Disenchantment in the land of toys. The owner of the famous Playmobil plastic figurines, born almost fifty years ago in Germany, announced this Monday the elimination of 17% of its workforce, including almost half in Germany, against a backdrop of erosion in its sales around the world. “We are announcing a comprehensive restructuring plan, involving the elimination of 694 positions worldwide by 2025. 369 of them are in Germany,” said the German group Horst Brandstätter, which owns the brand, in a press release. .
To explain his decision, the owner mentions the “current economic challenges” and the “global recession” triggered “by the coronavirus pandemic.” coronavirus ”, which caused upheavals in supply chains, from which he says he has still not recovered. Disruptions in international supply chains have led to shortages and rising production costs, which have been compounded by thethe war in Ukraine.
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The Horst Brandstätter group, named after the founder who died in 2015, has suffered “significant declines in profit over the past two years”, the company adds. Over the staggered financial year March 2021-March 2022 – the latest figures available – the group’s turnover fell by 2.8% to 736 million euros while that of the Playmobil activity fell by 4 .3%. Supply problems pushed some retailers to initially inflate their orders to ensure they had enough toys on the shelves. But between economic slowdown and inflation, sales were not as good as expected, and order intake at Playmobil fell.
Added to this for the Bavarian group are governance difficulties which led to the resignation in July of its president Steffen Höpfner, replaced by the former financial director of Playmobil René Feser, according to the German press.
The group, based in the small Bavarian town of Zirndorf (south), also suffers from competition with its main rivals, the Danish Lego, the world number 1 in toys, and the American Mattelwho benefits from the dazzling success of the film barbie.