In 2017, toy manufacturer geobra Brandstätter Stiftung (Zirndorf / Germany; www.playmobil.de) topped its already strong growth of the previous year. The company generated sales of EUR 679m in the past fiscal year with its core brand “Playmobil” alone, which constitutes an increase of 11%. Including its garden furniture and flower pot brand “Lechuza”, aggregate turnover reached EUR 741m. As before, around 70% of sales was generated abroad, especially in France, Spain, the Benelux countries and the UK.

The main reason for the company’s continuing success seems to be the strategy of selling licensed products of well-known films, which has been pursued since mid-2016. Board spokesman Steffen Höpfner emphasised the importance of licensing and digital content development. While wanting to remain faithful to traditional toys, expanding into other markets, addressing new target groups and especially its goal of diversification are high up on the company’s agenda. New business areas and offers are therefore assessed on their ability to spark enthusiasm for its own world of toys.

In 2018, Playmobil will bring 166 new products to market. These include the new “Playmogram” 3D hologram sets with the themes of “Ice Princesses” and “Ghostbusters” that will link the physical toy and digital worlds. The new “Crystal Palace” game world will be supplemented by its own animation film and an app, taking Lego as a model.