GEOBRA BRANDSTÄTTER
Group sales above DEM 500m for the first time / "Playmobil" stays without electronics
Following a 10% sales increase in 1996, "Playmobil" manufacturer geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co. KG (PO Box, D-90511 Zirndorf) increased its German sales 13% in 1997. Price increases accounted for only 1.5% of the upturn. Unlike a large number of other toy manufacturers, the Brandstätter group is not hastening the introduction of electronics into the playroom, but has chosen to "keep the faith" with traditional toys. Says managing director, Christoph Weigand: "Electronics inhibit a child's imagination".
Total sales of the group's "Playmobil" series in 1997 rose 10% to around DEM 440m, with foreign orders accounting for about 60%, as in the previous year. The product is sold in around 60 countries, with 85% of volume sales in Europe. France remained the biggest foreign market in 1997; sales there increased by a double-digit margin, despite the declining French toy market. There were also positive developments with double-digit sales increases in the Benelux countries, Switzerland, Italy and Greece. The UK remained a problem market with decreasing sales. North America, too, continued difficult: the upward trend seen previously in the US slackened, while sales in Canada faced an economic backcurrent, according to Brandstätter.
The Zirndorf group hopes to combat rising costs for production of "Playmobil" toys and other general cost increases through a 1.7% increase in selling prices. This was "the absolute minimum," the company said. In 1998, Brandstätter plans to launch a total of 46 new articles. Some DEM 19m has been earmarked for marketing activities, including a "Playmobil" website on the Internet.
Alongside the "Playmobil" marketing companies, two toolmakers, brandform (Zirndorf) and Inmold (Malta), as well as the computer firm HOB electronic GmbH & Co. KG (Zirndorf), are part of the Brandstätter group. Consolidated sales passed the DEM 500m mark for the first time in 1997, hitting DEM 504.1m (+ 5.6%).
A high level of capital spending, DEM 34m, is again planned for 1998 (previous year: DEM 38m). Around 70% of "Playmobil" production is located in Germany, and the first part of the new plastics moulding shop at the Dietenhofen plant was completed on schedule in 1997. Some 65 additional injection moulding machines will be installed this spring when the project is completed, making a total of 172 microprocessor-controlled automatic injection moulding machines.
READER SERVICE: Detailed press information on business developments in 1997 and new products from the Brandstätter Group, with illustrations (German): PIE-No. 42010.
Total sales of the group's "Playmobil" series in 1997 rose 10% to around DEM 440m, with foreign orders accounting for about 60%, as in the previous year. The product is sold in around 60 countries, with 85% of volume sales in Europe. France remained the biggest foreign market in 1997; sales there increased by a double-digit margin, despite the declining French toy market. There were also positive developments with double-digit sales increases in the Benelux countries, Switzerland, Italy and Greece. The UK remained a problem market with decreasing sales. North America, too, continued difficult: the upward trend seen previously in the US slackened, while sales in Canada faced an economic backcurrent, according to Brandstätter.
The Zirndorf group hopes to combat rising costs for production of "Playmobil" toys and other general cost increases through a 1.7% increase in selling prices. This was "the absolute minimum," the company said. In 1998, Brandstätter plans to launch a total of 46 new articles. Some DEM 19m has been earmarked for marketing activities, including a "Playmobil" website on the Internet.
Alongside the "Playmobil" marketing companies, two toolmakers, brandform (Zirndorf) and Inmold (Malta), as well as the computer firm HOB electronic GmbH & Co. KG (Zirndorf), are part of the Brandstätter group. Consolidated sales passed the DEM 500m mark for the first time in 1997, hitting DEM 504.1m (+ 5.6%).
A high level of capital spending, DEM 34m, is again planned for 1998 (previous year: DEM 38m). Around 70% of "Playmobil" production is located in Germany, and the first part of the new plastics moulding shop at the Dietenhofen plant was completed on schedule in 1997. Some 65 additional injection moulding machines will be installed this spring when the project is completed, making a total of 172 microprocessor-controlled automatic injection moulding machines.
READER SERVICE: Detailed press information on business developments in 1997 and new products from the Brandstätter Group, with illustrations (German): PIE-No. 42010.
31.08.1998 Plasteurope.com [18484]
Published on 31.08.1998