Excerpts:
Q. Karan, your journey with toys began at the grassroots. Could you talk about the legacy of KV Toys?
Karan: Our story goes back to the early 1980s when my grandfather ran a small toy manufacturing unit in Delhi. It was very local, we produced toys and sold them within the city.
In 1998, my father joined the business and brought a fresh vision. Around that time, China had become a big supplier of toys to India, so he started exploring new technologies, newer products, and ways to scale the business beyond Delhi.
By 2009, my family moved to Mumbai for faster movement of toys as Mumbai was the city whereby the goods were unloaded from China. That’s when I stepped in, travelled across India, studied retail dynamics, distributor behaviour, consumer preferences, and gradually expanded KV Toys into modern trade, general trade, and later e-commerce.
We also realised India didn’t have a strong homegrown toy brand. That’s when we started working closely with Chinese factories to understand the manufacturing ecosystem and eventually started manufacturing in IndiaIn 2016–17, we began manufacturing toy categories in India. The response was so strong that we expanded aggressively through partner-manufacturers who shared our passion and quality mindset. Today, KV Toys operates four brands — Aliya (dolls), Thunderstrike (toy guns), a vehicles range, and more in the pipeline.Q. How does KV Toys India’s business model work? And what is the current category mix?
Karan: We operate across modern trade, general trade, quick commerce, e-commerce and specialised toy stores. Our best-selling category right now is toycars and vehicles, but Aaliya dolls and Thunderstrike guns are also growing rapidly.
The model is straightforward. Develop innovative toys, maintain competitive price points, and ensure nationwide distribution through modern retail chains and vast general trade networks.
K. V. Toys India Limited IPO
KV Toys, one of India’s leading homegrown toy brands, steps into its SME IPO journey — powered by strong demand, product innovation, expansive retail partnerships, and a bold 3–5 year growth plan.
Q. What differentiates KV Toys from other domestic and imported players?
Karan: Four things make any toy company great:
- Innovative products
- Right pricing
- Continuous newness in the portfolio
- Strong execution
This is the DNA of KV Toys.
Our price points are extremely competitive, in many cases, we match Chinese imports even in unorganised markets. We keep launching new products and have built strong partnerships with manufacturers who work exclusively on our designs. That gives us consistency and speed.
Q. KV Toys is available across major chains. How strong is your domestic distribution network?
Karan: India is shifting from an unorganised toy market to a modern retail-driven structure. Supermarkets, hypermarkets and quick commerce will be the biggest drivers. E-commerce will remain important, but quick commerce is growing faster in this segment.
We already have a strong footprint, but expansion is happening quickly as more formats are opening up and as our product range widens.
Q. What is the roadmap for the next 3–5 years? Capacity expansion, new categories or exports? Where will the focus be?
Karan: We want to add as many toy categories as possible. A toy shop cannot run on one category, each child buys a toy occasionally, so the store needs depth and variety.
Exports are a big opportunity. Globally, retailers are looking to diversify away from China. For India to become a manufacturing hub, we need more toy categories, better infrastructure, and strong local brands. KV Toys wants to be at the forefront of that momentum.
We’re also expanding partner manufacturing and building stronger brand recall across markets.
Q. KV Toys India is launching an SME IPO that is largely a fresh issue. What does this mean for investors and how will the funds be used?
Karan: It’s simple, the company is ready, the engine is ready. We now need fuel.
The fresh issue will be deployed for:
• Working capital – especially as demand in supermarkets and modern retail rises
• Credit support – to supply larger volumes across trade channels
• New product development
• We’re not raising funds for any unrelated purpose. Everything will directly strengthen growth.
Q. How has the company performed financially? And is this growth sustainable?
Karan: Revenue and profitability have been growing consistently. Our focus is not to chase unrealistic margins, our aim is 5–6% stable profit margins so that we stay competitive against global players. (Can we give such specific numbers???)
The toy market in India is expanding fast. As long as we remain innovative and cost-efficient, growth is absolutely sustainable. The real opportunity is creating a global identity for Indian-made toys.
Q. Is toy demand seasonal or has it become more evenly distributed now?
Karan: Earlier it was seasonal, festive months were everything.
Now, as parents offer less time to their kids they tend to buy toys more regulary. Kids buy toys more regularly, and gifting culture has grown.
Also, India has 30 crore children, with lakhs born every day, so demand naturally keeps growing.
Q. How can India improve its competitiveness versus China in toys?
Karan: For non-electronic toys, India has almost reached China-level pricing. Labour and infrastructure costs are also favourable.
The real challenge is electronic toys, where duties on raw materials increase costs by 5–10%. Reducing these will make India globally competitive.
Finally, consumers need to take pride in buying Made-in-India products, not at a higher price, but when quality matches.
Q. What would you like to tell investors evaluating the KV Toys India IPO?
Karan: The required infrastructure has been put in place.. The distribution network, product categories, partners, demand channels, and brand momentum. All we need is fuel to accelerate.
If investors come with a medium to long-term view, they will participate in building one of India’s strongest homegrown toy brands, a brand that can compete globally and shape the next chapter of India’s toy industry.
K. V. Toys India Limited IPO
KV Toys, one of India’s leading homegrown toy brands, steps into its SME IPO journey — powered by strong demand, product innovation, expansive retail partnerships, and a bold 3–5 year growth plan.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)