Frankfurt Building and programming robots, making anime films on a laptop or creating figures in a 3D printer – children between the ages of six and twelve learn all of this in the Haba digital workshop. In ten German cities such as Frankfurt-Bornheim, the little ones can discover the digital world in a playful way.
“The children should have fun and learn resilience for the digital in the process. Instead of pouring in knowledge that is rapidly becoming obsolete, it is now important to impart competence in methods, ”explains Tim Steffens, CEO of the Haba Family Group. “Frustration tolerance is part of it,” emphasizes the 43-year-old when the 3D printer jams.
The digital workshops went online in lockdown and hit the nerve of the times in homeschooling. Companies such as the Otto Group or Ergo Insurance offered online workshops for employees’ children. The Haba digital workshop, founded in 2016 by Verena Pausder, is now part of the traditional manufacturer that is actually known for its wooden toys.
The bestseller is in the play corner next to the laptops: the “Obstgarten” board game. The classic with the raven that steals fruit has sold over 200,000 times so far. “Our mission is to combine the analog and the digital,” says Sabine Habermaass. The 47-year-old represents the third generation of the family business in the management.
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The Upper Franconian company based in Bad Rodach has big plans: After declining figures in recent years, sales are expected to increase from around 360 to 500 million euros by 2025. The aim is to dovetail the three previously separate pillars of wooden toys from Haba, daycare and school furniture from Wehrfritz and the Jako-o online shop.
Expansion of the e-commerce business
The shipper of products for children and families will massively expand its e-commerce business. “We want to roll out the Jako-o-Shop quickly in ten European countries,” announced Steffens. Most recently, the group with around 2000 employees made 44 percent of sales digital.
The economist is a specialist in transformations. During the financial crisis he worked as an advisor to Norbert Walter, the long-time chief economist at Deutsche Bank. Before joining Haba in 2019, he was CFO of the sandal manufacturer Birkenstock.
The CEO of the Haba Family Group has consistently streamlined the range and is accelerating expansion abroad.
(Photo: Haba Group)
Steffens streamlined the range. “We have consistently aligned ourselves with our target group: children from zero to twelve years of age.” In July, the Qiéro! hired for women – despite 20 million euros in sales. “The industry is changing rapidly. The Haba Group has to be more daring to try new things, ”is how he formulates his strategy. The Habermaass family is looking to the future, but preserving the roots.
They are in 1938, when Eugen Habermaass and Karl Wehrfritz got together. Haba produced wooden toys and educational board games, Wehrfritz furniture for kindergartens and schools. The wooden duck on rollers was the first product to become a trademark.
When founder Habermaass died in 1955, his wife Luise took over the business without further ado. “Our grandma was very brave at the time. Without any commercial training, she worked intuitively and quickly, ”says granddaughter Sabine, who has three children herself. Her father Klaus later joined the company. In 2003 the first external managing director took over.
The siblings Sabine, Heike and Volker Habermaass all work in the family business. Sabine Habermaass fondly remembers her childhood in the toy factory: “After the company closed, we were allowed to try out new products in the sample room. We test them today in the company’s own children’s home. “
The siblings Sabine, Volker and Heike Habermaass (from left) all work in the family business.
(Photo: Haba Group)
Milestone: Founding of Jako-o
Habermaass sees the founding of the mail order company Jako-o in 1987 as a milestone: “That was the step out of the specialist trade and kindergartens towards the end consumer.” Jako-o has everything for children – from rompers and mud pants to furniture, toys and handicraft items .
However, the advance into stationary retail was less successful. All but two Jako-o branches were closed. “Very large areas in expensive locations make no sense for a company like us,” says Steffens, justifying the withdrawal. He wants to expand shop-in-shop areas in smaller locations, including in Haba digital workshops.
To this end, Jako-o is to expand with web shops in Europe. That is why the Upper Franconians have now opened an office in Berlin. “Finding SEO managers who come to Bad Rodach is difficult,” says Habermaass. However, the family wants to remain loyal to the headquarters.
“Toys to inherit”
Haba stayed in Germany even after almost all toy manufacturers went to China in the 80s and 90s and wood was often replaced by plastic. Haba operates a school furniture plant in Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt.
Sticking to Germany as a location is now paying off: Haba sources its wood from partner sawmills in Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia. The francs are also feeling the global shortage of wood and rising prices. “But we have no problem getting wood.”
There is also a lack of styrofoam for seating furniture on the world market. The toy industry will not be spared from the material crisis, says economist Klaus Wohlrabe from the Ifo Institute. “The prices will likely be passed on to consumers.”
In 2020 the German toy industry boomed with a sales increase of nine percent to 3.7 billion euros. “Games and toys helped many families to avoid the camp frenzy despite their home office exile and extensive closings of daycare centers and schools,” says the German Association of the Toy Industry.
Ravensburger or Engelbert Strauss: Haba has many competitors
The Haba Family Group, however, faces different competitors in each of its divisions: Ravensburger is the player for games, Engelbert Strauss for outdoor clothing, and Betzold for daycare and school furniture.
Birth rates are stagnating, but more money is being spent on each child. The trend is towards quality, the eco-wave has also reached children’s rooms. “Toys to bequeath” is Haba’s motto. “Where are there still things that accompany you through life today?” Asks Habermaass. “Our toys therefore have a high emotional value.”
Jan Weischer, managing director of Baby One specialist stores, is convinced of the high quality Haba toys: “They are designed with great attention to detail and are always geared towards the child’s developmental stages.” He praises the combination of production in Germany and the consistent use of sustainable materials.
Even in America, sustainable toys made of wood are slowly catching up on plastic with blingbling. “We are number one in the USA in this segment. We can hardly meet the demand, ”says Steffens.
China is an important growth market for digital workshops
China is also an important growth market, but less for wooden toys than for digital workshops. There are “Haba Learning Centers” at seven locations from Beijing to Shanghai, mostly in malls. When parents go shopping, the children take a digital course. In contrast to the West, in China the performance concept still prevails, observes Steffens. “Every course should also promote the careers of the little ones.”
More: Founder Verena Pausder is leaving Haba digital workshops