Geobra redundancies and outsourcing, restructuring Playmobil (Autumn 2023)

[Ismene]

There's definitely room for both fantasy themes and realistic themes in the Playmobil world. The line between the two is generally much fainter for children.

But Rasputin, a well-planned western alien crossover theme would rock!

The pairing between the wild west and sci fi seems so natural to me. Western and sci fi novels were both common pulp fiction genres. Many sci fi worlds have a wild west vibe, and there are multiple blatant sci fi/wild west crossovers. Even the original Star Trek was pitched as "Wagon Train to the stars."

[GrahamB]

(it's not like when I was a kid and you had 2 channels offering children's programming for an hour a day)

2 channels? Luxury! When I were a lad we were only allowed to watch BBC because the 'other' channel (ITV) had adverts (commercials)!
(To watch Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, which were on ITV - commercial television- we had to go to friends' houses!). This was back in the day when many parents- like Rasputin- exercised some control over what their children watched.

My wife's family were the same; as a child, she never even knew ITV existed until she saw it at a friend's house when she was about 10!

[Klickteryx]

The pairing between the wild west and sci fi seems so natural to me. Western and sci fi novels were both common pulp fiction genres. Many sci fi worlds have a wild west vibe, and there are multiple blatant sci fi/wild west crossovers. Even the original Star Trek was pitched as "Wagon Train to the stars."

Seems an odd pairing to me but there have been several - Back to the Future 3, John Carter, Serenity/Firefly, Cowboys and Aliens.

[Redmao]

Space Cowboys could have been a new world to explore in Super 4.

[Macruran]

Seems an odd pairing to me but there have been several - Back to the Future 3, John Carter, Serenity/Firefly, Cowboys and Aliens.

also Wild Wild West

[Rasputin]

Noooooooo

[Klickteryx]

also Wild Wild West

Never saw that but I did think of the giant spider thing when making my list.

[Birdie]

I am proud of Novelmore, what we created with our little team then under the circumstances that were already tilting back and forth will always be memorable. It was also my dream to closely combine story, character and toy and that worked pretty well, even though the company was not and is still not ready to really succeed in carrying it through in their communication and vision. Unfortunately long-term projects like Novelmore are very sensitive to all the sudden shifts in management and strategy, so it is in a way bittersweet to reflect on what it could have been and where it is ending up now.

Focusing on "What the market wants" is for PLAYMOBIL a dangerous trap. PLAYMOBIL set out to be a timeless toy, but the more they chase the market trends and their competitors, the less they achieve that "timeless" aspect. If i look at the new PrincessMagic castle sets, that is really a HASBRO product, with very little pieces but with a price you can only charge within a well cultivated My Little Pony brand. Not for something as generic as "PrIncEsSmAgiC" or "Horses Of Waterfall". So i am not optimistic about PLAYMOBIL sales going better any time soon.

I however think licenses are in essence good, the problem is that PLAYMOBIL nearly stopped developing or broadening it's classic lines and invested almost entirely in the development of licenses and franchises.

                 

I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your insider perspective and you sharing it with us!

I am constantly left frustrated that LEGO gets to do licensing for the most popular stuff (assumingly because they have more money to spend and it's cheaper to build), while it would look so much better as a Playmobil product.
Maybe I'm the odd one out, but a Harry Potter world in PM, or My Little Pony for that matter, would be amazing to me.

If I'm allowed to dream: a Studio Ghibli co-operation 

But indeed, whatever licensing they do, it should be paired with a robust line of themes and sets that spark the imagination and resist fleeting trends by not referencing to one specific story-line. That's what my kids love best. But I suppose they're genetically predisposed    (we also carefully monitor what they can and can't watch)

[collectobart]

I am constantly left frustrated that LEGO gets to do licensing for the most popular stuff (assumingly because they have more money to spend and it's cheaper to build), while it would look so much better as a Playmobil product.
Maybe I'm the odd one out, but a Harry Potter world in PM, or My Little Pony for that matter, would be amazing to me.

Licenses unfortunately are as much a strategic decision from the studio's end as they are from the Licensees.

PLAYMOBIL cannot get blockbuster licenses, They simply do not have a track record on that end and also not the muscle to develop, produce, ship and especially distribute products like Hasbro or LEGO can. To make sure products are on shelf everywhere in the world, including the Walmarts and other hard to penetrate chains, and to sell them out in 6 weeks is PLAYMOBIL's Achilles heal. And licensors know this.

On the other hand, Studios like to once in a while make The Big Ones sweat a little by offering a consolation price to PLAYMOBIL, like the Disney Classic license or another 2nd tier license.

Also, often the chosen licenses end up being quite regionally inspired too. Asterix to placate especially the French market, or a NHL license for US/Canada. Or things like Heidi which were even less known abroad and were doomed to fail from the start.

The biggest or most currently relevant license Geobra had was the Dragons license, and i don't think they will attempt something similar again for a multitude of reasons.

[Klickteryx]

I think if playmobil is going to crack the pop culture market it needs to do more manga style figures. Generic manga/anime types like school uniform, dungeon adventurer (Novelmore gets close with this), klicky with a cat head (they have bunnies but need others). These can be done without licences and are generic looks that are familiar to manga readers and anime fans. Naruto is great but expensive. Everdreamerz was a good idea but too expensive with too much focus on packaging and surprise boxes. Save the complicated packaging as an option and instead have the main characters available as blister packs. I'm not sure of the logic behind having mystery boxes for a franchise that doesn't have any status outside playmobil. You're asking people to gamble on getting a character the end user wants from an otherwise unknown line.