If I may don my armchair-CEO hat, for a moment, here is what I would do to 'save' Playmobil:
PLAN A:1) New upper management: Obviously, we need new, credible — legitimate —
involved upper management. The toxic atmosphere likely grew from upper management either making inept calls, and/or refusing to make decisions, being too removed from daily operations, thus leaving employees to take initiatives without support, and to fend for themselves, eventually turning on each other. There is clearly an authority and accountability problem, and this power vacuum must be filled asap. The old adage "fish rots from the head down" applies, here.
2) More franchises. Worked wonders for Lego.
3) Enhance in-system construction play: I'd like Playmobil to pay special attention to the construction aspect, and design in-system — both System-X AND Steck — playsets that are easily expandable. Extending Steck with new pieces wouldn't be a bad idea, as well ( ex: x2-radius towers ). ...Enough with playsets that are essentially composed of a few large molded pieces, and which can't be extended easily. Modularity and reusability should be key. Example: As good as it looks, can Novelmore's
Violet Vale - Wizard Tower be extended vertically, let alone attached or integrated into another structure? ...Nope! Can its pieces be used in other sets? ....Uh, not really, for the most part. Note: Lego is essentially a construction toy, and returned to profitability by expanding its narrative-play potential ( via franchises ). Maybe Playmobil can, being a narrative toy at heart, do the converse: expand its construction-play aspect. The lack of expandability in new sets spurred the previous
"What's wrong with Playmobil?" thread, back in 2008 [ which, ironically, included the following, now prophetic, plea from the OP: "PLAYMOBIL WAKE UP ... YOU'RE LOSING BUSINESS (MONEY) !!!" ].
4) Not just themes,
worlds! Bring in external toy designers, with fresh artistic ideas and visions. Note: This did wonders for Lego when they brought in art director Christian Faber — Bionicle's designer — in the early 2000s. The Bionicle theme may have been a radical departure from the brick system, but the point is that, being an earnest and compelling
paracosm, it did provide a much needed financial boost to Lego during their transition — buying them time — and may also have spurred internal designers to be more creatively ambitious, and design toys kids would actually want to play with ( ex: Chima, Ninjago, Nexo knights, Friends, ... ). New PM sets need to be 'paracosmic':
enticing children to want to create ambitious, in-system WORLDS. ...Which comes back to the previous point: elements need to be expandable and combinable into a greater, cohesive whole, that evokes a story. Playmobil is first and foremost a narrative
world-building toy. The 'building' part actually matters. Note: With some of the new Playmobil sets, it's hard to even know what you are looking at, which, to me, speaks of poor design ( ex: Sal'ahari Sands - Sand Stormer, Dino Mine )!
5) Tone down the political correctness, and conspicuous progressivism. Boys are boys, and girls are girls, and their play-patterns are naturally different. Also, I personally don't care about "biodegradable" plastics — it's just greenwashing. Playmobil is not in business to save the planet, or to convey ideological / moral messages to kids. At least, they shouldn't be, imo. That's parents' job; let them make those decisions.
...Or,
PLAN B:Get the Star Wars license!
( ...whatever the cost, as it will have a halo effect across PM's entire catalog )
Either way, I believe the financial situation will likely have to grow from bad to worse, before we see any improvements at Playmobil. They need their time of ashes, if they are to be reborn. ...It is, however, an opportunity — should they choose to adapt and innovate —
after they've put their house back in order.
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