Schleich leaves Schwäbisch Gmünd

Breaking News: Schleich goes to Munich in 2025.
Schwäbisch Gmünd closed down

New CEO want to change the central point. He is from Belgium, Schwäbisch Gmünd is for him to small. The Beginning of the End?

Interesting news. I don't think it is "the begining if the end" for the brand as a whole, but I am curious to see what route they take with their products.

All the experience and know how and the Idealism of the old Schleich people will be lost. Munich is modern and hipp, and very expensive.
Schleich is to fast grown , the prices are to fast gone up and now is economy crises and the people has no more money for games. A far-sighted Management would more seriosly deciding

Dear Zoodirektor,

Hi, it's Aschuck. I was just wondering, in what ways is this the end? Does this mean that I'll have to stop collecting Schleich new stuff? Now that would be terrible! So, how is this changing of the location going to change for us collectors? Personally, I'm still a fan of the old schleich models, but their new stuff is sort of good too. About the biodegrdable thing, in past years, some of my models have gone in water, but these were very few models indeed. Anyway, I think that we, as collectors, are still on the safe side so to speak, at least for now. You see the problem I'm trying to get at right? I mean, I still have a lot of life left, so all I want to do is keep adding to my collection. You see? Anyway, if you or the others have answers for these difficult questions, let me know.

Aschuck

Dear Aschuck,
I hope also that it is not the beginning of the end, but I fear that Schleich will not longer be what it was. They want to make more money and more, but the market is stronger. Last year the horses with hair was an desaster so what they reduced the prices. If they leave their bases, they will more experiences and that be so they fail. I hope, it will be come not so. In Munich schleich is a small company, a small light. The workers will come and go. Schleich but needs seriosly workers, it's learning needs a lot of times.

In my opinion, failure of a few products isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as the investment wasn't too large. It's worth trying out new things to see what works. Japanese gashapon companies are a good example of this: they make lots of things (often very weird), many of which must be complete failures, but that is compensated by a few successes. In general, I find animal model manufacturers quite conservative, in that they all make very similar products and don't try a lot of new things. I am not much of a Schleich collector (not my scale) but I like the fact that they have their own identity and aren't just followers. Good that they try new things too.

Don't forget, This could be for the better though. The quality has been going down in the last years.. Maybe this could be a turning point

I can't see that the quality has generally gotten worse in recent years. So you think that the quality improves because you forego the experience of proven employees?

It isn't very clear why Schleich is going to move to Munich, or at least their website doesn't give much information. I suppose they have thought it through and they think it is a good move for the company. However, for the workers from Gmünd, it's a bad situation because they are forced to move if they want to keep their job.

It's probably just about where the brand is based. Munich gives certainly more prestige than Schwäbisch Gmünd and it is a more central place. If I'm not wrong, that's a move of slightly more than 200 km, far for those who have to go to the offices but these days many workers do administrative job at home. Munich is very expensive, if they are moving to such place, their finances are doing well, just remember that Safari got almost ruined and the first thing they did was to move to a cheaper location. Munich is where many enormous companies are based in and Schleich is a big name in this business.
So Anna, you won't need to stop collecting Schleich, I'm sure Schleich will continue for many years and even if they stop meanwhile, it takes a complete life to collect all of their figures. AAA is not releasing new figures anymore and you are still collecting them.

Zoodirektor wrote:

I can't see that the quality has generally gotten worse in recent years. So you think that the quality improves because you forego the experience of proven employees?

I find both the "paint quality" and the modelling quality has gone down yes.. They are moving more than 200km, so maybe they are getting new modellers, or more of them. For the paint, its gonna continue descreasing in quality if it means they can make them cheaper.

Hello everyone,

Found one very interessting article in "Die Zeit" regarding about their local employees in Schwäbisch Gmünd from monday 02.09.2024

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For everyone how can't read/speak German here is a translation:

Schleich: Takeover offers for employees in logistics

The toy manufacturer Schleich says it has reached an agreement with the works council during its restructuring. According to the statement, all logistics employees would receive takeover offers from the new, external partner to whom logistics would be handed over. Schleich is pleased to remain connected to the Schwäbisch Gmünd region. Around 100 employees worked in the logistics center, a spokeswoman said upon request.

The traditional company from the east of Baden-Württemberg announced in May that it wanted to move its headquarters to Munich. The step is planned for January 1, 2025. In the future, a new location in the Czech capital Prague will also take on financial tasks and customer service, among other things. The announcement subsequently sparked criticism in the country.

Socially acceptable solutions

Schleich is offering affected employees from Schwäbisch Gmünd the opportunity to move to the Munich and Prague locations. According to the spokeswoman, around 140 employees are affected. If a change was not possible, socially acceptable solutions would have been found, according to the statement. No details were given.

According to the latest company information, Schleich employs around 480 people worldwide. Sales fell to 234 million euros in 2023. In 2022 it was still at 275 million euros. According to the company, the high demand for toys during the pandemic has waned and purchasing sentiment has dampened.

I found also an other article regarding their situation in Schwäbisch Gmünd, which explains further the situation of their employees and is more a perspective of Baden-Württemberg. It's from today 06.09.2024

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For everyone how can't read/speak German here is a translation:

Traditional company is leaving Baden-Württemberg - but there is a small compromise

Schwäbisch Gmünd - Just a few weeks ago, the traditional company Schleich announced that it would be giving up its headquarters in Baden-Württemberg on January 1, 2025. Specifically, the toy manufacturer's headquarters are to be relocated from Schwäbisch Gmünd to Munich after more than 90 years, which will not only harm the economic power of the city in the east of Baden-Württemberg, but will also affect a total of 250 employees. After weeks of negotiations between the works council and management, the relocation of the headquarters could not be prevented, but at least a small compromise could be found.

Schleich stated in a press release in mid-May that it wanted to offer the employees affected by the planned move the opportunity to take over in Munich or Prague - where a new shared service center is to be founded. During the negotiations, however, the focus was on retaining as many jobs as possible at the existing headquarters in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Although this could not be achieved on a large scale, according to a statement on Monday (September 2nd), logistics should at least remain in the Ostalbkreis.

Schleich is leaving Baden-Württemberg – logistics is to remain in Schwäbisch Gmünd via an external partner

In May, Schleich justified the fact that the traditional company, which was originally founded in Stuttgart in 1935, wanted to move its headquarters to another city after so many years by further developing the company and opening up new sales channels. In the communication regarding the agreement with the works council, the toy manufacturer once again confirmed its intentions. “Schleich will strengthen its core competencies in marketing, sales and procurement and bundle consumer-centered and value-added functions at the Munich location,” it says specifically.

However, the agreement also stipulates that at least Schleich's logistics - outsourced to the external partner Abt Service GmbH - should remain in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The employees should therefore be given the opportunity to switch to this logistics partner. “Schleich is pleased to remain connected to the Schwäbisch Gmünd region,” the statement said. The offer to move to the new company headquarters in Munich or Prague continues to apply to the rest of the workforce.

IGBCE criticizes Schleich's plans, management is satisfied with the agreement

After the announcement of the move of the traditional Baden-Württemberg company - which is best known for its detailed animal figures - not only the works council, but also the employees' union IGBCE took to the barricades. “Logistics should be outsourced – somewhere and to someone; “The heart of the company is to be relocated to Munich and Prague,” criticized the union on its homepage and explained that at the time not a single comprehensible argument was given for this plan.

With the agreement that has now been announced, logistics will remain in Gmünd, but it will still be outsourced. While employee representatives continue to criticize the plan, management is satisfied with the agreement. “The agreements reached are an important step in making Schleich future-proof and remaining successful in the long term,” Schleich CEO Stefan De Loecker was quoted as saying in Monday’s announcement. Another traditional manufacturer from Baden-Württemberg announced in August that it would have to relocate its production to Thuringia. But that has another reason.

Sounds like hard times for Schleich and its employees .

