By 2030, and that estimate is at the conservative end of the scale. But falling birth rates and some of the highest inflation rates we ve seen in decades have created challenging conditions for manufacturers and retailers, and signal more tough times to come. While the covid pandemic boosted sales of toys and games temporarily, big name companies report that sales have started to slip back once again. Let s have a look at some of those numbers. Global toy sales reached $108] billion in 2023, a 2% drop compared to 2022, with toy companies calling it a normalisation process after that exceptional growth linked to the pandemic. But across the 612 countries, including the uk, france, germany, and spain, sales declined by 7% in 2023 compared with the previous year, but they were still 17% higher when compared to 2019, before the pandemic. I caught up with the boss of build a bear, a much loved company which allows shoppers to customise their own teddies. She s also the head of the global or
Brands barbie, fisher price and moi, that is mattel to find out how his company s fortunes are being revived. Wherever you are joining around the world, once again hello and welcome to the programme. It is a billion dollar industry driven by creativity and innovation with a global reach and a diverse market. The toy industry is forecast to reach $302 billion in sales by 2030 and that estimate is at the conservative end of the scale. But falling birth rates and some of the highest inflation rates we have seen in decades have created challenging conditions for manufacturers and retailers and signal more tough times to come. While the covid pandemic boosted sales of toys and games temporarily, big name companies reported sales have started to slip back once again. Let s look at some of those numbers. Local toy sales reached $108. 7 billion in 2023, a 2% drop compared to 2022 with toy companies calling it a normalisation process after that exceptional growth linked to the pandemic. But acr
Give the toy industry a much needed boost? this time, it s not about spending on toys for children, but adults so called kidults. An emerging generation of over 18s is snapping up collectables and nostalgia brands, and they say it s good for their mental health. I m going to be discussing that and more with my guests the boss of build a bear, the stores where you can create a bespoke teddy bear, and the chief executive of the world s biggest toy company and arguably one of its most iconic brands, lego. I ll also be catching up with the president of the company behind leading toy brands barbie, hot wheels, fisher price and more that s mattel to find out how tv and movie tie ups are reviving his compa ny s fortunes. Wherever you rejoining me from around the world, once again, a big hello and a warm welcome to the programme. It s a billion dollar industry driven by creativity and innovation, with a global reach and a diverse market. The toy industry is forecast to reach $302 billi
Crouched on the floor of a military helicopter, after 326 days in captivity, a smile. The start of his journey back home. At israel s soroka hospital, his last few moments in hiding. A wall of israeli soldiers shielding him from the world he left ten months ago. From a tunnel in gaza to an israeli ambulance in a couple of hours. His family racing the last few metres to greet him. Thin and pale but staff said in a good and stable condition. Translation: it is difficult to explain how it feels. It is better than having a newborn. We thank god and we thank everyone and hope to see him healthy. We re very happy, very happy. Israel s prime minister called to welcome him home, keen to be part of his release. We cannot go into many details of this special operation but i can share that israeli commandos rescued qaid farhan alkadi from an underground tunnel following accurate intelligence. The army has described this as a complex operation based on precise intelligence but there are persistent
The argument in europe about the distribution of coronavirus vaccines has intensified with the authorities in belgium investigating a Production Site owned by astrazeneca. Brussels wants to know why the Pharmaceutical Company wont be able to deliver all of the doses it promised. The eu has called for some of the vaccines made in the uk to be diverted and warned it could resort to legal action. Our medical editor fergus walsh reports. Once again, science has triumphed in the fight against coronavirus. The Us Firm Novavax has released results of its british trial showing the first proven efficacy against the new, more contagious uk variant. There were more than 15,000 volunteers on the trail throughout the uk. Over half the cases of covid recorded were the result of the new variant. The results showed the vaccine was 95 effective against the original covid strain and over 85 effective against the new uk variant, giving an overall efficacy of 89 . The former head of the uk Vaccine Task Fo