What's wrong with Playmobil? 2

[Rasputin]

One of my sons from years back. This is one of the play rooms I had for them



One more of “what’s wrong with Playmobil”

You should have seen how their US marketing department dealt with grass roots advertisers such as myself years ago.

[JPSA]

And there is the problem ….. How does a long lasting durable toy that collectors choose to buy multiples of used on 3rd party sites , that can be again resold help playmobil’s balance sheet?

Well, ditto for Lego, and it isn't preventing them from doing well financially.

Also, buying used sets is a way for getting into it, for not too much money — especially if you are into construction-play, and/or have a world to grow ( particularly one that relies on sets that are currently out of production ).  But, sooner or later, one will likely end up making new Playmobil purchases, to add this or that ( or simply because it's about the same price, or sometimes cheaper, to get the new edition, or alternate version, of an item, compared to used ).

Finally, selling cheap looking, ephemeral products, doesn't seem to be a winning strategy for Playmobil, so they might as well stick to quality ( long-term value ), even if that bolsters the used market.  Incidentally: Are klickies disposable?  No, they last forever ( pretty much ).  Yet, that doesn't prevent people from wanting to buy more.  Durability, and strong resell value, doesn't necessarily hinder long-term sales, imo.

[Indianna]

Speaking of differences between Playmobil and LEGO:  a few years ago LEGO purchased BrickLink which had become the largest secondhand marketplace for LEGO.  They realize that collectors and their creations are powerful advertisements and that a marketplace for used LEGO actually helps LEGO retail sales.  They own and maintain the site.  Here are a couple of interesting quotes from Bricklink's FAQ page:

     "BrickLink was acquired by the LEGO Group because it is interested in strengthening the connection with the AFOL community and finding new ways of doing this through improvements to existing functions on the platform."
     "The LEGO Group has been clear that it won’t interfere with how sellers operate or the healthy competition that exists in the marketplace. It sees BrickLink as a complementary service to its own parts selling services."
     "The LEGO Group is keen to make sure that the platform develops in collaboration with the community – it has acknowledged that BrickLink already serves its users very well and is not planning to make changes straight away."

On the other hand, when the Collector's Club existed, members who tried to sell their exclusive club items were kicked out or threatened with it.   

[Indianna]

JPSA, you've started a very interesting conversation following so many that have taken place here before and you've raised many important points.  I have a strong difference of opinion about this, however:

. . . . Boys are boys, and girls are girls, and their play-patterns are naturally different . . . .

My own experiences as a child, parent, grandmother, and school volunteer tell me that every child is different in their interests and they don't have a "natural play-pattern" unless it is somehow imposed upon them.  For example, when I was a child I had a variety of toys including stuffed animals and dolls galore (including Barbies), a holster with twin six-guns and a cowboy hat, a toy parking garage with an elevator for the little cars, a pink sheet-metal stove (I used the oven space as a filing cabinet to play office), Lincoln Logs, a cheap plastic set of stagecoach/cowboys/Indians/cavalry, and a wind up car that would crash into a wall and fly into bits (one of my faves!) 

Playmobil didn't come along until I was all grown up, but my children and grandchildren have had many happy hours of imaginative free play with the ridiculous amount of Playmobil that I have acquired over the years.  My son and I used the steck castle for both a Harry Potter set-up and an Indiana Jones story - kids don't need an actual licensed set to play out the stories they enjoy.  The licenses may be good for attracting adult collectors but kids just need a bunch of stuff to play with and they will make up their own narratives. 

Just my       

[Rasputin]

Don’t you dare try to resell your property (yearly PCC gift)

It wasn’t just the PCC that had the odd relationship with their customers

The general attitude from Brandstater Group was very odd, as though the collectors were a nuisance ….”what you want to buy 50 of 30-xx-xxxx ?   We have a very tight inventory and only anticipated selling 6 in 3 years”

Luckily we had good civilized collectors that either knew public relations strategy or we’re good friends with the owner. 

