SIC 3942 Dolls and Stuffed Toys

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 3942

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing dolls, doll parts, and doll clothing, except doll wigs. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing stuffed toys are also included in this industry. Doll wigs are classified under SIC 3999: Manufacturing Industries, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS CODE(S)

339931

Doll and Stuffed Toy Manufacturing

In 2003, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, doll and stuffed toy industry shipments comprised about $333 million of the $3.9 billion in the toy industry as a whole. The retail value of doll and stuffed toy shipments was approximately $2.4 billion.

To counter the market decline attributed to competition from computer and electronic games targeted to girls, in addition to the more worldly and grown up age 7 to 14, manufacturers brought out more interactive dolls and updated their current products with a greater variety of fashion dolls to appeal to a greater number of girls. In decades past, girls played with dolls until well into the teen years, but research from The NPD Group found that by 2003, many girls stopped playing with dolls, at least openly, as early as age 8. In the early 2000s six out of the ten top selling dolls were fashion dolls.

To contain labor costs, many companies imported branded products or used parts made in developing countries. Mattel, Inc. was among several retailers that came under scrutiny in the mid-1990s, when it was alleged that young Chinese workers earned less than China's minimum wage of $1.99 a day making Barbie dolls. Still, in the late 1990s it was expected that imports would continue to displace domestic production. China, Japan, and Taiwan were major suppliers. Exports were being helped by an increased interest in products made in the United States and the lifting of trade barriers.

The biggest name in doll manufacturing is Mattel, Inc., maker of Barbie, the number one brand targeted toward girls aged three to seven. Two Barbies are sold every second. It has been estimated that, on average, young females in the United States own eight Barbie dolls, and 95 percent of all young females have at least one.

Since her creation in 1959 as a teenage fashion model, Barbie has engaged in various professional roles and has been joined by friends and family. In 1965 she gained her first ethnic friend and, in 1997, a disabled friend. Recognizing some serious competition from a growing collection...