Sambro International has appointed Marian van der Oord as European account director to support its ongoing pan-European growth strategy.

The newly created role will support the expansion of Sambro‘s European sales team and Marian will work closely with the European Managing Director Michiel Das to build the company’s presence in key European markets, and to grow relationships with new and existing licensors and retailers. Marian’s main focus will be on four key customers: Action, A.S Watson, Lidl and Aldi.

Bringing with her a wealth of experience and knowledge from her 20-year career in the toy industry, Marian has previously worked with companies such as Mattel, Disney and KidKraft, managing major international retail accounts.

Marian’s key objective is to work closely with these customers to define clear channel strategies and to work with Sambro’s buying, sourcing and creative teams to ensure that all product opportunities are maximised. In addition to this, working alongside the licence and marketing teams, Marian will look for opportunities to provide incremental support and develop appropriate retail activation plans. This is a key recruitment and illustrates Sambro’s ongoing commitment to cross-market European expansion with our key players.

“With Sambro really looking to focus and push EU operations to new heights this year, it’s a very exciting time to join the team, with so many amazing products set to launch for 2024,” said Marian. “I have already hit the ground running with Nuremburg International Toy Fair being a great opportunity to showcase our extensive ranges. The coming months will provide the pivotal moments to establish best working practices and create strong relationships with my customers. I am super excited to be joining the team and the business as it continues to evolve.”

She added: “Sambro already has such a strong base of key supplier and retailer relationships and as part of my role, I will work alongside Michiel and Sambro’s extensive team to drive growth through existing licensor relations, as well as identifying new opportunities across the market.”

Michiel Das, managing director, Europe at Sambro said: “It is my great pleasure to welcome Marian to our European team as one of our key new hires for the start of this year. Marian offers a hugely in-depth knowledge of the European toy market, including good knowledge of our strategic accounts and has a highly strategic skill set which will be an asset to the Sambro team as we look to continue our extensive growth throughout this year and beyond.”

Sambro’s innovative products span the categories of Plush, Creative Play, Arts & Crafts, Novelties, Stationery and Outdoor, and has numerous exciting new launches in the pipeline for 2024.