“The prices of toys and games have increased by about 10 percent,” Roger Bühler, managing director of toy chain Franz Carl Weber, told the AWP news agency. But he believes families will still give their children rich gifts at Christmas: “The toy industry is less affected by the pessimism of the consumer,” he says.
“We even expect an increase in sales compared to 2019,” Bühler says. According to him, sales should be even higher than before the pandemic. The Christmas season is extremely important to Franz Carl Weber, as the company records about a third of its sales during this period.
French-speaking Swiss bookseller Payot typically gets 40 percent of its annual sales in the last six weeks of the year: “That’s why the Christmas business is so important,” said company boss Pascal Vandenberghe.
But it is more cautious than Bühler when it comes to forecasting business developments this year. “Either people decide to forget the troubles of the year and relax at Christmas, or they hoard their money in anticipation of electricity and other wage increases in 2023.”
Trust prevails in the Christmas business, if you ask the Swiss Toy Association (SVS). Lower sales were likely due to above-average toy sales last year due to the pandemic.
Sales of the sector in 2021 amounted to 560 million francs, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2020. A spokesperson for SVS said a drop would therefore be possible “but probably not due to the economic situation”.
But poorer households in particular may be faced with the decision of whether they still want or can afford non-essential goods such as toys, given the rise in prices. And mainly not because of the rise in prices of toys.
According to Jean Busché, head of economy at the French-speaking Swiss consumer protection organization Fédération romande des consommateurs (FRC), toys inflation, which stood at 2.5 percent in November, was lower than inflation in some essential goods, such as food, where inflation was 4.4 percent. .is highlighted on request. But he says inflation in these goods disproportionately hits the lowest-income households. Therefore, they would likely have to adjust their consumption habits and forgo certain purchases.
(SDA)