Weekly summary 24/2020

Hi,

this is a summary of what was going in the doll world in the 24th week of 2020, as far as we at Dollstudio & DS Doll Europe were concerned.

1) Novel Coronavirus situation.

Worldwide, there are currently almost 8 million confirmed cases reported with the Chinese virus as of July 14th. The U.S. alone has around 20,000 new cases and around 1,000 deaths per day. Also a lot of cases are reported from Brazil and India, Russia, Chile, Pakistan, Peru, and Mexico. In Europe the numbers are smaller, Sweden is leading with around 1,500 new cases per day, followed by the UK, France and Spain.

The U.S. might have answered the question is a 2nd wave of infections is to be expected. Some of the states which opened their lockdowns early might be encountering such a 2nd wave already (e.g. Texas). Another question is if there will be another series of lockdown. The most likely answer is 'no' as Western countries might not be willing to afford this economically.

A third question is if there is inflation ahead, and if so, how much. Most central banks are targeting a 'desirable' inflation rate around 2%, but a lot of economists and analysts expect much higher rates within the next five years – some estimates prognose even around 25-50%. However, we are not there yet, and most of us will not benefit from a substantial inflation rate. On the local microeconomic level, this is what I can report from own experience: In Germany, fruits and vegetables increased their price by about 30% starting in March; asparagus (Beelitzer Spargel), a popular spring delicacy over here, approximately doubled its price compared to last year; and a local 'penny store' (1-Euro-Shop) is now charging by default €1.10 instead of €1.00 per item.

Regarding the doll business, there is no significant relief of the situation yet. The shipping restrictions imposed by the German Post to destination in the U.S. still apply, but freight rates from China to the U.S. slightly decreased. However, shipping costs are still far away from the relatively low levels last year. The average price increase caused by higher freight rates is currently around 10%.

2) New arrivals.

This week, we listed two new body styles:

• New arrivals: Piper Silicone PI-160/G aka ›Akira‹ by Piper Doll - silicone / ~160 cm / ~41 kg
• New arrivals: SE Doll SE-157/F aka ›Karissa‹ (= SED079) - TPE / ~157 cm / ~39 kg

As always, you can follow the latest updates in our Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/DollStudioEU

Also, we have the New products listing on all three Dollstudio websites. It is sorted in reverse chronological order, so the latest additions to our portfolio are on top of the listing:

• Dollstudio US - http://us.dollstudio.org/new-products
• Dollstudio EU - http://eu.dollstudio.org/new-products
• Dollstudio DE - http://de.dollstudio.org/new-products

On Dollstudio EU, there is also the New arrivals timeline http://eu.dollstudio.org/timeline with a slightly different display style.

3) Latest blog posts.

Our blog posts feature mostly new photo sets, showcasing dolls and heads in various configurations.

• 12.06.: New photos with YL Doll YL-166/G body style and ›Vanessa‹ head (Jinsan no. 303)
• 12.03.: New photos with SE Doll SE-163/E body style and ›Paty‹ head (= SED002)

These blog posts are mirrored on the Latest blog posts section all three Dollstudio websites. It is sorted in reverse chronological order, newest posts on top:

• Dollstudio US - http://us.dollstudio.org/blog
• Dollstudio EU - http://eu.dollstudio.org/blog
• Dollstudio DE - http://de.dollstudio.org/blog

(EU and US sites in English, DE site in German)

4) Factory photos and shipped dolls.

This week, we had no completed and no shipped dolls.

5) Weekly Top 10 Dolls.

Based on our website access stats, here is the weekly report: What's trending this week?

These stats reflect what our (potential) customers are interested in; however, it does not indicate conversions. The stats are broken down by the geographical distribution area, so this might give some insight about varying regional tastes or preferences.

Dollstudio EU

1. Sino-doll SI-162/D
2. Piper Silicone PI-160/G
3. Gynoid GT-162
4. Gynoid GT-172
5. Xycolo XC-163/C
6. Piper Fantasy PI-150/B
7. Sino-doll SI-172/H
8. Xycolo XC-170/E
9. Gynoid GT-160/85
10. YL Doll YL-166/G

Dollstudio US

1. Gynoid GT-162
2. Gynoid GT-172
3. Climax Doll R3
4. Xycolo XC-153/E
5. Piper Silicone PI-160/G
6. Gynoid GT-150/81
7. Sino-doll SI-162/D
8. Xycolo XC-170/E
9. Xycolo XC-163/C
10. YL Doll YL-166/G

Dollstudio DE

1. Piper Fantasy PI-130
2. Piper Silicone PI-160/G
3. Gynoid GT-162
4. Piper Fantasy PI-150/B
5. Piper Fantasy PI-150/D
6. Piper Real PI-155/D
7. YL Doll YL-166/G
8. Piper Fantasy PI-140
9. Sino-doll SI-158/B
10. Gynoid GT-172

Sandro

https://twitter.com/DollStudioEU/status/1272280854551764994?s=20