How To Train Your Dragon Coming Soon

[Bolingbroke]

you can't really gauge popularity - PM is basically unkown in the US, Asia etc.

what you can measure is sales, and there, globally, PM is nowhere near the top three.

what 'second after lego' probably means is 'second fiddle', which is closer to the truth. anyway, let's hope this licensing lark is a game changer for PM cause doldrums doesnt even begin to describe their current situation.

[bogol]

what you can measure is sales, and there, globally, PM is nowhere near the top three.

Here's some figures I found (worldwide sales of toy makers in 2014):

1. Mattel (€ 6,200m)
2. Hasbro (€ 4,000m)
3. LEGO (€ 3,800m)
4. Simba-Dickie (€ 602m)
5. Playmobil (€ 535m)

LEGO has obviously still been #1 in 2013 and took back Hasbro's place in 2015. PM seems to be a steady #5. Places 6 through 10 are all occupied by smaller German companies.

[Ismene]

I seem to remember Playmobil being #1 in France and #2 in Germany. In the US, it exists in the vague recesses of people's memories.

[GrahamB]

In the US, it exists in the vague recesses of people's memories.

Don't people say "It's like Lego isn't it?

[cheng]

Don't people say "It's like Lego isn't it?

sounds as though they have at least heard of it....as for me....since I (live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) started collecting PM, nobody I know (parents/kids) knows what playmobil is (except for a friend who bought them for their kids when they lived in HK) ....every few years, a new importer brings in PM, and they languish on shelves until their shelves slowly get taken over by other toys, just to suddenly disappear when they give up the agency (I've never seen any PM clearance, I think the remnants of the stocks goes to another distributor/dealer in a nearby Asian country)

'How to train your dragon' is long forgotten here, unless they continue to have successful sequels, this franchise will not make any mother/kids rush to whoever is left selling PM now (Hamleys, with shrinking shelf space)
...I do understand, we are not in Geobra's marketing plans, not enough rich parents here

[Ismene]

Don't people say "It's like Lego isn't it?

I haven't gotten that comment yet.

I remember when Playmobil used to be in small toy shops. It definitely has less brick-and-mortar presence in the US now. I wonder if some people think it's no longer around because they never see it.

Did PM say when the HTTYD sets are coming out in export markets? It just said 2017, but I'm guessing that is for Germany.

[Bolingbroke]

logic would dictate that if it's a licensed product meant to tie in with the release of a movie, it would be released at the same time in all markets (case in point, sep 30 worldwide for the star wars rogue one sets). might not be the case with a company as pigheaded as PM but we'll have to see.

one thing that's certain is that licensed sets are more expensive than unlicensed ones. has to be seen what kind of price hikes we'll see. currently with lego star wars, 4 fig entry level sets cost -7 euro, small sets around 35, with the bigger ones costing more than a 100.

i would certainly pay a hundred for a playmobil star wars tie fighter, and judging by lego star wars sales on similary priced sets, i am not the only one.

[GrahamB]

I haven't gotten that comment yet.

I was quoting Rasputin, who has said several times on this Forum that people often think PM is basically the same as Lego.

[Salamander]

Whoops, not really on topic, deleted!

[Macruran]

I've gotten (GOTTEN) the "is that L*go?" before. Not often though, because I don't show my stuff to many people 

I appreciate that the Gnomes are trying out new things but I agree with bogol, the "real world" licenses (Porsche, NHL, DHL) are acceptable but the "media property" ones feel off. PM spent decades fighting against licensing, so to turn the cheek now is like...I dunno, Sanders going for Clinton, or Cruz for Trump!  Sellout, basically. If it works, great, but the brand is diminished. If it fails, the brand is still diminished.

PM's strength has been its "real world" connection. Construction, Indians, knights, cops...Victorians, safari, schools, shops...I dunno, I am no marketting executive but I feel they are missing their true calling. They do ghostbusters before they do Don Quixote...