Toy industry boom for all

Toy industry boom for all

By Ati Nurbaiti and Rita A. Widiadana

Children and toys are inseparable. Using toys, children create a
world of their own. The kinds of toys children play with has an
effect on the kinds of adults they grow into. In the following
article The Jakarta Post looks at how parents' growing purchasing
power is enabling children to gain access to countless varieties
of toys and games. We also take a look at the country's booming
toy export industry. On page 2 we examine the disappearance of
traditional toys and games from many homes and on page 6 we visit
a traditional toy seller in Yogyakarta.

JAKARTA (JP): In the dim light and crashing noise of a video
game arcade in the Pondok Indah Mall, South Jakarta, a woman in a
white uniform is the only female in a crowd of teenage boys glued
to flashing monitors. She moves the joystick around violently and
rapidly, banging on the red and yellow buttons. With her is a
five-year-old boy, named Adi. He is also playing the game, but
his style is more hesitant than that of his babysitter. Together
they stand, transfixed by the screen on which three monsters are
gobbling up fireballs. When the "Game Over" sign appears the
young woman sighs. Adi tugs her sleeve for more coins.

"He and his cousin have spent Rp 20,000 in the last hour,"
says the babysitter. "There are many more choices here than among
his video games at home."

She takes another Rp 10,000 note out of her purse and gives it
to the boy, reminding him to get the change. Adi's parents are
shopping and, at 8:30 p.m., the boy is dragging his babysitter to
a new row of machines.

Adi and also, it seems, his babysitter, belong to a lucky
generation which has a wide range of playtime choices.

Utami Munandar, professor of psychology, explains that toys
are very important in children's development. No matter how
simple or sophisticated they are, children need them.

"Toys enhance a child's imagination," the professor said.

Babies need toys that stimulate their bodily coordination.
Colorful toys serve to improve their comprehension of their
surroundings.

As they grow older, children need toys that boost their
creativity and learning abilities. Parents need to know what kind
of toys their children need.

Children can come to regard soft toys, like teddy bears and
puppets, as their best friends. These can be a source of
happiness or a means of escape. Children can talk with them when
they feel sad, or when their parents are away. These toys are
sometimes the victims of anger or disappointment.

Hard toys, such as model cars, planes, robots, and character-
based toys, like Ksatria Baja Hitam ("Black Steel Warrior"),
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Saint Saiya, Tamiya, are useful in
fostering creativity, according to Utami. She also stressed the
importance of hi-tech toys, like the multi-media video and
computer games produced by Nintendo and Sega.

"Times have changed now and children need to be introduced to
such equipment. There is nothing wrong with these games as long
as parents monitor their kids," she said.

Potential target

Utami warned that parents should not fall victim to
consumerism.

"Actually, they do not have to buy expensive toys. They can
use various household items to make interesting toys for their
children. A toy is only a static tool. What children need most is
to be with their parents. Therefore, spent your leisure time with
your children," the psychologist advised.

"The source of happiness is in the heart, not in things,"
Utami said.

But, as less and less children bother to make their own toys,
they are falling prey to the toy industry.

With busy parents and shrinking families, industrialists see
an opportunity for profit.

"Families will increasingly have only two children and will
need toys to keep them happy at home," said Edward Sumarli of PT
Asiana Imi Industries, the sole licensee, for soft character
toys, of America's Walt Disney corporation.

Edward is the treasurer of the Indonesian Association of Toy
Manufacturers, established in 1992.

His company's soft toy products are leading the booming
industry, together with the licensee of America's classic
"Barbie" dolls, PT Mattel Indonesia.

Apart from a potentially large domestic market, compliance
with international toy standards is now allowing the Indonesian
industry to reach children in countries where parents and
governments insist on safe, durable playthings.

Until recently, even simple building blocks were imported from
China.

The export figures provide grounds for optimism. Although
Indonesia still supplies under one percent of the world's US$20
billion toy market, toy exports grew by 34 percent last year.

Swa magazine reported in January that the value of toy exports
rose from $135.96 million in 1993 to $182.22 million in 1994.

Exports of dolls alone have reportedly leapt by more than 200
percent during the past three years.

Locally, spending on toys is expected to reach an astounding
$100 million within five years, compared with $2 million at
present.

Rudy Lengkong, chairman of the National Agency for Export
Development, has been praised for his work in support of the
industry. "Pak Rudy really helps in promotion," says Meiki
Hasnawi, a manager of PT Exto Yasa Jaya, which exports wooden
games and toys.

"Americans are spending more time at home as a result of
recession," says Hasnawi, in explanation of the strong demand for
her company's products. Her company employs 105 workers in Curug,
Tangerang.

Relocation of plants as a result of increased labor costs in
countries like South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, is cited as a
factor in the toy boom.

The government's major deregulation of foreign investment last
is also an important factor.

Toy exports have also benefited from the absence of import
quotas and, under the United States' Generalized System of
Preferences, Indonesian exports to that country are not subject
to the average 6.8 percent tariff on toys.

Tie-ins to popular movies proved most popular at the
international annual toy fair two weeks ago in San Francisco in
the United States. While toys related to Walt Disney films are
sought after only while the film is showing, toys based on
television series toys remain saleable for much longer.

Local manufacturers are enjoying considerable success with
dolls and swords connected with the television series Mighty
Morphine Power Rangers and Ksatria Baja Hitam.

Problem

In what he regards as an obstacle for the growth of the local
industry, Lengkong states that most Indonesian toy producers are
still only interested in making dolls and soft toys.

Internationally, we still lag behind other countries, like
China, which make a large range of toys.

"It's true we have cheap labor and resources -- but that's
all," laments PT Exto Yasa Jaya manager Hasnawi. "We don't have
designers."

Hasnawi said that although investment and industrial
authorities are "supportive," banking is a major problem.

"Since the big cases of bad debts the banks have become too
cautious, and its small businesses like us which are suffering as
a result," she said.

The wooden game products of her family business, PT Exto Yasa
Jaya, she says, are in big demand in America and Europe.

Her brother's designs of classic games in inventive designs
sit along the office shelves, some in packages covered with
German writing, international toy standard signs and the
Greenpeace symbol for environmentally-friendly products.

"We cannot meet the demand for educational toys because we
would need more manpower. And we cannot expand because of the
problem with the banks."

Unknown Indonesian manufacturers must also be patient if they
want to enter international fairs in Germany and America, which
is an important step to reaching the big buyers, Hasnawi adds.
"The waiting list is five to six years."

Her family is not interested in exploring the wealthy segment
of the domestic market. "Indonesians want toys which look
sophisticated," Hasnawi said. The games, made from pine, do,
indeed, look like they would be hard to sell here, among all the
electronic and battery operated toys, the miniature vehicles and
the fashionable dolls which sell for tens of thousands of
rupiah.

"Besides, people here are import-minded, they'll opt for
Taiwanese toys any day."

While some may regret these constraints to a more diverse toy
industry, kids just have fun on their minds. Rich and poor kids
alike have access to video games through the arcades which are
cropping up in every busy shopping center.

And adults could not care less for traditional or "educational
toys" -- they are dazzled by the wonderful piles of newfangled
toys. What better things to spend money on?