The Hispanic Market Continues to Grow

March 11, 2008

I have been writing for some time now about the expanding Hispanic market so my eyes were caught by a New York Times article entitled “Banks Springing Up to Serve the Underserved.”

The article reports on the phenomena of “Latino-oriented banks” springing up all around the country and in some of the unlikeliest places. For example, Raleigh North Carolina is now home to Nuestro Banco, a financial institution designed to meet the needs of the states dramatically rising population of Spanish speaking citizens, legal and illegal immigrants.

Why, you may ask, would a bank catering to the Hispanic population pop up in a state that is best known for barbecue restaurants, college basketball and deep southern accents? Well, because, according to the article, since 1996 the Hispanic population has amazingly grown from 76,726 to 593,385. The article goes on to report that the national Hispanic population is expected to reach 102 million by 2050. At that point, non-Hispanic Caucasians will be in the minority.

The toy industry will do well to pay close attention to these rapid demographic shifts and meet the needs of a population that is not only not going to go away but is going to get a whole lot bigger.

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on March 11, 2008 | Comments (3)

March 11, 2008

In response to: The Hispanic Market Continues to Grow
Jacob Cynamon commented:

Richard, it looks like Carina beat me to the punch on this blog entry. I have noticed recently that everyone in marketing seems to be fixated on one of two trends: generational marketing or ethnic marketing. Everything I have been exposed to has focused on the generational marketing, so it's refreshing to see more of a push on the ethnic marketing piece. I know that despite being the great melting pot that the US is, different ethnic groups still purchase, shop and consume very differently and those firms that can address those differences stand to do quite well.

March 11, 2008

In response to: The Hispanic Market Continues to Grow
Carina:"Su Mejor Amiga" commented:

I agree and would like to continue the dialogue that began at CHITAG about how the toy and game industry can tailor itself to reach the Spanish-speaking market. As you wrote in your book, this market is a "natural fit" for the industry, yet the industry (other than you and a few possible exceptions) as a while has not gotten on the bandwagon yet...- a HUGE opportunity missed until now.

March 11, 2008

In response to: The Hispanic Market Continues to Grow
Carina:"Su Mejor Amiga" commented: