2023-07-20 15:38:10
Weakened by the inflation of raw materials and its withdrawal from the Russian market last year, the brand of famous figurines has recorded less good results since 2021.
Scandal in sight at Playmobil? Since their creation in 1974, figurines for children have never ceased to make people dream throughout the world. But behind the scenes of their manufacture today appear a little less brilliant. Internally, tensions are increasing at the German manufacturer once morest the backdrop of a commercial crisis. So much so that managing director Steffen Höpfner announced his departure on Thursday.
In the grip of economic difficulties, the holding company which bears the name of the brand’s founder, Horst Brandstatter, had indeed, earlier this year, begun a restructuring. She had used the services of the consulting firm McKinsey to help her find new levers for growth. At the same time, the group had also appointed a new leader, Bahri Kurter, at the head of its Playmobil activity, reported in particular the German media. Nuremberg Newsone March 2023.
“Fear and Humiliation”
But, just a few months later, the results are more than mixed for the toy brand. The German media manager magazine indeed had access to a letter signed by the trade unions of the company and addressed to the management. In this missive, employee organizations denounce a toxic climate established by management to push employees to leave. They evoke “the fear and the humiliations” that the staff undergo, relays Thursday the journal The echoes.
“You are trampling on the heritage”, even launched the works council to the leaders.
Faced with the leak of these internal elements in the German press, the boss of the group Steffen Höpfner informed the employees of his resignation in a letter sent on Thursday, reports manager magazine. He will step down at the end of the month.
Turnover down 4.3%
The internal conflict at Playmobil follows a sharp slowdown in the group’s activity. Between 2021 and 2022, the group’s consolidated turnover contracted by 4.3%, reports Les Echos, to reach 691 million euros. Its sales fell by 2.8% for the year ended in March, also indicates The mirror. A decline that contrasts sharply with the success of its Danish competitor Lego. The world’s number one toy company registered a 4% increase in net profit in 2022.
It is a combination of several factors that has led the manufacturer to a drop in performance in recent years. Rising raw materials, exploding logistics costs, shortages of electronic components… Toy manufacturers, like Playmobil, have had to deal with soaring costs this year. These increases were also passed on to sales prices, causing a surge in toy prices at the end of last year.
Decline in activity in parks and withdrawal from Russia
The withdrawal from the Russian market, announced in March 2022, in response to the invasion in Ukraine, also had an impact on the group’s turnover. With his two companies Playmobil and Lechuza (which manufactures flower pots), Horst Brandstatter “had forecast sales of around 10 million euros for the two companies” in this market in 2022, according to a communiqué.
Before that, the health crisis had already begun to affect the economic health of the group by weakening its amusement park activity. These sites called Fun Park had recorded “considerable losses of revenue”, specifies the annual report of the holding company dated March 2023, quoted by Les Echos.
And the steam should not really be reversed this year. The company’s managers anticipate a further drop in turnover in 2023, due to inflation and the drop in demand that it should cause.
A context that will undoubtedly give the successor of Steffen Höpfner a major challenge. For the time being, the identity of the person who will take the helm of Horst Brandstatter is not yet known.
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