GERMANY. Schleich, the German producer of toy figurines, returned to this year’s TFWA World Exhibition with new additions to its various collections.
Founded in 1935 by Friedrich Schleich, the company is now a leading designer and manufacturer of lifelike animals, historical figurines and fantasy “˜playworlds’ for children and collectors of all ages.
Designed to stimulate the imagination and encourage active play, Schleich’s collections include wildlife and farm animals, dinosaurs and dogs. There is also the Bayala fantasy collection which comes with elves, dragons, unicorns and Pegasus, one of the most iconic winged creatures in Greek mythology. Schleich also has the licence for the Smurf series of fictional blue characters.
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(Left) The Bayala collection sees the addition of a new tribe called Arelan, which includes subhuman characters such as Apricum who has the antlers of his deer; (Right) The Scottish Highland Bull, distinguished by its craggy red brown fur | |
New for 2010 in the Bayala collection is a new tribe called Arelan that is specifically aimed at boys who are attracted to intrigue and mystery. These figures are part-human and part-animal: Apricum has the antlers of his deer, while Noctis has the fur of his black panther. Also included are Gregis and his wolf and Arelan with a falcon.
To the Farm Life collection Schleich has added the Scottish Highland Bull, Cow and Calf, all of which are distinguished by their craggy red brown fur.
The Wild Life collection sees the addition of the new Schleich Plane, which was modelled after the traditional fixed wing prop plane that is commonly seen in Africa, the Australian Outback and the plains of South America. It comes with a pilot and has cockpit doors, freight bay and an engine compartment.
One of Schleich’s most popular ranges, the Dogs collection sees eight new additions in 2010 – with each figure a miniature replica of its larger counterpart. The Pug family includes a male, female and puppies, as does the Labrador family. The Great Dane family includes adult female and her puppy.
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The new Schleich Plane from the Wild Life collection comes with a pilot and is modelled after the traditional fixed wing prop plane that is commonly seen in the regions of Africa, the Australian Outback and the plains of South America |
The Smurf family has been expanded with new astrology characters joining the range.
The hand painted Dinosaurs collection includes 20 different models, with a brand new creature for 2010: the Giganotosaurus. The model comes with a booklet containing scientific data plus a figure of a human in the same scale, helping children to imagine what it would be like to come face to face with one of these prehistoric creatures.
Speaking to The Moodie Report, Schleich Travel Retail Manager Kerstin Steinmetz pointed out that the exact reproduction of nature is the key feature of all the company’s animal figures. Real animals in nature are studied very closely and specialists are also consulted. Schleich’s to-scale dinosaur figures are modelled to 1:40 dimensions and are researched and reproduced in close cooperation with the Natural History Museum in Berlin. The greatest detail is paid to the production process – from the initial sketch to the final hand-painting of the figure, she added.
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(Left) The Smurf collection has been expanded with new characters representing the 12 zodiac signs, including Aquarius the water bearer; (Right) The Giganotosaurus is said to be one of the largest known terrestrial carnivores | |
Besides individual figures, Schleich also sells a range of scenery packs with different destination backgrounds, with themes such as the safari, farm and the Arctic. These scenery packs come with at least five animals, making it great value for money, Steinmetz said. The packaging does not come with a transparent window display, allowing direct interaction by children in-store.
Altogether, Schleich offers over 500 figures and accessories, with new ones being added annually. Available in over 70 countries, the company is a market leader selling 50 million pieces per year; it has 89% market share in Germany.
Making its travel retail debut in September 2009, Schleich has since established itself in the sector at airports across Europe. Besides exhibiting at the TFWA World Exhibition last year, the company also presented its products at the TFWA Asia Pacific in Singapore earlier this year.
The company’s main target is children between the ages of three and 12, said Steinmetz. Individual figurines are priced from €3.50 to €9.50, while those from the fantasy collection are priced under €20.
About Schleich
Schleich, founded 75 years ago by Friedrich Schleich, is one of the largest toy manufacturers in Germany and a leading provider of original play concepts internationally. Its toy figurines are sold in over 50 countries.
The company is majority owned by the European investment group HgCapital. Other shareholders are the two Managing Directors, Paul Kraut and Erich Schefold.
The design of the Schleich play worlds and the creation of the production tools are undertaken in Germany, as are the quality and safety tests. Production takes place both at the company’s German headquarters in Schwäbisch Gmünd and in other production facilities overseas.
For more information, contact Kerstin Steinmetz, Travel Retail Manager, Schleich, tel: +49 9571 9489-35, fax: +49 9571 9489-36, or e-mail: kerstin.steinmetz@schleich-s.de. Visit www.schleich-s.com.
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