They didn't mention the weird corporate structure that was a huge mistake in my opinion. Instead of a single CEO it started out right after HOBs death with a three person committee.
statt Brandstätters Vermögen zu investieren – mit einem Eigenkapital von rund 1,5 Milliarden Euro ist die Horst Brandstätter Holding eine Bank mit angehängter Spritzgussfabrik –, wird eisern gespart.
Very interesting article.
I didn't know that Novelmore was a flop, specially with a new batch of sets coming this year. I think that the designs and characters make a fun knights' theme.
I know that the toy business is changing dramatically.
They still make home runs, like the recent Space Station that got the toy of the year award. Not surprising as it looks like a modern version of the classic Playmospace station.
I think that it shows that "classic" themes adapted to today will still prove to be popular. Maybe they should look at their long history of successes instead of trying to jump on any potential fad?
Years ago I remember reading an article that - playfully - suggested that Playmobil was successful because it made the kind of toys that middle-class parents wanted their children to play with, rather than appealing to children's actual tastes.
I don't think that's completely true, but I certainly think the historical themes provided a 'halo' affect and added to the 'educational' element around Playmobil - and probably the reason the Noah's Arc set was such a big seller (which I wouldn't have expected).
That's very well put. And it may be true.. It is (well, these days, there are exceptions) a.. wholesome toy. Positive. But then you have the idiots that complain that it took too long to assemble, and they DO have better things to do than spend time with their own kids.
It's the same stuff, but now the Brandstätter group are threatening Manager Magazine with legal action for publishing the story...
They still make home runs, like the recent Space Station that got the toy of the year award. Not surprising as it looks like a modern version of the classic Playmospace station.
(https://i.imgur.com/W0dxG9k.png) (https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/playmobil-spielzeughersteller-ersetzt-erneut-zentrale-figur-a-5470c2fe-966b-40b4-acc3-f2045377a363?fbclid=IwAR1CwRv5WMBCW3gK1nj4vdedCeiRWBTf9zCbHYiNHs3rQfbyJi_8nosOsHI)
Wagner's job was taken over by Wolfgang Höger (55), a man who above all knows how to cut costs: Höger previous job was toys Procurement Officer at Kaufhof.
One of the things to always keep in mind with Playmobil is development lag. It typically takes them 2 to 3 years to bring a set from concept to release I believe. So changes this last guy may have started may not show up for another year or two.
So, the profit trend hasn't changed since earlier this year, certainly not upward. It is interesting to contrast this gloomy report with the much more upbeat feel that has taken hold of the adult collector community over the same period. I imagine that the flood of new releases (Asterix!) and re-releases (Victorian!) that has captivated us can be accredited to Wolfgang Höger amongst others, and hope that they will translate in better results from 2021.
"Interest" in this case is indeed google query's and responses to ads perhaps too, not sure about that last bit.
But normally the highpoint of searches is around last week of November, this google query is till today, so "the season peak" is already over.
it's a dramatic downfall.
Without questioning that geobra is struggling in a complex downward spiral for various reasons, google trends don't seem to be the most trustworthy indicator these days as the graph for "lego", "barbie" or "nintendo" shows a similar picture with a noticeable low for christmas 21. Maybe some pandemic-related change of behavior or consequence of the latest core update for the search algorithm this november.