Workers at Sunlord, which has helped Melissa & Doug diversify beyond China, in Greater Noida, India. — ©2024 The New York Times Company
TOY brand Melissa & Doug had a situation. For decades, it had leaned heavily on factories in China to make its products – wooden puzzles, stuffed animals, play mats. Suddenly, that course looked risky.
It was February 2021, and the world was besieged by a pandemic. Lockdowns disrupted Chinese factories. Trade hostilities between Washington and Beijing were undermining the benefits of depending on plants in China.
