As Playmobil turns 50, the German firm behind the favored plastic figures is hoping that pop megastar Taylor Swift might help it shake off a stoop in fortunes.
Playmobil has in recent times misplaced floor to rivals, particularly Lego, the world’s primary toymaker whose gross sales are 10 occasions better than these of its German competitor.
The Danish firm has been approach forward within the licensing enterprise, boasting Star Wars, Harry Potter and a newer addition – Barbie – in its portfolio.
Over at Playmobil, the image is distinctly much less glamourous. Its best ever success is a 7.5 cm (3-inch) determine of German Protestant firebrand Martin Luther, 1.3 million of which have been offered.
The brand of German toy firm Playmobil is seen in entrance of a number of figures through the 73rd Toy Fair (Spielwarenmesse) in Nuremberg, southern Germany, on January 30, 2024. — AFP
Things are about to vary, Playmobil hopes. Boss Bahri Kurter stated contacts have been made with individuals near Swift – certainly one of pop music’s most dominant forces – and inventive work has began.
“We will see how that develops,” he advised AFP, including that a determine of the US star “can be a large dream”.
Kurter admitted that Playmobil “began late” within the licensing enterprise.
Pieces of the 50-year-old Playmobil personal assortment of Peter Bischofer. — AFP
Turbulent occasions
But that is far from the one cause the maker of plastic figures – whose headquarters are in Zirndorf, rural Bavaria – has been by way of a interval of turbulence.
Rising vitality costs and inflation exacted a heavy toll, as effectively as lingering provide chain woes within the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
A price-cutting drive is underway, with about 700 jobs worldwide – nearly 20 p.c of the workforce – to be axed. Half of the roles to go are in Germany, as gross sales fall.
Playmobil’s mother or father firm, the Geobra Brandstaetter Group, needed to scramble to reorganise after the demise of its founder, Horst Brandstaetter, in 2015.
The adjustments triggered tensions with unions, who accused the brand new administration of “trampling” the group’s heritage.
Pieces of the 50-year-old Playmobil personal assortment of Peter Bischofer are seen at his dwelling in Merching close to Augsburg, southern Germany on February 9, 2024. — AFP
Against this difficult backdrop, Kurter took cost of Playmobil in April final 12 months.
The firm traces its roots again to 1908, and in its early years manufactured merchandise like toy telephones and cash containers.
The 1973 vitality disaster hit the corporate laborious as the worth of oil, and plastic, soared.
Designer Hans Beck was ordered to give you a new product that used much less dear plastic, and the end result was Playmobil.
Three fashions have been initially launched – a Native American, a knight and a employee – and proved a hit.
Numerous new characters and equipment have since been launched, though the corporate historically sought to maintain the toys easy, giving kids the possibility to make use of their imaginations.
In half a century, greater than 3.9 billion figures have been offered worldwide though they’re much less frequent in youngsters’s bedrooms than they was once.
‘Enormous competitors’
“The toy market is topic to monumental competitors,” notably these days from video games on computer systems or tablets, stated (*50*) Lange, a specialist in academic video games on the University of Wuerzburg.
The affect is obvious at Playmobil, which has misplaced a third of its gross sales amongst four- to eight-year-olds prior to now eight years, in line with Kurter.
As effectively as tie-ups with in style figures like Swift, the corporate is concentrating on nostalgic adults and so-called “kidults” – grown-ups who nonetheless get pleasure from enjoying with toys.
Playmobil is growing its vary of celebrities, and sportsmen and -women to attraction to an older era.
One such fan is Peter Bischofer, a 57-year-old who turned an avid Playmobil collector in his 40s.
Playmobil brings again “childhood reminiscences”, and evokes an period when toys “weren’t as elaborate”, he advised AFP.
At his dwelling in Merching, in southern Bavaria, he has collected tons of of Playmobil fashions, with a choice for classic ones.
Playmobil prides itself on manufacturing its merchandise in Europe – Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Malta.
It can also be searching for to burnish its sustainability credentials at a time firms face mounting strain to point out they’re inexperienced.
“The toddler vary is shifting to 90 p.c plant-based uncooked supplies,” stated Kurter. “That’s a begin.” — AFP
