Bear facts

2011-02-22 03:53:56

21 February 2011 Last updated at 23:27 Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Britain's last surviving teddy bear factory By Lucy Burton Business reporter, BBC News

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How to make a teddy bear

Clearly the price tag does not put people off, as the company produced more than 30,000 bears in 2010. But just who is buying them?

Part of the customer base is made up of collectors, but more than 50% of their teddies are exported to Japan, where Mr Holmes says a range of Merrythought bears have ''developed a cult following''.

The Japanese market has sustained the company over the past few years and Mr Holmes says the weakness of the pound against the yen means "our products in Japan are even more sought after, because the prices have been maintained".

The company works hard to retain its Japanese market and visits the country twice a year to give teddy bear-making demonstrations in big department stores.

It is mainly thanks to the huge revenue that the Japanese market provides that Merrythought has stayed open in the face of competition from cheaper imported toys from East Asia.

Olympic merchandise

The decline of British toy manufacturing does not seem to have harmed the UK toy industry as a whole. Toy sales rose by 6% in value and 9% in volume in 2010, according to the retail tracking group NPD.

The British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) values the industry at an estimated £2.83bn, heralding a return to pre-recession value. Even in an age of electronic games, demand for traditional and retro toys continues.

NPD found that in 2010, the fastest growing toy categories were building sets and plush toys (including teddies) which grew at 39%.

However, Christine Nicholls, chairman of the BTHA, predicts that 2011 may be tough for the industry as people start to worry about the possibility of losing their jobs and the impact of the VAT rise.

The classic teddy bear has been given an Olympic twist

"Creativity, resilience and relevance have all played their part in helping the toy industry to weather the past two years," she says.

"The economy over the next 12 months will be difficult for many people in the UK and the industry needs to maintain its focus on producing toys with great play value at affordable prices," she says.

Toys inspired by blockbuster films proved particularly popular in 2010, with characters from Toy Story 3 bringing in the most revenue.

This trend for fashionable soft toys has led many businesses to take advantage of the forthcoming Royal Wedding and the 2012 Olympics.

Official London 2012 merchandise will contribute approximately £80m to the staging of the games and will no doubt generate huge amounts of publicity for the companies involved.

Merrythought is one of the businesses supplying 2012 products and Mr Holmes hopes it will mean "we can make Merrythought products available to a slightly wider and more discerning audience'' and keep the company going for another 80 years.

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