This holiday season, toy Death Stars and armies of miniature Stormtroopers are among the items filling kids' wish lists. The popularity of some movie franchises has Germans buying more toys than ever before.
Image: Getty Images/J. Raedle
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The new Star Wars movie hasn't even been released yet, but toy stores in Germany are already stocking their shelves with Rebel Alliance and Imperial Army-themed playthings.
And with all the galactic gift-giving that is sure to happen this year, full-year sales are expected to be astronomical.
It could be the first time Germans spend more than 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) on toys, a potential increase of 4 percent over 2014, according to the Association of German Toy and Game Retailers Association (BVS).
Germans are spending again
The strong toy sales are indicative of a broader willingness to spend among German consumers that has helped Europe's largest economy regain some of the momentum it lost during the last recession.
Indeed, Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, cited a steady rise in private consumption when it raised its growth forecasts for 2017 to 1.7 from 1.5 percent in its latest half-yearly report.
The retail association HDE estimates Christmas shoppers in Germany will spend some 87 billion euros in November and December, when brick-and-mortar merchants make about a fifth of their annual turnover. For online retailers, holiday sales can account for as much as 25 percent of their yearly business.
Tie-in toys
This year, the toy business is being dominated by movie franchise tie-ins. In October alone, sales film-affiliated toys shot up by 50 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
As the release of the seventh installment of the Star Wars saga draws near, the prevalence of Star Wars-related merchandise is hard to miss - especially if you're only as tall as Yoda.
In the back corner of one toy store in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district, the lowest shelves were reserved for LEGO replicas of things like the Millennium Falcon and Darth Sidious' Imperial throne room, the scene of the epic duel that cost Luke Skywalker his hand in the Return of the Jedi movie.
Princess Leia vs. Princess Elsa
According to the BVS and the German Toy Manufacturers' Association (DVSI), one in five new franchise toys bear the Star Wars logo.
But other movies are also driving sales. Since Disney's hugely popular film, "Frozen," was released two years ago, it has not only been a success at box offices the world over but also check-out counters at countless retail stores.
"Now wherever you go, you see that snowman," said Christian, a 38-year-old father of two who was shopping at Spielzeugland on Friday.
"I got these Frozen books at the post office. At the electronics store there were Frozen calendars and the pharmacy had Frozen CDs," he said.
Gendered toys prove we're a long way from equal play
The US big-box chain Target has announced that it will stop using gender-specific labeling in its stores. Though some parents have complained, others look forward to a world less divided into pinks and blues.
Image: Screenshot Lego Shop
Pink is everywhere
Many stores are divided into two clearly separate sections: one for girls and one for boys. The distinguishing factor is often color (pink vs. blue), but some stores also clearly mark the aisles as containing toys, clothes or bedding for girls and for boys. After some customers complained, one big-box chain plans to make a big change.
Image: cc-by-Josh Puetz
The times they are a-changin'
After Twitter campaigns against "Girls' Building Sets" and petitions against gender-specific toy aisles, US retail giant Target has announced that it will "move away from gender-based signs." and that changes will be implemented in the coming months: "In the Toys aisles, we’ll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves."
Image: AP
Not just a model or babysitter anymore
Target will definitely not remove Barbie from its shelves, even though she epitomizes girls-only marketing. Launched in 1959, the doll comes in pink or purple packaging, and many have criticized it for propagating unrealistic body images among little girls. But, career-wise at least, Barbie has set a positive example: She's been an astronaut, a surgeon and a special education teacher.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Missing in action
Despite several toys based on male characters from the Avengers films, there is hardly any Black Widow merchandise. Some speculate that developers snubbed Scarlett Johansson's character because girls don't care for superheroes and boys don't want to play with female action figures. Among those who have complained is Mark Ruffalo, who plays the well-represented Hulk.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Jay Maidment/Marvel
Gender-neutral marketing
Outside the United States, retailers caught on to the gender-neutral marketing trend a while ago. In 2013, Toys R Us shops in the United Kingdom announced that they would stop gender-based marketing. And, in Sweden, the chain's 2012 Christmas catalog refrained from stereotyping and instead used neutral pictures like this one.
Image: top-toy.com
'Girly' candy
Of course, unnecessary gender marketing for kids can still be found in 2015 - and not just in the toy aisle. This year Haribo released a "Pink Edition" of its Phantasia mix. Instead of dinosaurs and cars, the candies are shaped like high-heeled shoes, nail polish bottles and hair brushes and come in shades of red, pink and purple.
Image: DW/C. Bleiker
'Top Model' for the youngest audience
Along with Barbie, "America's Next Top Model" and its international versions is one of the main culprits for pressuring young girls to look slim and pretty. Now, kids can even play this out with Playmobil figurines. The company seems to see this as mostly a girls' toy. Playmobil has yet to release a similar set with male figurines, even though male contestants have competed on "Top Model."
Image: Screenshot playmobil.de
Popular scientists
Lego has shown that play sets targeted at girls can look different. The "Research Institute," with three female scientists, was released in 2014, months after 7-year-old Charlotte Benjamin had complained in a letter to Lego that girl figurines just "sit at home, go to the beach and shop." The set was so popular that it quickly sold out. Perhaps other toy makers can take their cues from that.
