Geobra redundancies and outsourcing, restructuring Playmobil (Autumn 2023)

[Birdie]

You only have to look to the sets to understand people there have no idea about playmobil.

Or the app - nobody who knows a bit about playmo reviewed that.

It was supposed to be a SYSTEM - all works together, all can be expanded. But they have no idea.

It's very very very sad.

Yup. To me this has been the issue for decades.
I'm obviously also heartbroken to hear how badly employees are treated and how bad the company is doing in general.

I'm not sure what to expect for the future. I really hope my kids will get to enjoy the brand for a while longer. I suppose I have always been focused on discontinued sets and themes, but I was hopeful somewhere along the line Playmobil would get their act together.

[Tiermann]

From the US it's very clear things have been a mess this year. Half the add ons catalog never arrived. Two of the advent calendars didn't show up. Not being capable of following through on their own catalogs is a sharp sign of significant production and distribution problems.

HOB messed up massively on succession planning for after his death.

[Macruran]

Rereading the article StJohn posted years ago, I have questions:

>How did Albert get hired in the first place
>How did she behave while Horst was still alive
>What did Horst think of her - before and after hiring - did his thinking change
>How was she nominated as successor - did Horst do it - was he compos mentis when he did it
>What exactly is she thinking - is she taking some sort of obscure revenge on Horst for some ancient slight
>etc

 

[Macruran]

I must say though that failing or not the notion of a medieval mecha is something https://www.playmobil.de/novelmore---kampfroboter/71300.html

[Basie10]

Rereading the article StJohn posted years ago, I have questions:

>How did Albert get hired in the first place
>How did she behave while Horst was still alive
>What did Horst think of her - before and after hiring - did his thinking change
>How was she nominated as successor - did Horst do it - was he compos mentis when he did it
>What exactly is she thinking - is she taking some sort of obscure revenge on Horst for some ancient slight
>etc

 

Hmmm...older guy leaves his secretary everything in his will   I wonder why that could be
Sounds like a very familiar tale  
But seriously, you'd think there would be shareholders who would get a vote to decide who is in charge. 

[Redmao]

Prices are going crazy, the latest SEK helicopter and truck are about the same price as the Ghostbusters' Firehouse. 
$100 CDN for a truck with two figures?

[Rasputin]

It is also a very familiar story/tale where a very successful man creates an empire, leaves it to kids who run it into the ground in a short period of time . I do believe Mr H didn’t trust his kids so he found someone else to bestow the anchor of doom upon .

My current business partner is in the same boat. Created a successful business unable to leave due to lack of replacement. Once he’s gone, business is doomed  .

Mr H obviously was the driving force or Geobra . The family he created did not have to learn hardship in business . They were born with a golden spoon and probably took much for granted

Moral of the story…..treat your offspring as though your poor and have them start in business as a janitor

[collectobart]

It is very unfortunate what is all happening now, but it could no have happened any other way.

In the 17 years i worked at Geobra, there were probably 12 stable years. And i think i can count the real crisis moments during those years on one hand. (eg. cancelled projects, product recalls or last minute strategy shifts)

The last 5 years was like gradually shifting into a near constant state of cognitive dissonance. A constant state of restructuring - perhaps better to call it a destructuring - where literally everything had to change at once but without a clear view of what things needed to change into. There would be a new crisis here or there from week to week. It was like being in an airplane and suddenly discovering that there was no one really left in the cockpit piloting the plane anymore, management was instead busy creating its very own highly reactive turbulence.

One could point to a former secretary or a now former CEO for that failing, i think the situation is more complex as a small group of other higher management figures were more than willing to either stir up the chaos or profit from it as well. But what they all had in common is that they sort of lived in their own made up reality, a bit the emperors new clothes situation...

[Oliver]

But seriously, you'd think there would be shareholders who would get a vote to decide who is in charge.

Privately owned company, so unless they're forced to sell shares to raise money they can do what they want

[Basie10]

Privately owned company, so unless they're forced to sell shares to raise money they can do what they want

ahh...well there you have it.  Unless she's somehow toppled, or forced to cash in, the future looks gloomy