What's wrong with Playmobil? 2

[Macruran]

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.

Several b&ms where I live carried PM but dropped it over the last five years or so. Sales were too slow. 

[Tiermann]

Amazon is the biggest retailer of Playmobil in the US, I suspect they sell more than Playmobil does off their own site. They get exclusive sets, and sometimes early releases of themes not arriving in Playmobil's own store until later.  Their influence on the market and the sucking away of sales from local brick and mortar is a huge factor.

[Rasputin]

Amazon is the biggest retailer of Playmobil in the US, I suspect they sell more than Playmobil does off their own site. They get exclusive sets, and sometimes early releases of themes not arriving in Playmobil's own store until later.  Their influence on the market and the sucking away of sales from local brick and mortar is a huge factor.

They certainly have better sales also

[Macruran]

Several b&ms where I live carried PM but dropped it over the last five years or so. Sales were too slow. 

There was even a local grocery chain that carried a few small sets, which is where I caught my adult Playmofever, but they don't seem to have them anymore either 

[Klickteryx]

Most of the time the rotation was so quick that many sets ended up on clearance

Does this mean that stores offload lines if they don't sell enough in a given timeframe? Given the mostly empty boxes they sell I can see this making a bigger issue with shelf space taken up by air AND not moving quickly.

[JPSA]

Given the mostly empty boxes they sell I can see this making a bigger issue with shelf space taken up by air AND not moving quickly.

Hahaha.  So true!

P.S. I had an argument with my mother over this, once, as I repeatedly instructed her to get rid of the PM boxes, and send me the contents only ( re. sets I had purchased in Germany and France, and had delivered to her house, abroad ).  Well, she shipped the boxes anyway to make a point — stubborn! — which ended up costing a bundle in international shipping... for air.  3/4 of the package was air!  Now, I can well imagine how this is bound to be an issue with retailers: the profit per sq. inch of shelf space is rather low, when it comes to PM.  Something they should consider working on, for the US retail market, especially ( ...and for the planet they make a show of being concerned about, as shipping air across the globe can't be an efficient use of natural resources! ).

[Rasputin]

Does anybody really care about the planet ? It’s mostly virtu signaling

Box size was explained many years ago as being an issue with emotional perceived value . A $100 box needed to be a certain size so the consumer felt good and fuzzy.

Playmobil is after all quite an expensive toy. If a customer payed $75 and could fit it into their trouser pocket, we’ll they’d “feel” it wasn’t a good value. Then when the box was given to a child, the first impression would be anti climatic.

Hand a box to a child that they can barely hold, big difference. These aren’t women who expect good things in tiny box’s after all

As for rotation at corporate stores, it was just a seasonal rotation policy similar to clothes. I think Toy R Us rotated a few times a year . With a few members here we figured out the cycles and the internal implementation and would utilize it to our advantage. Then due to lazy managers systematically hit the stores for ridiculously clearanced  sets. It was bitter sweet as I knew this couldn’t last economically for the stores

[playmofire]

The reason for Playmobil and other companies' boxes being big compared with the contents is the use of standardised international shipping containers.  To get maximum use of space, boxes must be of certain sizes and that may mean an apparent mismatch between box size and contents.

[Rasputin]

The reason for Playmobil and other companies' boxes being big compared with the contents is the use of standardised international shipping containers.  To get maximum use of space, boxes must be of certain sizes and that may mean an apparent mismatch between box size and contents.

I too thought it was that but then it makes little sense

If a sets box is able to fit 2 in the same space as 1 then there is a major space savings

Lots of sets I bought can easily fit the contents into a box 1/2 the size

[playmofire]

I too thought it was that but then it makes little sense

If a sets box is able to fit 2 in the same space as 1 then there is a major space savings

Lots of sets I bought can easily fit the contents into a box 1/2 the size

I think if you check box sizes you will find that there is a relationship to make the fullest use of space of available space when shipping.