Seeking adult fans with money to spend, major companies are working with artists to make exclusive versions of their products.
According to London-based Gregory Schmidt in the New York Times, toymakers are looking for a tariff-proof consumer. Adult collectors with deep pockets may be the answer.
To attract them, companies are teaming up with artists to create exclusive, expensive toys. These are generally pitched as works of art intended for display rather than mass-produced products designed for children’s play. Hasbro, Lego, Mattel and others have created dedicated sites to sell these higher-end toys to collectors.
One such artist is LA born Gary Baseman who has an extensive and lucrative history of toy-based art including products from the major players.
With tariffs looming, 80 percent of toys sold in the US are made in China, which faces the steepest potential tariffs threatened by President Trump. The president has played down the potential effect of tariffs, saying that children “will have two dolls instead of 30” and that those two dolls would “cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
But toys that appeal to adult buyers and kidults have been a bright spot – sales of franchises like Barbie and Lego and collectibles like trading cards are growing much faster than the market overall.
Frédérique Tutt, an analyst at Circana, said: “This really started to accelerate during Covid when we were stuck at home. This is a different type of consumer.”
Toymakers know that adult collectors who are willing to pay, say, $70 for a Hot Wheels car are less sensitive to changes in prices caused by tariffs.
