Toys and gifts: festival peaks, new designs and corporate orders

Supply and channels

Toys come from domestic manufacturing clusters, licensed brands through distributors, and importers. Gift items, including décor, photo frames, show-pieces, gift hampers, bags and seasonal goods, come from a wide network of manufacturers and wholesale markets. Wholesalers in city markets supply retailers across the region, often showing new designs to visiting buyers and through photos on WhatsApp.

Toys sold in India are subject to quality control requirements, with BIS certification needed for many categories. Wholesalers and retailers should buy only from suppliers who can show compliance for the products concerned; check current rules before stocking a new category or importing.

Occasions and seasons

Demand clusters around Diwali and other festivals, Christmas and New Year, Raksha Bandhan, Valentine's week, children's birthdays and school vacations. Corporate gifting peaks before Diwali and at year end. Wholesalers buy months in advance and retailers book stock early, but the last few weeks before a festival bring urgent orders and stock-outs of hit items.

After the occasion, seasonal goods lose most of their value. Review stock immediately after each peak and decide what to keep for next year and what to clear. Our guide on festive season stock planning covers a before-and-after routine.

A pre-season checklist for wholesalers

1. List last season's top sellers by quantity and margin, and the items that did not sell.
2. Confirm with suppliers which designs continue and which are discontinued.
3. Book new designs early and get photos and item codes before the goods arrive.
4. Set retailer credit limits for the season based on how they paid last year.
5. Decide the cut-off date after which you stop taking fresh seasonal stock.
6. Plan a clearance price for leftovers before the season begins, so the decision is not made in a panic.

Writing this down takes an afternoon and prevents the two classic mistakes: running out of the year's hit item in the last week, and paying the following year's rent for boxes of last year's designs.

Designs, photos and the catalogue

New designs arrive every few months, and retailers decide what to buy from photos. A wholesaler who sends a clear catalogue with item codes, photos, pack sizes and rates gets cleaner orders than one who forwards supplier photos. Give each item your own display name, link the photo to the actual stock item, and hide items that are out of stock so retailers do not order what you cannot supply. See catalogue sharing for B2B sales.

Corporate gifting orders

Corporate orders are large, customised and deadline-driven: 300 hampers with a logo sticker, delivered to multiple addresses before a fixed date. They usually begin with a quotation, then samples, a purchase order, an advance, and delivery in lots.

• Quote with item details, packing, branding, delivery charges and taxes separately.
• Ask for a purchase order and an advance before buying stock.
• Confirm the billing name, address and GSTIN before the invoice is made.
• Agree the payment period for the balance in writing.

Gifts given by businesses can have tax implications for the buyer; see GST on free samples and gifts.

Stock, breakage and returns

Toys and gifts include fragile items, battery-operated toys that may not work, and sets with missing parts. Check samples from each lot on receipt, record breakage as a stock adjustment, and claim from suppliers promptly. Retailers return defective items; accept them against a credit note linked to the original bill. Small items are easily mislaid; barcodes on cartons and on higher-value items make counts faster.

GST points

Toys, games, sports items, décor, gift articles and hampers fall under many HSN codes with different rates, and rates for some toys and games have been revised. A hamper with mixed items needs careful treatment; agree the method with your accountant. Check current rates on the GST portal. This is general information, not tax advice.

How Cashflow OS fits

Cashflow OS syncs your TallyPrime books. Item photos with your own display names, grouped by Tally stock groups, become an online catalogue that retailers and corporate buyers browse without the app, with enquiries on WhatsApp. If you also sell to consumers, the online store at shop.cashflowos.in lets you hide items or mark them price on request. Quotations with your logo convert into a sales order or Tally invoice. Barcodes help with counts, and retailer outstanding shows on the phone. See online catalogue.