You are put in charge of Playmobil, what do you do?

[Rhalius]

A little history could work, would be nice if a tad more realism was brought back in the historic lines. No need to overdo that either, but more bring it back in line with how it used to be.

Like ditching the fantasy siege equipment, and instead having more historical stuff since there's plenty of choice there. We've yet to see a trebuchet.
The stone throwing catapults had just the right balance.
I would say the canons with the projectiles work fine too and the mortars. (except that one set where the mortar cannon balls are red which made them look like big tomato's.)
Those projectiles are more about safety and being able to find them after all. And personally I just don't use those at all in displays.

Could be nice to maybe tell just a little bit about history with each history set, like sharing some fun fact related to what's in the set, aimed to be appropriate for children as young as 4 of course. Like has been done with the sets of the Greek gods. Like telling Zeus was the god of lighting and head of the pantheon, but leaving out his... interest in mortal women.

Like for example with a trebuchet set, it could mention how far it could throw a rock and say how many football fields that would be in distance for perspective.  And maybe mention some stuff other than rocks that has been thrown with trebuchets, and how big the largest trebuchet was. Stuff like that. Could even come with a funny picture of the clickies with the set using their trebuchet to hit a castle across several football fields to give a visual with it.

[Oliver]

I'll pre-empt by saying that I come at this from a UK perspective, and other countries might not have these problems.

I think the first thing I would worry about is logistics. Last Christmas the 'last day' to order was around the 8th December. Sets are frequently not available from the online store. This is a huge problem in my opinion. In the UK they also struggle to get onto shop shelves, but I know this isn't a problem in the European core.

I think that the museum market should have a bit of a push. The Rijksmuseum sets presumably sell well, so more along those lines. These don't require new parts. I think these would sell well and provide a 'halo' affect to the brand. For a long time I assumed what held these back was the need for large orders, but the slew of figures for tiny museums in small towns around Germany makes me think this isn't the case.

In terms of themes, it's really hard to look at things without knowing sales figures. I would obviously love a return to a more modular, expandable building style.

Find a way to engage with diorama builders, and within the catalogue/website go back to mixing up the themes.

I actually think that schools would be a better route than hospitals. I'm a teacher, and when we did the Vikings I took in my Viking sets for the children to play with; when we did the Victorians I took in the room sets and they played with them and we talked about how it was different/the same to their houses at home.

[xcom]

Make all the klickys customisable by using the same internal skeleton from the Fi?ures line.

[Ismene]

Disagree on this. It's about people. Just get someone in charge who actually gives a tinker's cuss about the toy. Good things would flow from that.

Everything I've read about the current problems blame the leadership, but per the thread prompt, I'm working with the scenario that we are taking over leadership. Employees will be more invested in the toy and the brand if leadership isn't driving them to the brink.

Abe Lincoln would be good. There are American writers and artists with big followings, like Edgar Allen Poe.

A little history could work, would be nice if a tad more realism was brought back in the historic lines. No need to overdo that either, but more bring it back in line with how it used to be.

Yes, history sets should be reasonably historical to cultivate PM's reputation as an educational toy.

The fantasy sets can be more imaginative, as long as they make sense within their realm. I don't understand the princesses living in clouds like Care Bears. It would make more sense if they were fairies, angels, or tengu. Strong urge to give them parachutes.

I think the first thing I would worry about is logistics. Last Christmas the 'last day' to order was around the 8th December. Sets are frequently not available from the online store. This is a huge problem in my opinion. In the UK they also struggle to get onto shop shelves, but I know this isn't a problem in the European core.

Yes! Logistics are a huge issue in the US too. PM apparently doesn't send enough of the popular sets. I've had to order Christmas gifts in October because I knew they'd likely be gone in November. It's been a long time since I've been able to get everything on my shopping list in one order. Sometimes I can find the sets on other websites, but there are some sets I've missed out on because they were hardly ever in stock and they eventually disappeared from the site altogether.

[Eplay]

What a wonderful thread!!!
I agree with a lot of your input.

1. Normal/molded faces for klickies.

2. “Pick four or five core themes and expand them into worlds or eras with sub-themes” is an excellent idea

3. For the city life theme this would mean: Modern steck buildings. Like the Victorian buildings, but then modern so that you can buy a big set once and get creative. Make a house/hospital/school/shopping mall or supermarket/dance studio/hotel/museum/police station etc. Same opening in the walls for different windows and doors, but interchangeable with different colours and types of windows. Add smaller sets for the different themes to make the empty building a house/hospital/school etc (furniture and klickies, playmobil already has a lot of sets they could incorporate) or separate walls like walls with bars for making a police station.
Market it: one building, endless opportunities, just use your imagination. As a parent I don’t want to buy 5 big buildings (for €150 each) for my kids to play with. I want to buy one and then add smaller sets to it. Also easier for family and friends to give playmobil sets as a present. And it can grow with your kids and their interests.  With new sets it will be a new building again. Also make sure that wall pieces can be bought as a playmobil plus set. (And use a wall colour that won’t yellow so much over time).

4. For making a museum: work together with different musea to sell different sets that incorporate famous pieces (make a playmobil version of the statue the thinker for example). Make a steck wall piece where it’s easy to attach (and detach) paintings to.