Thanks for sharing these informations. Interesting, while Safari Ltd moved to a much cheaper location to save the company. Schleich is moving to much more expensive cities. Well, Schleich is actually a much bigger company and much more complex, Safari Ltd has a big legacy and contribution to this market niche but it remains a small company.

Roger wrote:

Thanks for sharing these informations. Interesting, while Safari Ltd moved to a much cheaper location to save the company. Schleich is moving to much more expensive cities. Well, Schleich is actually a much bigger company and much more complex, Safari Ltd has a big legacy and contribution to this market niche but it remains a small company.

You are welcome Roger Very interesting to know how other companies are doing, about Safari Ltd. I didn't know, thank you for your knowledge.

I wonder how other companies doing over the years. For exemple Bullyland have nice models but over the years the minimized a lot of product lines, only their main sellers stay for long time. Other than that they seem to prioritize their cooperation with Big Companies like Disney, I think if they don't have this cooperation anymore they would go bankrupt in a short time.   There Disney Lineup is nice but it would be nice to see more new releases in their animal line. Haven't neither seen Bullyland animals in stores lately here in Germany/Austria. Once they had so many horses, dogs, cats now there range seems very limited.

The only other big company which has begun to increase in the German/Austrian region is Papo. Their figures I see on a regularly basis in stores.
But is Papo expending their company global like Schleich, I wonder what their marketing strategy is, maybe they are still starting blocks?

Economically, the toy animal figurines market is highly competitive, many companies want some of the cake. Their are so many aspects, we have to include.
We, collectors are still a main target group to consider for the market, we also decide which figures impress us and which fail in first impression. That's why I think it's important for us and even these companies when we speak and review their new releases yearly in this wonderful forum.

Bullyland was the result of a split from Schleich, just as Mojö Fun originated from a split of CollectA. In a very abbreviated and imprecise way, Bullyland, like Schleich, was primarily focused on animal figures, but it's always important to maintain other profitable lines to consolidate in the market. Both originating in a significant market like Germany, the companies' success has always depended heavily on the domestic market. The licenses with the Smurfs lines are a paradigmatic example of the competition between the two brands. However, Schleich has always had a more consolidated position in the domestic market, which allowed it to venture abroad with some success. Bullyland tried to offer something different, with bold lines of prehistoric animals, with PVC-free products, but it always depended on licensed products to achieve a good increase in the market where Schleich was more limited in terms of offer. In recent years, with the change of hands of Bullyland, the animal line, which already represented an insignificant portion of the turnover, assumed a completely secondary role and it is believed that it has its days numbered. The brand now survives basically from the success of licensed lines like Disney and others."

Papo, on the other hand, is a French brand and much more recent than the two German ones. In fact, Papo didn't even start with an animal line; they initially emerged as part of historical, fantasy, and other lines. It was only in 2004 that the brand introduced a complete range of animal figures. The quality was very inconsistent; some figures, like the felines, were even superior to Schleich's, but the vast majority of the rest of the range was much inferior, both in terms of realism and the quality of materials and finish. The first generation of giraffes is an example of figures with quality significantly inferior to Schleich. Integration into markets has been gradual, especially in European countries. In recent years, the brand has placed a relevant focus on animal lines, significantly improving the quality of the figures, which has also led to an increase in prices. It's still too early to tell what this bet on quality will represent in terms of the market. We collectors, not tied to any particular brand, have greatly appreciated the brand's most recent releases, but the increase in prices could have negative overall results. Papo currently sells the new panda figure for around 15 euros, which is an extreme example, but the trend is to see figures approaching these prices.

Roger wrote:

Bullyland was the result of a split from Schleich, just as Mojö Fun originated from a split of CollectA. In a very abbreviated and imprecise way, Bullyland, like Schleich, was primarily focused on animal figures, but it's always important to maintain other profitable lines to consolidate in the market. Both originating in a significant market like Germany, the companies' success has always depended heavily on the domestic market. The licenses with the Smurfs lines are a paradigmatic example of the competition between the two brands. However, Schleich has always had a more consolidated position in the domestic market, which allowed it to venture abroad with some success. Bullyland tried to offer something different, with bold lines of prehistoric animals, with PVC-free products, but it always depended on licensed products to achieve a good increase in the market where Schleich was more limited in terms of offer. In recent years, with the change of hands of Bullyland, the animal line, which already represented an insignificant portion of the turnover, assumed a completely secondary role and it is believed that it has its days numbered. The brand now survives basically from the success of licensed lines like Disney and others."

