He’s losing muscle at Playmobil Onil. Or the same region called “Vall del Joguet”, Alicante’s symbolic “Toy Valley”, is moving further away from its golden age in the sector and approaching a future dominated by tourism and industry. diversification. manufacturer’s clicks The slowdown at L’Alcoià – the brand popularized by its predecessor, Famobil – after almost fifty years of history speaks volumes about the direction of the company in recent years; but it also applies to the sector and, in its own way, to many other parts of Spain that had locally rooted industries and eventually succumbed to globalization.

New times, new games, new economy.

What happened to Playmobil? This production has been stopped at Onil facilities in Alicante and it has recently filed an employment regulation for 13 employees who were added to the file it promoted just a year ago.

Although the Efe agency, which broke the news, first reported the complete closure of the factory, which would put an end to the almost 50-year history, it soon published a second note in which it explained its data: What Playmobil’s Spanish division has done is to close the production activity, but the marketing and sales offices with Spain was to continue logistics distribution. This was confirmed by the mayor of Onil and the industry’s national association, AEFJ.

Why news? Although the news did not create as much buzz as the news that spread first thing in the morning, and Playmobil continues some of its activity at Onil, focusing on logistics, marketing and sales, the fact is that the company is affiliated with the German group Horst Brandstätter Group. It lost some of its power in the town of Alicante: its production was stopped in September 2023, and Efe guarantees that it carried out an ERE for 13 employees in April, in addition to the ERE affecting 26 people in May 2023.

The news is relevant both because of Playmobil’s huge popularity and because of its roots and history in the L’Alcoià region. Although the German company did not establish its subsidiary Playmobil Ibérica until 1983, a decade earlier, in 1974, the brand had actually come to Onil through FAMOSA, which stands for Fábricas Agrupadas de Muñecas de Onil SA. In this first stage, the Famobil brand, which is a combination of Famosa and Playmobil, became famous and clicks.

25 percent decrease in sales. The news about Playmobil created expectations, but it was preceded by some clear signals. The company faced business turmoil and a significant decline in turnover both globally and at its Spanish subsidiary. The first company announced it would lay off around 700 employees in the autumn after seeing its turnover fall from 653 million euros to 614 euros in a year; This corresponds to 17% of the workforce.

Data for the Spanish subsidiary were also not encouraging, according to figures released in April. Newspaper. Playmobil Ibérica closed last year with a turnover of 40.7 million; This represents a decrease of 25% compared to the previous year’s turnover of 54.5 million. The change has resulted in the Onil factory becoming a simple logistics centre, despite its history, tradition and until recently generating revenue with attractive profit margins.

But why? For a number of factors. Some have consequences that go well beyond Playmobil and even the toy industry, such as the “holding” in birth rates that already affects industry-led forecasts, changes in leisure activities or increases in spending, including electricity. In terms of business approach, there are other keys when it comes to the German company and its subsidiary directly.

In Playmobil’s recent drift, a basic date is often cited; 2015, when its founder, Horst Brandstätter, died. Steffen Höpfner was appointed and terminated his contract after seven years in office, following harsh criticism. The German company also didn’t have much success in its own quest for the “Barbie” effect to gain advertising momentum on the big screen.

Impact for the valley. Playmobil is not the first company in the industry to lose weight in Alicante’s “Toy Valley”, which includes Onil, Ibi, Tibi, Biar and Castalla. Although the toy tradition in the region dates back further and dates back to at least the late 19th century, it gained strong momentum thanks to the success of products such as the toy known as Foia de Castalla. clicks. The manufacturer had a large staff here, in addition to dozens of workshops working as suppliers in the field of packaging or lithography.

The Playmobil incident is not the first blow the valley has received. In 2012, toy company FAMOSA announced that it was transferring its logistics center from Onil and Ibi to an industrial zone in Alicante in order to strengthen its export power to Europe. Interestingly, the continuity of production there is now up in the air.

Efe agency recalls that FAMOSA has more than 2,000 employees in the “Toy Valley” town. David Pons, an employee of the Onil Doll Museum, explains that today the local industrial plant has about 50 companies devoted entirely or partially to the production of toys.

Recalculating the future. Faced with this new scenario and the need to cope with displacement and globalization, companies established in Foia de Castalla had to rethink their activities. And in 2019, they announced that this had forced what was once the “Valley of Toys” to become “Plastic Valley.”

“Historically, we are an industrial area. We now work for all sectors. Automotive, aerospace, environmental furniture… Most of our companies produce final parts,” commented Héctor Torrente from IBIAE: “Toys and ice cream are still at the forefront. It is basic, but the crisis has us It forced us to diversify and develop a lot, companies that had to close down taught us how to export, and this enabled us to take part in other sectors.

From the perspective of tourism. Another legacy of the region’s toy past is tourism, which has been promoted for some time by the Valencian Community. In Foia de Castalla there are, among others, the Doll Museum, the Paola Reina Doll Factory, the Casa Tàpena Labyrinth, all in Onil; or Ibi Valencia Toy Museum. Tens of thousands of people visit the first facility, the Onil Doll Museum, every year.

Evidence of the connection with toy history is the La Tartana monument in Ibi, which nods to “the first tin toy marketed” in the town; or two years ago when the Alicante City Council requested funds from the European Union to rehabilitate and develop the former Payá Hermanos toy factory.

Pictures | Playmobil and Wikipedia (Joanbanjo)

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