5. Same skintones in the my figures series (I’ve stated that before).

I’m gonna steal my 6-9 from Ismene:

6. Find the "greatest hits" from previous F?gures series, produce them as non-blind Specials, and sell them on the website for double what a normal one-klicky set goes for. Let's claw back some of that Ebay cash.

7. More famous historical people. They're a great way to reach people who wouldn't normally collect Playmobil. "Oh, congratulations on graduating in chemistry! Here's Marie Curie." Everyone has a field, interest, a historical figure they admire. Let's get a klicky on every desk.
 
8. Keep on developing $4-$5 animal sets. Get them into bookstores, toy stores, Target, zoo gift shops, natural history museum gift shops, etc. Kids buy impulse toy animals all the time. They aren't buying Playmobil because it's not on the shelves.

9. Lastly, make it easier to buy things. Fix the website, keep popular sets in stock, let foreigners buy from the German website if they are willing to cough up the shipping costs.

[Indianna]

So many great ideas in this thread!

. . . . Keep on developing $4-$5 animal sets. Get them into bookstores, toy stores, Target, zoo gift shops, natural history museum gift shops, etc. Kids buy impulse toy animals all the time. They aren't buying Playmobil because it's not on the shelves.

This idea resonates strongly with me.  This year I used various Playmo animals in plastic eggs for an Easter egg hunt for my 2 grandchildren (ages 4 and 7) and they spent pretty much the whole rest of the visit playing with them.  Of course, being my grandkids, they already have a lot of Playmobil of all sorts but the animals are always a big hit.   

[Macruran]

Everything I've read about the current problems blame the leadership, but per the thread prompt, I'm working with the scenario that we are taking over leadership. Employees will be more invested in the toy and the brand if leadership isn't driving them to the brink.

I grok you here, I just disagree that having a written policy is important. Policies and laws work only because people make them work - individual human beings with names and tax numbers. Get a good person in at the top, have them clear out deadwood and promote talent, and things will change. For all we know PM already has a written "ethics policy" - it makes no difference if no one is implementing that policy.

[Macruran]

3. For the city life theme this would mean: Modern steck buildings. Like the Victorian buildings, but then modern so that you can buy a big set once and get creative. Make a house/hospital/school/shopping mall or supermarket/dance studio/hotel/museum/police station etc. Same opening in the walls for different windows and doors, but interchangeable with different colours and types of windows. Add smaller sets for the different themes to make the empty building a house/hospital/school etc (furniture and klickies, playmobil already has a lot of sets they could incorporate) or separate walls like walls with bars for making a police station.

They tried this a little with 6220, definitely should have leaned into it

[Ismene]

This idea resonates strongly with me.  This year I used various Playmo animals in plastic eggs for an Easter egg hunt for my 2 grandchildren (ages 4 and 7) and they spent pretty much the whole rest of the visit playing with them.  Of course, being my grandkids, they already have a lot of Playmobil of all sorts but the animals are always a big hit.   

I love the idea of a Playmo Easter egg hunt! How fun!

I grok you here, I just disagree that having a written policy is important. Policies and laws work only because people make them work - individual human beings with names and tax numbers. Get a good person in at the top, have them clear out deadwood and promote talent, and things will change. For all we know PM already has a written "ethics policy" - it makes no difference if no one is implementing that policy.

They probably do; most companies have something of the sort. But either it has been thrown to the wayside or the focus of it is not where it should be. People are key, but policy provides consistency as those people come and go. Yes, it's just step 1 and useless if not enforced. I envision something more along the lines of core values rather than corporate covering-of-the-backside. It could encompass fair labor practices, play value of the product (versatility, longevity, education value), environmental considerations (reducing waste, again durability, ecofriendly packaging), etc. 

3. For the city life theme this would mean: Modern steck buildings. Like the Victorian buildings, but then modern so that you can buy a big set once and get creative. Make a house/hospital/school/shopping mall or supermarket/dance studio/hotel/museum/police station etc. Same opening in the walls for different windows and doors, but interchangeable with different colours and types of windows. Add smaller sets for the different themes to make the empty building a house/hospital/school etc (furniture and klickies, playmobil already has a lot of sets they could incorporate) or separate walls like walls with bars for making a police station.
Market it: one building, endless opportunities, just use your imagination. As a parent I don’t want to buy 5 big buildings (for €150 each) for my kids to play with. I want to buy one and then add smaller sets to it. Also easier for family and friends to give playmobil sets as a present. And it can grow with your kids and their interests.  With new sets it will be a new building again. Also make sure that wall pieces can be bought as a playmobil plus set. (And use a wall colour that won’t yellow so much over time).

Modern steck would be fabulous! Even if you did spring for five big buildings, they would have so much more play value if they could be mix, matched, and reconfigured.

[Rhalius]

Steck could also be great for the pirate theme, they only ever produced one small steck prison for the theme and it did come with several unique pieces.

A tavern with docks in front would be great to see, or a fort with a dock. Even if it's only small forts it could still all be combined in a bigger fort like the Steck prison they made which is probably still the best building the soldiers ever got in the Pirate theme.