Papo, on the other hand, is a French brand and much more recent than the two German ones. In fact, Papo didn't even start with an animal line; they initially emerged as part of historical, fantasy, and other lines. It was only in 2004 that the brand introduced a complete range of animal figures. The quality was very inconsistent; some figures, like the felines, were even superior to Schleich's, but the vast majority of the rest of the range was much inferior, both in terms of realism and the quality of materials and finish. The first generation of giraffes is an example of figures with quality significantly inferior to Schleich. Integration into markets has been gradual, especially in European countries. In recent years, the brand has placed a relevant focus on animal lines, significantly improving the quality of the figures, which has also led to an increase in prices. It's still too early to tell what this bet on quality will represent in terms of the market. We collectors, not tied to any particular brand, have greatly appreciated the brand's most recent releases, but the increase in prices could have negative overall results. Papo currently sells the new panda figure for around 15 euros, which is an extreme example, but the trend is to see figures approaching these prices.

Thank you for the amazing history update. such a history topic about Toy animals would be a great

Yeah the price trend for such companies is a real boomer. But it is necessary nowadays, there are so many aspects we have to include there. I know that's an other topic on it's own. Whether we think that's an good or bad thing can only decided by oneself. We have to live with that or let our wallets decide

The global online marked is what also decides how companies are doing on the marked and what product lines they keep or lose.

Employee change: Patrick Greve follows Udo Rother as Vice president for the European market

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Here is a translation for everyone:

Schleich appoints Patrick Greve to the management team

The toy manufacturer Schleich appoints Patrick Greve  as the new Vice President Europe. Greve is moving from Beiersdorf to Schleich and will take over the position on January 1, 2025. He succeeds Udo Rother, who is leaving the company after ten years.

Schleich appoints a new manager: Patrick Greve will take over the position of Vice President Europe at the toy manufacturer Schleich on January 1, 2025. The company announced this.

Greve moves from Beiersdorf to Schleich. At Beiersdorf, he most recently headed the Northern European business as General Manager. According to Schleich, Greve brings many years of experience in sales strategy and business development. It is intended to expand the successes in the European region.

CEO Stefan De Loecker explained the personnel: “With Patrick Greve we are gaining an experienced manager who, as a specialist, will consistently and successfully expand our European markets.”

Udo Rother leaves Schleich after a growth phase

Greve follows Udo Rother. After ten years in management, Rother is leaving Schleich at his own request at the end of the year. He led the company through a period of strong growth and managed critical transitions, as De Loecker emphasized.

De Loecker praised Rother's achievements: "Udo Rother did an excellent job during his time at Schleich, leading the team through a phase of strong growth and mastering critical transitions with remarkable competence."

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Here is a little bit of information about his person.

Schleich brings new European boss from Beiersorf

Since 2023, the former Beiersdorf manager Stefan De Loecker has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the toy manufacturer Schleich gets, based in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Another manager is now moving from the Nivea parent company to the company: Patrick Greve will be the new Vice President Europe at the toy manufacturer Schleich on January 1, 2025. He most recently worked at Beiersdorf as General Manager Nordics since mid-2018. Manaer spent his entire career at the Hamburg consumer goods manufacturer and started in trade marketing there in 1995. Other positions included the position of VP Sales Europe / North America and Managing Director CZ/HUN/SK.

Greve succeeds Udo Rother, who worked for Schleich for ten years. He is leaving the company at the end of the year at his own request to pursue new tasks.

Friedrich Schleich founded Schleich in Schwäbisch Gmünd in 1935. Today, Schleich brand figures and sets are sold in more than 60 countries. In 2023, Schleich generated global sales of 235 million euros and sold around 35 million animal figures.