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 * 3. Findings**

Figure 1 illustrates the sales trends of Smart Kids educational toys in its three main markets, China, the USA and Japan during the 1990s.


 * 3.1 China**

At the start of the decade sales in China were the highest among the three countries standing at HK$40 million. However, sales then halved to HK$20 million by 1992 where they stayed until 1995. Sales then began to recover and climbed steadily to finish the decade at a peak of HK$60 million, again higher than Japan and the USA.


 * 3.2 USA and Japan**

For the first half of the decade sales in Japan and the USA followed each other quite closely, both starting at HK$20 million in 1990. Sales in the USA then rose sharply to HK$50 million by 1993, while in Japan sales went up to HK$40 million in the same year. Sales in the USA levelled off at HK$50 million for a year, before falling slightly to HK$30 million in 1996, while in Japan sales stayed at HK$40 million until 1995, before plunging to HK$10 million in 1997 where they remained flat until 1999. In contrast sales in the USA fluctuated between HK$20 and HK$50 million in the final 4 years of the decade.