PlaymoFriends
General => News => Topic started by: Wesley Myers on February 02, 2011, 04:27:45
-
Today I had a long talk with a shop owner in Canada about Playmobil. Some of the news was very discouraging. Apparently there is a new CEO of Playmobil in Canada and she is not supposed to be a very nice person. Her authoritarian style of management apparently includes firing of staff seemingly on a whim and the cancellation of a sellers contract immediately if they are a day late with a payment. Her management style is retaining and attracting those with similar ethics while driving away those who are not as cut-throat. I could go on from what I was told, but this alone sounds bad enough ...
-
Oh no! That doesn't sound good! I hope that changes fast!
-
so what now Canada is in the same boat as US as far as how things are run in questionable manners .
I hope Playmobil restores what made them great, smart business moves from Mr. B
This to me does not seem smart.
-
At this rate pretty soon Playmobil may not have a bricks and mortar presence in North America. My local stockist still hadn't received any 2011 catalogues or product as of last week. Go on treating your sellers badly and pretty soon nobody is going to want to stock Playmobil at all. :(
-
This is bad news indeed... :uhoh:
-
That does indeed sound discouraging :uhoh: Good management is very important.....hopefully upper management will notice lower numbers due to new management and make positive changes :eh?: One can hope :prays:
-
Glazz was talking about how unhelpful the current US rep for Washington is. He requested catalogs to give away at the Seattle show where there were hundreds of kids and got nothing. She (the rep) doesn't seem to have good relations with the retailers in her region either.
-
Oh no....Why is it that these idiots end up in high positions. One of Playmobil strengh, at least from what I have seen when dealing directly with thjem, has benn the good customer service they offer....Some people are just stupid.
Mad Nick
-
Today I had a long talk with a shop owner in Canada about Playmobil. Some of the news was very discouraging. Apparently there is a new CEO of Playmobil in Canada and she is not supposed to be a very nice person. Her authoritarian style of management apparently includes firing of staff seemingly on a whim and the cancellation of a sellers contract immediately if they are a day late with a payment. Her management style is retaining and attracting those with similar ethics while driving away those who are not as cut-throat. I could go on from what I was told, but this alone sounds bad enough ...
I hope you don't mind...I took the liberty to share thsi info on LG.
Mad Nick
-
I wish we could do something through the PCC to warrant an investigation to make relations better to start more outlets of Playmobil opposed to losing more & more.
-
I wonder what the Secretary (Mr. B) will say at the next NAPO-conference (North Atlantic Playmobil Organisation), if he gets aware of the behaviour and bad marketing of these US/Canadian representatives.
These should immediately be called to the SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Playmobil Europe) to stand trial.
More seriously now ;)
Playmobil still is a German product. German products stand for quality & service, at least that has allways been the case sofar. This product-image should be carefully guarded, also on the other side of the Atlantic.
-
I wonder what the Secretary (Mr. B) will say at the next NAPO-conference (North Atlantic Playmobil Organisation), if he gets aware of the behaviour and bad marketing of these US/Canadian representatives.
These should immediately be called to the SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Playmobil Europe) to stand trial.
More seriously now ;)
Playmobil still is a German product. German products stand for quality & service, at least that has allways been the case sofar. This product-image should be carefully guarded, also on the other side of the Atlantic.
Well said! Now if we could get their attention that their standards are not being enacted across the pond!
-
I hope you don't mind...I took the liberty to share thsi info on LG.
Mad Nick
No problemo!
(even though I haven't a clue what "LG" is ...)
-
No problemo!
(even though I haven't a clue what "LG" is ...)
Ya know, now that you mention it, neither do I,..... ???
-
Laughing Giraffe, I think.
-
Yep, LG = Laughing Giraffe
http://www.laughinggiraffe.com/
It's a forum for Playmobil but f.e. also for Schleich.
Several years ago on "Playmoboard", there was a large argument with many members involved. Many people left (the big Playmobil Schism) and 2 groups each formed their own new forums: "Playmofriends" and "Laughing Giraffe". Some of us didn't choose sides and became members of both new forums, and/or also remained member at Playmoboard.
-
If only you could have seen into the future.
Playmobil Canada is still here and very helpful when it comes to ordering parts or sets. As for still supporting little retailers with product, Turtle Pond Toys in Dundas has a very healthy supply from sets to the cardboard displays, signage and even a life size pirate captin. Or Hobby and Toy Central which has about 1/5 of their very large store dedicated to Playmobil.
You have to understand that in 2010, Canada was not doing so well financially, US and the housing market crash of 2008 pulled us into our own recession that we are just getting out of now and a lot of little toy stores were struggling as sales continued to plummet due to over all unemployment in Canada and lack of disposable income and then this was compounded with the fact that many buyers have now moved to the on-line shopping with at home delivery next day free of charge.
Dundas hobby downsized, Bayshore Hobbies closed up shop, Ottawa Hobbies went out of business and so many others.
I have to agree with what playmobil did with regards to cutting off clients that were unable to pay, the ship was sinking at the time and if clients do not pay then your own company suffers. Playmobil saw this and took appropriate action at the time. I would have to point out that if you were able to do a little more digging, you would find that the companies that were cut off, were either those that had a history of overdue, short paid or dispute accounts.
You also have to look at your own spending habits now with regards to Playmobil toys. Are you still buying from your local toy store or are you buying from Playmobil directly? Have you moved to e-bay were the sellers have very little overhead and may not even be declaring their income from their sales? Or are you like me for instance where Playmobil can be considered more like shares/ stocks in a company rather then toys. They only hold the value they have if they remain in the box and at that point they are no longer a toy, nor are they aiding in sales for Playmobil. Playmobil does not get a penny of the thousands of dollars that I have spent on mint in the box toys. Like shares on the stock market, once the original item has been sold, the company gets no more money. For instance, I purchased last night Playmobil 3747 mint in the box never opened for 69.99USD, it sold back in 1991 for 18.75USD from a toy store which taking into consideration inflation would be worth about 34.02USD today. This means the seller made approximately a 205% return on investment, but Playmobil has not made any more money then the 13.00USD ( Currently 23.68USD buying power) that it made in 1991.
I continue to buy playmobil from my local toy and hobby stories when I can as well as get all my parts and replacement bits from Playmobil directly, but with the discontinuing of the western theme all together, and the lack of having kids as of yet my support directly to this company is less then ideal by a companies standards.
Playmobils push into the licensing market with Ghost Busters is the era that we are in, and whether we like it or not we are all partly responsible for this trend. We want the lowest price, the so called "best deal". We want what we see on tv and we continue to buy things made in third world countries where work safety standards, wages, environment protection and living conditions are poor. Now the mouth is starting to bite the hand that feeds and this is the result. Playmobil thankfully is still being made in Germany and Malta , by European citizens with quality materials for the world over to enjoy. It is still an expensive toy, but you pay for the quality of the toy and the communities in which these companies support. How long this will last is hard to say, but in Canada I have seen far to many companies close and move to Mexico or China all to "cut costs" because they state it is more "economical" and this would be true if not for what has been stated above.
This is food for thought and not meant to cause upset, but before you reply, if you own a cell phone you are contributing to this trend.
Cheers,
James
-
It sounds like my boss. and he is ain't from the toy bussines...