As a toy enthusiast and marketing consultant, I came across some striking figures recently.
How many American toy brands dominate the top 10 ranking of the industry? What brand has managed to stay as the leader for nine consecutive years? Keep reading to find out the answers and learn more about the major players in the global toy market.
TOP 1; Lego
According to the latest annual report by Brand Finance, LEGO from Denmark remains the world’s most valuable toy brand for the ninth consecutive year, with 7 out of the top 10 brands hailing from America. With detailed rankings on the top 25 toy brands based on their sales revenue and overall monetary value, the United States has a staggering 17 positions. LEGO reigns supreme at the top, with US brands Fisher-Price, Barbie, NERF, Hot Wheels, Funko Pop!, Magic: The Gathering, and Hasbro filling the other top spots.
Remember when we would excitedly dive into a boxful of colorful LEGO bricks, building our imaginations into reality with those amazing interlocking pieces.
As per Brand Finance’s data, the brand value of LEGO experienced a year-on-year growth of 24%, reaching a colossal Double exponent: use braces to clarify double exponent: use braces to clarify1.6 billion by a staggering factor of over four. The Danish brand’s continued success can be attributed to its blend of traditional building toys with modern digital gaming experiences.
Well, it seems LEGO still reigns supreme in the world of playtime. For an unprecedented nine consecutive years, Denmark’s LEGO has remained the most valuable toy brand in the world.
TOP 2; Bandai Namco
In 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. generated a sales revenue of $7.56 billion and solidified its position as the world’s second-largest toy company.
The leading multinational conglomerate was established in Tokyo Bay in 2006 and currently has over 6500 employees worldwide. Bandai Namco’s unique advantage lies in its ability to leverage popular intellectual property and franchise rights such as “Super Sentai,” “Gundam,” and “Tamagotchi.” The company is best known for groundbreaking electronic games like the “Pac-Man,” “Tekken,” and “Dark Souls” series.
TOP 3, 4 ; Mattel / Fisher-Price / Barbie
Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen Schelle, and Margaret Evans-Price.
Notable Fisher-Price toys include the Little People toy line, Power Wheels, View-Master, Rescue Heroes, the Chatter Telephone, and the Rock-a-Stack. The company also manufactures a number of products and toys designed for infants.
Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.
Barbie is the most well-known and best-selling doll of the 20th century. It was invented by American businesswoman and inventor Ruth Handler, and was first unveiled at the American International Toy Fair on March 9, 1959. Barbie dolls are owned and produced by Mattel Inc. The Barbie doll and its related accessories are made in a ratio of one to six, which is the largest size for dollhouse models, also known as playscale.
In 2022, Mattel Inc., headquartered in El Segundo, California, had a revenue of $5.4 billion and employed over 32,000 people. As an industry giant, Mattel has implemented its “Optimization for Growth” plan to increase savings reserves and ended the year with a strong financial foundation. Despite macroeconomic challenges, Mattel ranked fourth among the world’s top toy companies with a revenue of $5.4 billion according to its annual balance sheet for 2022.
Its main brands include globally renowned names such as Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Fisher-Price®, MEGA® BLOKS, Monster High®, Max Steel®, Little People®, Matchbox®, American Girl®,, Radica® and Tyco® R/C.
TOP 5; Hasbro / Nerf
NERF (written in all caps as the NERF trademark) is a toy brand currently owned by Parker Brothers and Hasbro. The meaning of the NERF trademark is an abbreviation for “Non-Expanding Recreational Foam”. Most of the toys released are various types of foam-based toy guns, but there are also several different types of Nerf toys such as footballs, basketballs, and other sports balls.
The most notable are Nerf dart guns (abbreviated by Hasbro as “blasters”), which shoot darts made of Nerf foam plastic. Throughout the 1970s, many such toys were released with bright neon colors and soft textures similar to Nerf balls. From the 1990s until now, their slogan has been “It’s nerf or nothin’!”
Parker Brothers continued to expand the Nerf series until they handed over control to Kenner Products’ sister company, Hasbro, which acquired the Nerf line through its purchase of Tonka in 1991. Throughout the 1990s and early 21st century, subsidiaries OddzOn and Larami still owned the Nerf brand until Hasbro gained full control.
In recent years, the Nerf series has continued to expand with refurbished old products and new additions. The current range of Nerf products includes various sports balls, foam blasters, and now even video games and accessories.
TOP 6; Mattel / Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars invented by Elliot Handler and introduced by his company Mattel on May 18, 1968.[2] It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until Mattel bought its owner Tyco Toys in 1997.
Many automobile manufacturers have since licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing. Although Hot Wheels were originally intended to be for children and young adults, they have become popular with adult collectors, for whom limited edition models are now made available.
The original Hot Wheels were made by Elliot Handler.[3] Handler discovered his son Kenneth playing with Matchbox cars and decided to create a line to compete with Matchbox. Hot Wheels were originally conceived by Handler to be more like “hot rod” cars (i.e., customized/modified or even caricaturized or fantasy cars, often with big rear tires, Superchargers, flame paint-jobs, outlandish proportions, hood blowers, etc.), as compared to Matchbox cars which were generally small-scale models of production cars.[4] He began producing the cars with assistance from fellow engineer Jack Ryan.
TOP 7; Pop!
The company that put the Pop! in the pop culture has journeyed to the heart of the entertainment industry. Funko’s second brick-and-mortar location, Funko Hollywood is 40,000 square feet of whimsy, adventure, fun, larger-than-life photo opportunities and immersive sets inspired by your favorite worlds, characters and moments. Treat yourself to a retail experience unlike anything you’ve experienced before.
TOP 8; Dragon Ball
| Created by | Akira Toriyama |
|---|---|
| Original work | Dragon Ball (1984–1995) |
| Owner | Bird Studio/Shueisha |
| Years | 1984–present |
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters collected into 42 tankōbon volumes by its publisher Shueisha.
Dragon Ball was originally inspired by the classical 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, combined with elements of Hong Kong martial arts films. Dragon Ball characters also use a variety of east Asian martial arts styles, including Karate[1][2][3] and Wing Chun (Kung fu).[2][3][4] The series follows the adventures of protagonist Son Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts.
He spends his childhood far from civilization until he meets a teen girl named Bulma, who encourages him to join her quest in exploring the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several other friends, becomes a family man, discovers his alien heritage, and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls.
TOP 9; Magic: The Gathering
The official source for news and information on Magic: The Gathering, the world’s premier trading card game, and MTG Arena.
TOP 10; Hasbro
In 2022, Hasbro’s revenue was $5.86 billion and it had 5,600 employees.
Its headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA.
As the third largest player in the toy industry, Hasbro has a stable consumer demand. It is well-known for its popular board game “Monopoly” and has established a place in the market. The company’s product portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dungeons & Dragons, Play-Doh and Peppa Pig. Hasbro’s emphasis on corporate responsibility is also commendable as it strives to minimize its impact on the environment and promote ethical sourcing of materials.
Nerf blasters are Hasbro’s most prominent subsidiary with consistently strong annual sales performance valued at approximately $460 million in 2022. In 2019, Hasbro acquired Nerf for $3.8 billion while continuing other developments such as expanding into the entertainment industry.
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