Ravensburger puzzles are so popular that the family business cannot keep up with production.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich Ravensburger has its finger on the pulse with its jigsaw puzzles, board games and children’s books. But the flood of orders overwhelmed the Swabian game publisher last year. “We have reached the capacity limits of our plants,” said CFO Hanspeter Mürle on Tuesday.
But that’s not all: start-up difficulties in a new logistics center in the USA caused sales in the important American market to collapse by almost a fifth. Because there were no containers, Ravensburger was also unable to transport enough goods from the European plants across the Atlantic.
This is why the turnover of the family company from Upper Swabia rose by just one percent to 636 million euros last year. This is disappointing for the 139-year-old company, which has been spoiled by success. After all, sales had shot up by 20 percent the year before.
This strong plus is the reason for the weak numbers in 2021, explained Clemens Maier, CEO and shareholder of Ravensburger. The company, with its 2,400 employees, was working at full capacity throughout the year. With three-shift operation, weekend work and overtime, the workforce would have given everything, says the entrepreneur.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Meanwhile, the competition is much better off. The turnover of the largest German toy manufacturer, the Simba-Dickie Group, climbed last year by a good five percent to 754 million euros. The family company from Fürth owns 20 brands, including the bobby car producer Big, the games from Noris, the wooden toys from Eichhorn and the miniature cars from Schuco and Majorette.
Lego increases sales in Germany
Market leader Lego announced this Tuesday that sales of the colorful blocks in German retail increased by a good seven percent last year. The toy shops in this country achieve almost a fifth of their sales with the Danish family business.
Most toy brands have weathered the pandemic well so far, despite many challenges. According to the Association of the Toy Industry, consumers in Germany spent a good 3.8 billion euros on toys last year. That is four percent more than in the previous year.
“Even if toys are beneficiaries of the pandemic as a sensible employment opportunity,” said Ulrich Brobeil, managing director of the association, “the good development of the industry is not solely due to Corona.” of customers meet.
Ravensburger boss Maier meanwhile expects significantly better numbers again in 2022. Maier: “We have ambitious plans for this year.” However, the economist did not want to make an exact forecast.
After a rather weak 2021, Germany’s largest game publisher now wants to grow strongly again.
(Photo: dpa)
Maier is investing heavily in order to supply customers more reliably in the future. 100 million euros are planned for the period from the beginning of 2020 to the end of this year to upgrade the plants and build new offices. The company produces at its headquarters in Ravensburg and in the Czech Republic.
In addition, the entrepreneur announced that he would invest an amount in the double-digit millions over several years in order to participate in start-ups. “We want to make an attractive offer to young creative people,” explained Maier. Ravensburger can support the small companies in sales or production, for example. A first participation is imminent.
Ravensburger raises prices
In the meantime, customers will soon have to dig deeper into their pockets for the Swabian games. The price of wood, cardboard, paper and granulate has risen by a fifth in some cases, explained CFO Mürle. In addition, the logistics have become considerably more expensive. The manager therefore wants to increase prices by around five percent.
That’s still little compared to Simba-Dickie. Depending on the item, consumers would have to shell out between five and 20 percent more, announced boss and shareholder Florian Sieber last week. The 36-year-old fears that not all buyers will participate in the price increase: “It is completely open what that means for demand.”
>> Read here what Florian Sieber said in an interview with the Handelsblatt last week: “Up to 20 percent more”: Simba Dickie boss warns against expensive toys
Ravensburger’s executive floor is more optimistic. CEO Maier: “Demand is extremely strong and it continues to grow.”
More: Märklin has put this father-son team back on the road to success