Playmobil will discontinue Romans?

[extjmv]

I have heared rumors about romans theme won't grow....
* No new sets planned for 2008.
* In january Playmobil.de sold out many roman sets below cost price.
* No expansion for 4270
* No aditional buildings in DS in 2008

What do you think?

[playmofire]

I have heared rumors about romans theme won't grow....
* No new sets planned for 2008.
* In january Playmobil.de sold out many roman sets below cost price.
* No expansion for 4270
* No aditional buildings in DS in 2008

What do you think?

As there have been additions to the Romans theme for the last two years and there are new themes for 2008, it's reasonable that there should be nothing new in this theme this year.  The same applies to the lack of additional buildings in DS.

As regards playmobil.de clearing stocks of Romans below cost, we can't know for sure if this happened.  If it did, it may well be simply to free up space and cash for the new lines which are no doubt expected to sell well.

4270 is big to begin with, so Playmobil probably thought there was no market for expansion sets.

Overall, it may well be that the Roman theme, like the Vikings, will be short-lived, but as a lot of investment has gone into it, I would have thought the theme would run for a few years before it was discontinued.  I think Playmobil has always operated with a number of staple themes such as knights, fire and rescue, farm, construction which remain popular year on year for a long time and provide a steady income.  More recently they seem to have been introducing new themes which possibly are more short-term ones with a limited market in terms of years and which, therefore, are discontinued fairly quickly.

[Richard]

Playmobil has introduced and discontinued (and re-introduced) many themes over the years ...
(And, as Gordon has said ... only kept their staple themes!)

Here is a short (but, not necessarily complete ... nor totally accurate) history:

Pre-Steck Building System introduced ... 1976 (discontinued 1993)
Steck Building System introduced ... 1977 (not yet totally discontinued ... but, almost)
Circus Theme introduced ... 1978 (discontinued 1990)
Color Sets introduced ... 1978 (discontinued 1993)
Safari Theme introduced ... 1980 (discontinued 1990)
Space Theme introduced ... 1980 (discontinued 1993)
Eskimo Theme introduced ... 1985 (discontinued 1991)
Polar Theme introduced ... 1986 (discontinued 1990)
Electric Train introduced ... 1987 (discontinued 1997)
Victorian Theme introduced ... 1989 (discontinued 2000)
Circus Theme re-introduced ... 1991 (discontinued 1994)
Pacific Northwest Theme introduced ... 1995 (discontinued 2001)
Fantasy Theme introduced ... 1995 (discontinued 2002)
Jungle Theme introduced ... 1998 (discontinued 2001)
Space Theme re-introduced ... 1999 (discontinued 2002)
Viking Theme introduced ... 2002 (discontinued 2006)
Polar Theme re-introduced ... 2004 (discontinued 2006)

As you can see, themes had a much longer life in Playmobil's early days. Also there were not anywhere near as many sets being produced at the same time as there is today.

So it looks like that new themes now only have about a three or four year life span before they are discontinued. This means that collectors need to buy what they want when the new sets hit the shelves or pay a premium price later at places like eBay!

[Donmobil]

This is the very news item that may be the last straw for me.  We Americans get the short end of the stick each year.  This I believe why the market for Playmobil has not been a big sucess in the USA.  By the time it is released here, it is almost done in Europe.  Sets that have run their course for 2 to 4 years in Europe have a life span of only a year and a half at most in the US.

I wanted to finish building up my Roman Legion, but it looks like I won't be able to.  The same with the Gauls.  I had planned to build these up and start on the Egyptians.  Will they be discontinued by then... ?

Very discouraging fo us here in America.

-- Donmobil

[playmofire]

This is the very news item that may be the last straw for me.  We Americans get the short end of the stick each year.  This I believe why the market for Playmobil has not been a big sucess in the USA.  By the time it is released here, it is almost done in Europe.  Sets that have run their course for 2 to 4 years in Europe have a life span of only a year and a half at most in the US.
Very discouraging fo us here in America.

-- Donmobil

In fact, the USA and the UK are in exactly the same position - the sets are released there 12 months after their release in Europe.  However, they are discontinued 12 months after they are discontinued in Europe so their availability time is the same.  In fact, it could be argued that the USA and UK have an extra year in which to buy items as they can buy from European distributors during the 12 months items are not yet released in the UK and USA.

And of course, in the case of the USA there are all those limited edition sets for shops like Target and Playmobil prices until recently have often been lower than the equivalent prices elsewhere.

[kaethe]

richard
a quick question, being originally from seattle, what was/is the pacific northwest theme?  thanks.  kaethe

[Richard]

This I believe why the market for Playmobil has not been a big success in the USA.  By the time it is released here, it is almost done in Europe.  Sets that have run their course for 2 to 4 years in Europe have a life span of only a year and a half at most in the US.

Hello, DM ...

Why Playmobil does NOT sell as well in the US AND the UK as it does in Germany, is a question that has plagued Zirndorf for years.

You offer a very interesting possibility, DM.

Even during the pre-internet days, we all knew what sets we would be seeing a year later than Germany.
And, by the time the "year old" sets finally reached the US, it was anti-climatic. Those "old' new sets had about all the excitement of receiving "hand-me-downs" at Christmas.

In fact, it could be argued that the USA and UK have an extra year in which to buy items as they can buy from European distributors during the 12 months items are not yet released in the UK and USA.

I can't think of anything worse, Gordon, than having "hand-me-downs' that last a year longer than they should ...

It seems that Donmobil may actually have the answer to one of Zirndorf's most perplexing questions!

DM, if I were you, I'd fire off an email to Horst Brandstätter immediately. If you're supposition is correct, who knows how Mr. Brandstätter might show his appreciation.

Good luck and all the best,
Richard

edit: missspelled 2nd Brandstätter ... 

[Richard]

richard
a quick question, being originally from seattle, what was/is the pacific northwest theme?  thanks.  kaethe

Hello, Kaethe ...

Here they are:
see attachments

[Richard]

And, a couple more:
see attachments

[Richard]

They also included a couple of motorcyclists. However, IMO, they didn't seem to really fit the theme ...