The United States Marine Corps’s Toys for Tots is bracing for an expensive, undersupplied year.
Because of global supply-chain shortages, prices for electronics and recreational goods will be higher this holiday season.
"This is the impact of shutting the world down … This is what happens when you make production and supply chains slow down, [it] create[s] bottlenecks. And now we're seeing the impact of it, which is a shortage of all sorts of things,” Brock Pierce, businessman and vice-chair of Toys for Tots in New York City, Long Island, and Puerto Rico, told Fox News.
Created in 1947, the foundation’s mission "is to assist the U. S. Marine Corps in providing a tangible sign of hope to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas.” The organization collects, wraps, and distributes new toys to children in need each December.
First Lady Melania Trump supported their efforts in 2017. She gave "an extemporaneous narrative on the history of the nonprofit’s work and “the impact that it has had on America’s less fortunate children over the past 70 years” at the Toys for Tots Washington D.C warehouse on December 13, 2017. Mrs. Trump also “spent nearly an hour assisting volunteers with the sorting of toys, working crafts with children, and personally thanking all the volunteers”
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said the company is "managing through global supply chain challenges" that include higher production and shipping costs, and is choosing to offset those by implementing higher prices for its toys in many of its key markets, per ABC7 News.
"We still foresee continuing supply chain challenges for the rest of the year … Of course, there could be still unanticipated supply chain challenges, and it's hard to tell what the future may hold," said Kreiz.
Hasbro CFO Deb Thomas said on last week's earnings call: “We're seeing [ocean shipping] costs are over four times higher than what we had been experiencing.”
Mattel makes popular products from brands including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, and American Girl. Hasbro owns brands Transformers, My Little Pony, and Nerf.
Both companies reported in late June that their sales were up significantly from the quarter before.
According to MarketWatch, analysts say “toymakers with robust direct import programs with mass merchants such as Walmart, Target and also Amazon, have been relatively better positioned in navigating supply chain disruptions.” Analysts project that industries will see "supply holes" by the fall of this year.
Salesforce data indicates that “inflation is hitting the retail sector harder, with the Average Selling Price in Q2 rising 11% year-to-year.” U.S. consumers could face an estimated $223 billion in extra costs of goods sold this holiday season.
