NEWS

Schleich increases 2022 sales by 8%

Published on: 31st January 2023

Schleich closes the 2022 financial year with an 8% increase in turnover, marking the eighth consecutive year of strong growth.

Schleich’s figurines and playsets, which are available in over 60 countries, generated €275m in turnover in 2022 versus €255m in the previous year. The company successfully offset the effects of the tense global economic situation through international growth, with investment in the brand, a comprehensive sustainability strategy and new product launches.

Despite challenges in the global markets, the supplier of realistic animal figurines managed to continuously grow its turnover by more than double over the course of the past eight years. The company now sells more than 40m figurines worldwide every year. To boost international growth even further, the product range will be expanded in 2023 to include a new Wizarding World product line featuring characters from the world of Harry Potter.

For Dirk Engehausen, CEO of Schleich GmbH, the key success factor for the eighth consecutive year of growth has been international expansion: “We have invested strategically and consistently in the Schleich brand in recent years,” he explained. “With our brand relaunch, we are getting a lot closer to our goal of becoming an internationally renowned brand.”

The Schleich brand’s market share and brand awareness outside its German core market is continuously increasing. “Growth in international markets enabled us to successfully weather the difficult economic situation,” Dirk added.

Schleich performed particularly well in the USA (+26% turnover) and France (+41% turnover) in the past year. In both countries, the brand has made significant gains in brand awareness, not least because of its international brand re-launch campaign – the largest single investment in the company’s history. Combined with global growth in eCommerce and in direct-to-consumer sales via the brand’s own channels, this has laid the cornerstone for expanding digital capabilities in the coming years.

Launched in 2022, the Sofia’s Beauties extension of the Horse Club product line was Schleich’s fastest growing product range last year.

Schleich currently counts over 40k sales outlets around the globe, both brick-and-mortar and online. In 2022, two additional offices and direct markets were opened in Amsterdam and Prague, bringing Schleich’s direct presence to 15 countries.

In addition to the new brand strategy, the focus in 2022 was on sustainability. Toy World recently spoke to Dr Philipp Hummel, head of Sustainability at Schleich and the full article can be read here.

In 2023, Schleich will introduce a new, seventh product line: Wizarding World based around the world of Harry Potter. With the launch of Wizarding World, Schleich is strengthening its position in its home market Germany while boosting brand visibility in its international focus markets, especially the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

Schleich is implementing its extensive transformation process with the expertise of a six-strong advisory board appointed by its owner, Partners Group, acting on behalf of its clients. Dirk Engehausen added: “We owe a great deal of our success to our entrepreneurial leadership and governance, which is an important part of Partners Group’s investment culture.”

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