestic market.

For blind boxes, buyers will be able to choose the series of a group of figurines, but don't know what they will get until after the purchase, thus adding to the thrill of purchasing. Cultivated by low-price and high-frequency entry level categories, the buyers have the potential to be heavy players.

China's toy market has witnessed the fastest growth worldwide and is expected to become the largest in the world by 2022, passing the $25 billion US industry, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

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