Batteries not included: Toy makers cut costs in tariff war

This year-end holiday season, US parents may have to make an extra pit stop, not for toys, but for the batteries that power them, as manufacturers pare down on frills and packaging to cut costs amid rising tariffs.

- ARRIANA MCLYMORE NICHOLAS P. BROWN SAMANTHA MARSHAK

Toy makers that serve retail giants like Walmart, Target and Amazon are reducing the number of accessories in toy kitchen sets, removing batteries from electronic playsets, simplifying doll makeup and reducing packaging, as a 30% blanket tariff currently imposed on Chinese imports puts a damper on their bottom lines.

The duties imposed on China by US President Donald Trump are particularly painful for companies like Hasbro and Mattel, as 80% of toys sold in the US come from China, according to trade group The Toy Association.

Educational toy maker Popular Playthings — whose China-made animal sets, trucks, and magnetic food sets can be bought on Amazon — is delaying and paring down a magnetic cake set it had planned to launch in June, CEO Jason Cheung said in an interview. The company is reducing the power of the magnet, using cheaper packaging, and removing one of two serving plates that were to come with the set, all while raising the price from $29.99 (about 970 baht) to $34.99.

“Originally it would come with two plates so two kids can have cake at the same time,’ Mr Cheung said. Now, “one [child] will serve, while the other can eat.”