Jonathan Silva, CEO of WS Game Company, faced a seven-figure tariff bill on his imported board games, prompting an ambitious attempt to produce a special edition Monopoly game domestically. What he discovered, however, was a stark lesson in the entrenched complexities of global supply chains and the formidable challenges of reshoring consumer goods manufacturing to the United States.
The Tariff Catalyst and Domestic Ambition
Silva’s decision to explore U.S. manufacturing was a direct response to President Trump’s tariffs. His company, which, like ‘almost every other toy maker,’ produces most of its high-end board games in China, aimed to create a custom version of Monopoly commemorating the country’s 250th birthday. This initiative was intended to sidestep the substantial financial burden of tariffs, which had amounted to a ‘seven-figure tariff bill’ for WS Game Company last year.
The Elusive Components and Supply Chain Hurdles
The journey to ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ quickly hit a snag. A primary obstacle was the inability to source a crucial component: dice. ‘We turned over every single leaf trying to find someone who would make 10,000 dice for us in the U.S.,’ Silva recounted, highlighting that it ‘requires special machinery. It requires investment. And that type of stuff just can’t happen on a random Tuesday and be ready in a couple of months.’ Ultimately, Silva had to import the dice.
While other components were eventually found domestically, the process was arduous. The Monopoly board itself was printed at a former Hasbro factory in Massachusetts. Pioneer Packaging was enlisted to create the tray for the game’s money. Custom metal game tokens, featuring ‘all-American shapes like a cowboy hat, a covered wagon and an apple pie,’ were fabricated by Stateline Industries in Liberty, Indiana.
Time, Cost, and the China Advantage
Assembling this disparate network of domestic suppliers proved to be a significant undertaking, consuming ‘more than a year.’ This protracted timeline meant Silva ‘missed the first half of the 250th birthday selling season.’ Beyond the time investment, the financial implications were substantial. The cost to manufacture these U.S.-made games, which retail for $80, was ‘at least double what it would have been in China.’
Silva articulated the efficiency gap: ‘When I place a purchase order in China, they have all those capabilities under one roof.’ He added, ‘For one item, it took up way too much of our resources and time to bring it to market.’ This efficiency is a key reason why ‘nearly 80% of all toys and games sold in the U.S. are made in China.’ China has cultivated a comprehensive ‘factory ecosystem’ over decades, supplying not just finished products but also the specialized parts required for their assembly.
Industry Perspective and Future Outlook
Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of The Toy Association, underscored the difficulty of re-shoring. He noted that moving manufacturing back to the U.S. ‘is not as easy as it sounds.’ Ahearn suggested that while manufacturing ‘strategically important products’ in the U.S. makes sense, it is less viable for most toys and games due to their ‘low prices and low profit margins.’ He questioned the economic rationale, asking, ‘Even if you could, who in their right mind would take their capital and invest it into creating a toy manufacturing plant? Of all the things you could pick, we’d probably be pretty low on that list.’
The toy industry is actively lobbying for a ‘carve-out from future tariffs,’ competing with sectors like shoes and apparel for a share of up to ‘$30 billion worth of Chinese products to enter the U.S. tariff-free’ under consideration by the new U.S.—China Board of Trade.
Despite the challenges, Silva is currently marketing his Made in the U.S.A. Monopoly game. However, the broader economic realities mean that the majority of his company’s board games continue to be produced in China. Silva candidly acknowledged, ‘We’re really good at a lot of great things here in America. But we’re not really great at making certain items that are consumable goods. And that’s OK.’ As he awaits a ‘shipment from China of about $6 million worth of games for the upcoming holiday season,’ the uncertainty of the next tariff bill looms, leaving him, as he put it, prepared ‘to roll the dice.’
