Mr. Sieber, the Simba Dickie Group was founded in 1982 and is now the biggest toy manufacturer in Germany. How has your business changed in the past 36 years?
Originally, our family came from the Ore Mountains. My parents first began amassing a doll collection and later included wooden toys. My father and I founded Simba Toys in 1982 in Nuremberg. Back then, we only had five employees and about 100 different products in our catalogue. Now, through our company group Simba Dickie Group, we have joined over 20 different companies and brands together and are one of the top five toy manufacturers in Europe.
It all began coincidentally after the surprising death of our friend the toy manufacturer Wolfgang Sauerborn and his managerial crew, which we took over. From there, we ended up developing a strategy. Simba Toys took over companies that usually didn’t have a future due to financial issues or due to their management, but fit well into the Simba Dickie Group’s new company structure.
That’s how the wooden toys from Eichhorn came to us in 1998. Then with Schuco in 1999 we got a beloved brand that was considered to be number one among collectors due to its detailed models. The company Noris-Spiele has a long tradition and has been with us since 2001. After the death of the founder of the “BIG-Spielwarenfabrik,” famous for the scooter car toys “BIG-Bobby-Car,” they also joined our company. This was followed by Nicotoy, which has cute stuffed animals, and then in 2008 we got the big French toy manufacturer, the Smoby Group, headquartered in the Jura. Today we also have companies such as Schipper Arts & Crafts, famous for their “painting by numbers” products, the games publisher Zoch, the model car manufacturer Majorette, the wood producer Heros, the Swedish brand Aquaplay, which has fascinating water games, and the doll company Corolle in France.
Now we don’t just produce toys, but also sell school supplies such as backpacks through the company Undercover. A growing trend that I’ve observed over the past years has been the stronger fusion between toys and the entertainment industry. Kids like to recreate the stories that they see in movies. In order to create our own animated films, we took over the Swedish entertainment company Ruta Ett AB, which has been renamed to Kid E Media AB. We’ve been producing the very successful YouTube series “Heroes of the City,” and I can tell you that we’ll soon have more shows.
Independently from the Simba Dickie Group, my son Florian and I have also taken over the model train manufacturer Märklin through Siso Toys in 2013. We want to reintroduce model trains into kids’ playrooms. They are an ideal bridge between generations. Our children’s line “Märklin myworld” and “Märklin Start Up” is already setting us up on a good path.
Apart from your headquarters in the Franconian Fürth, there are further locations in Lavans in France and in Hong Kong. You currently have 2,950 employees across the world. What role does the foreign business have for you, and what countries are most important for the company?
We realised the importance of international markets early on, and expanded Simba Toys to Hong Kong in 1984. The business abroad is important to us: Simba Dickie Group’s international presence makes up about 75 percent of our business. The main exporting nations are France, Spain, and Italy. We are an internationally active business with eight production locations and more than 30 branches.
Your toy catalogue encompasses over 4,000 articles. What areas are currently the most popular?
Our diverse toy range allows us to cover the ages of 0 to 99. We have anything from baby toys at Smoby Toys to high-end collectible models from Schuco, so every age group is covered. Our portfolio simultaneously offers trending products as well as classic items. Evergreen products such as our “Steffi Love“ dressing doll from Simba, or a classic like the “BIG Bobby Car” will always be popular.
Currently, kid-themed things like “Fireman Sam,” “PJ Masks,” and “Masha and the Bear” are in demand. Through a license we offer the matching toys. And for Christmastime, our toy kitchens and workbenches from Smoby Toys, remote-controlled vehicles from Dickie Toys and Tamiya-Carson, and toy trains are particularly popular.
In July of this year your company took over a third of the Franz Carl Weber AG, which is the biggest toy dealer in Switzerland. What do you hope to achieve from this move?
For us as a manufacturer, having direct contact to the consumer is very important, and that is best achieved through retail. We want to maintain and expand the emotional connection to our customers. We’ve invested in this big Swiss traditional brand in order to strengthen our trade and make children happy there as well. We’re bringing high expertise in developing and producing toys to Franz Carl Weber. My son Florian will be representing the Simba Dickie Group in the administrative board.
Simba Dickie sponsors many groups, among them the Federal Basketball League (easyCredit BBL). Why are sports so important to you?
Sports are important and contribute to health. I make sure I eat well, exercise regularly, and run often. In our toy assortment, we offer many kids’ vehicles, slides, and playthings from brands such as BIG and Smoby Toys, so that even the youngest ones can already get a taste for being outside and getting some exercise. It’s important for us to promote exercise. And through basketball we’re able to reach our target demographic: families!
In the past year, Simba Dickie helped develop the brand “Alpha Mods P.D.”, which included a new virtual reality adventure at the Europa-Part in Rust, in the Baden area. How did this development come about?
I have known the Mack family, which runs Germany’s biggest amusement park, for some years now. One of our first projects for the park was the “BIG-Bobby-Car Parcours,” which is in the Irish-themed area of the park.
Together with the Europa-Park, our Majorette team developed the brand Alpha Mods P.D. Have you ever been on a virtual ride? While looking through VR glasses you see a movie, while a real rollercoaster ride is simulated with wind effects, centrifugal force, and curves. In collaboration with the virtual reality rollercoaster in the park, we’re also offering the matching model vehicles for purchase.
What plans do you have for the future of the company?
For some years now, my nephews Maximilian and Felix as well as my son Florian are all in the business. Florian recently became my co-CEO. He is also the managing director of Märklin. For every business, the change to a new generation is a challenge. I’m not thinking of stepping down just yet, but I’m putting the house in order. I’m very happy about the fact that the third generation in our family is interested and motivated to work in our company and I will do everything to ensure that the Simba Dickie Group is safely navigated into the future.
INTERVIEW Markus Feller