The Real Power in Asian toy Manufacturing

Woman Power in Toys

Hi Crystal! Great to see you at Spielwarenmesse, the Nuremberg Toy Fair. What brought you into the toy industry?

I was in the hospitality business, running the food outlets at the Grand Hyatt in Taipei, when I met my now husband, Dennis. He had a great start up toy company called Tree Toys.

How did you start working in the company?

Dennis put me in charge of art and creative where I worked with major Licensing companies, with brands such as Bananas in Pyjamas, the Wiggles, Thomas the Tank, Peppa Pig and many others.

How did the business grow and what was your input?

As a Taiwanese, we were able to setup factories and a sales and R&D office to control the quality and manage the growth of the Business. This started with us growing our own brands and then manufacturing for many major distributors, brand owners and retailers around the world. I was and still are the CEO, major shareholder in this business

How do you staff and run this business?

From my experience in Asia I had seen that there were a lot of women that were undervalued and were not able to expose their full potential. I also saw that there was a great work ethic and the ability for these women to get the job done. So, in this we decided to task ourselves with giving these women a real chance and they haven’t let us down. Most staff members are woman, and they are all at the top level of management.

Do you see other women moving forward in the toy industry in Asia?

Yes, and I am loving working with them, in all sorts of capacities. Don’t get me wrong the males also add to the business, it is just that for many years woman in Asia were treated as more of the working end of the business now they are in all sorts of top management roles and really making a difference

What is your philosophy on life?

Work hard and then enjoy life as much as possible. Experience as much as you can, and Dennis helps me with this, as he is an adventurer and explorer, so we have seen most countries and experience as many cultures as possible. Also treat your team as much as you can as family and treat them as you would like to be treated, we are all the same just with different ideas and wants in life.

What would you say to other woman in toy industry?

Believe in yourself, go hard or go home, you need to believe in who you are and how you can make a change in your life and the lives of others.