THE COLLAPSE OF THE BRITISH TOY INDUSTRY, 1979-1984

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s toy manufacture appeared to be am ong the most successful of Britain's light engineering industries. Sus tained losses after 1975, however, culminated in the collapse of sever al leading firms between 1979 and 1984. Contemporaries attributed thes e failures to exogenous economic constraints. Yet foreign toy producer s survived in the same climate. This article suggests that the ending of the postwar boom exposed deficiencies, particularly in management p reviously masked by a consistently expanding market. It thus confirms that defects often alleged to characterize Britain's major industries were also present in some of its lesser manufacturing activities.