News

Girl toy sales slump proving to be a challenge for retailers

Girls aren't buying as many toys these days as boys and it's impacting the bottom line for retailers.

July 23, 2015

Toymaker Hasbro is still being challenged to drive sales of girl-focused toys and that hurdle is impacting quarterly revenue.

While the U.S. toy manufacturer reported a smaller decline in revenue for the second quarter, sales of girl toys continues to drop though young buyers are clamoring for movie-themed toys that are robust, according to a Reuters report. Top sellers include Jurassic World and Star Wars toys relating to the upcoming “Episode VII – The Force Awakens" which opens this December.

Overall, Hasbro’s U.S. sales rose 1 percent in the second quarter but net revenue dropped 4 percent, mostly due to international currency impact. Without that dollar impact revenue was up 5 percent and topped analysts’ expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.

What likely has Hasbro most perplexed is the fact that sales of girls’ toys dropped big time, 22 percent, in the quarter while its biggest business, boy toys, increased one percent.

As Reuters noted, Hasbro isn’t the lone toy maker facing the girl toy challenge. Mattel’s Barbie line sales have not increased for several quarters, notes Reuters.