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Published on October 3, 2007

Many low-end toys sold here are made in China and imported directly by merchants. More expensive toys sold under global brand names have strict quality control.

She said parents now tended to think more carefully when buying children's toys. Distributors of cheaper toys and imitations will feel the effects of this, but original products will not suffer.

TS Lifestyle distributes Hasbro, Leapfrog and Knex toys from the United States, as well as children's clothes, sports shoes and clothes for adults.

The company guarantees its products are manufactured to the highest standards. It spends money promoting its "educational" toys, a sector it says parents pay extra attention to.

Meanwhile, Central Department Store merchandising director Varunee Kaewvarn said consumers were confident about toys sold by well-known retailers whose products were certified by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute.

However, this has not made its toy sales immune to the economic slowdown.

Both Lada and Varunee expect the economic situation to improve in the fourth quarter, due to the festive season. The general election will add to the rebound.

Central is predicting flat growth, while TS expects sales from all toy products to grow 20 per cent this year from last year's Bt100 million. It is marketing a new Hasbro collection.

Hasbro toys are sold in 23 locations, including branches of Central, Robinson and The Mall department stores, Carrefour, B2S and Toys "R" Us, as well as the Jungceylon shopping complex in Phuket.

Nitida Asawanipont, The Nation