[JPSA]

The general attitude from Brandstater Group was very odd, as though the collectors were a nuisance ….

It seems BG has a problem with any group they can't control ( ex: collectors, animation producers ), and that may have its roots in Horst Branstatter's anti-union attitude — which has festered in recent years, contributing to the current climate of fear.  See article that was mentioned in the video:

Kultur der Angst bei Playmobil - Stuttgarter Zeitung [ use Chrome's translate option ]

Quote:

"Arbitrariness, harassment, and bullying, are the order of the day. The experienced trade unionist tells of several Playmobil employees who were laid off, without giving reasons, and then transferred as punishment, over a heated dispute about the interpretation of workplace regulations in hot weather, as well as systematic investigation into employees' union-membership status. Anyone who applies for Christmas bonuses in Zirndorf must present their union card. This way, the employer can find out, by name, who is a union member.

(...)

Things got really heated recently. Franconia and Playmobil have not been spared from the high temperatures nationwide, which prompted IG Metall [ Germany and Europe's largest industrial union ] works councils to send out a notice. First they thanked management for setting up water dispensers, then quoted a passage from the workplace regulations. According to which, employees are entitled to a ten-minute “de-heating phase” every hour at room temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. 'This doesn’t mean that you stop working, but rather that you move to a cooler room and carry out simple tasks there,' explains Möller. The outcry over the unionists' 'heat slip' was great. It came not only from management, but also from the general works council, in which IG Metall does not have a say and which is obviously divided."


Obviously, this is a far cry from Santa's workshop — more like: the first ring of Hell!

...Excessive control takes the fun out — along with goodwill and positive contributions, let alone creativity — doesn't it?

So, maybe the solution really is to move production to some authoritarian hellhole, like... China! ☺

Fundamentally, I believe it is a management hubris problem (ego).  Hopefully, bankruptcy will force them to make amends, and revise their attitude.  The company won't survive long, otherwise, if they remain divided.

[Oliver]

PM construction-play costs aren't that bad.  Just buy two used steck castles, or system-x hospitals, or space bases, and a budding engineer / designer already a lot to play with.  We're talking $350 on the US Ebay, at most — much less if you live in Europe — which is fairly reasonable.  Also, given that Playmobil tend to keep their value, and can be easily resold, that isn't such a bad deal.

I mean, you're correct - but if you want to build things, there are other toys that are better suited to it. I do think Playmobil should aim to have a flexible building system - and I actually thought there was more System-X in the present range than there is - but I don't think it's ever going to be the primary strength of the brand.

[Alex4420]

Speaking as a rather superficial consumer who bought PM for his children, I did not care less about the building system. What mattered was visibility -- when the toys were in shops, my children could see them and I was inclined to make impulsive purchases for them as well as holiday purchases. PM's withdrawal from US stores -- most notably Target and Wal-Mart -- is dooming sales here more than anything.

[JPSA]

PM's withdrawal from US stores -- most notably Target and Wal-Mart -- is dooming sales here more than anything.

All the more reason for Branstatter to move production to the US: the #1 toy market in the world, in terms of purchases.  They'd probably have an easier time getting shelf space if they were made here.  Plus, the DOJ might be less aggressive, this time, should allegations of price-fixing surface again ( given that American tax revenue and jobs would be at stake ).  It's a "free market", but you need to pay to play [-mobil! ☺].

[Rasputin]

Playmobil had a great shelf exposure when it came to brick snd mortar private family shops. The relationships with the store owners was rather odd, but they always , at least in the Bay Area, had plenty of visibility with opened sets to explore. Then most , if not all brick and mortar shops disappeared.

Playmobil trying to negotiate with Costco, wal-mart, toys r us  and target never seemed to work for any length of time. Most of the time the rotation was so quick that many sets ended up on clearance

Brand recognition is a huge problem in the USA. Most people thought my convention layouts were LEGO . LEGO has a huge cult following with multi generational recognition. Playmobil ….only rich parents knew of it