Change Management in the Toy Industry

I have never been the kind of girl who plays with Barbie dolls. Yes, I liked toys as any kid, but if I would have been told when I was younger that I would be working in the Toy Industry, I would have never believed it. And yet, here I am, five years later, and still learning about this interesting world.

I joined Cedemo, recently acquired by Icecat, just after graduating as Master in Digital Marketing. I started as a content assistant when we were only sourcing marketing data for retailer websites. As the years passed, the demand started to change as retailers needed more data. And manufacturers needed to get rid of the repetitive content management tasks including filling hundreds of matrices.

French Toy Federations struggled to relieve those suppliers, yet they had a great solution for them:  a unique content matrix to complete, that could be sent to any of their clients, in their format. But, they never succeeded on their own. With the help of Cedemo, however, they did, and I was very proud to be part of this successful journey, managing to do what others couldn’t. Proud to present at fairs and over numerous emails and phone calls this solution that everyone in the toys sector has been waiting for for so long, and in which I strongly belief. At the same time, the Toy industry is more complicated than that.

Bill Gates once said: “People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn’t they ?” Yes, I had to face this reality too. People fear change even if they crave for it. The Toy industry, in general, is working the same way for a long, long time. From the retail to the manufacturing side. Everyone in the industry often share the same contacts, the same tools, and the same working habits. And they like to stay in the familiar comfortzone postponing change. Sometimes for years.

Until today, as a Key Account Manager and with the experience I have acquired, I can say that overcoming reluctance to change has been and still can be one of the most difficult parts for me to manage. But yet, we are all aware that our society is evolving rapidly, consumer behavior as well. E-commerce is exploding and those who do not follow the digital shift may not survive. With the acquisition of Cedemo by Icecat, I am very confident that we will achieve great things, that we will find and provide solutions together to help clients in many more ways and deliver change management for some to help them evolve in this fierce industry as also Icecat brings both overlapping experiences from the toys industry in other European countries and complementary experiences from other verticals.

Looking forward to meeting all of my new co-workers very soon and sharing together new knowledge.

Cyrine Klai