Schleich (company)
| Schleich GmbH
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|---|---|
_Logo.svg&filetimestamp=20110615210938&){kind=logo} |
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1935 |
| Seat | Schwäbisch Gmünd , Germany |
| management |
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| Number of employees | over 500 |
| sales | 185 million € (2018) |
| Branch | Toy maker |
| Website | www.schleich-s.com |
Schleich GmbH , headquartered in Schwäbisch Gmünd, is a toy manufacturer with locations in the USA, France, Great Britain, Spain and Japan.
background
The producer of lifelike, hand-painted animal figures made of hard rubber using the injection molding process , claims that it employs more than 500 people worldwide and has sales of around 143 million euros. In 2018, the company was able to increase its sales by 17 percent to 185 million euros. This has made it the seventh largest toy supplier in Germany, behind Lego , Playmobil , Hasbro , Mattel , Simba-Dickie and Ravensburger . Schleich is majority-owned by the Swiss private equity investor Partners Group .
history
Friedrich Schleich (1900–1978) originally founded Schleich GmbH in Stuttgart in 1935 as a supplier of plastic parts. In the 1950s the company became known under the name Schleich Figures , in the 1960s it concentrated on licensed toy figures . In 1976 Friedrich Schleich sold his company. At that time, Schleich produced comic characters such as the Smurfs , Maya the Bee , characters from the Muppet Show and Mickey Mouse . From the 1980s onwards, self-developed animal figures were added as products that are now manufactured as true to life as possible. After a bankruptcy in 1986, four shareholders took over the company. From 2003, the company expanded its program, following current trends, with buildings and other accessories, historical figures such as knights and fantasy figures. In the meantime, a good half of the toys are manufactured in China, the figures are painted in Tunisia and Portugal , in addition to Schwäbisch Gmünd and China . There is also production in Bosnia and Herzegovina , Romania and Moldova .
Schleich joined the toy industry's code of conduct in 2006. The code developed by the International Council of Toy Industries defines labor and social standards and allows independent controls at Chinese suppliers.
From December 2006, the majority shareholder was the private equity investor HgCapital . Other shareholders were the company's three managing directors. A company sale in 2013 failed. In 2014, the French investment company Ardian acquired around 80% of Schleich for 220 million euros, and CEO Thomas van Kaldenkerken around 10%. In 2019, Partners Group took over Ardian's shares in an auction.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Our story , at schleich-s.com, accessed on May 9, 2019
- ↑ a b Press release on corporate figures for 2016 from January 30, 2017 , accessed on February 13, 2017
- ↑ a b Press release company figures 2018 / Outlook 2019 from January 29, 2019 , accessed on May 9, 2019
- ↑ The locations , at schleich-s.com, accessed on May 9, 2019
- ↑ a b Welt am Sonntag No. 13, April 1, 2018, p. 33.
- ^ A b Marcel Speiser: Partners Group takes over the Schleich Smurfs. In: handelszeitung.ch . July 9, 2019, accessed July 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Schleich versus Schleich , Stuttgarter Nachrichten, January 14, 2010
- ↑ Michaela Schießl : Elfenland burned down , Spiegel Online, December 22, 2007
- ↑ Katrin Wilkens: Stress test for domestic pigs , Zeit Online, January 9, 2009
- ↑ Martin Simon: "Fair" production of toys. Initiative to change the Chinese toy industry , article in Gmünder Tagespost of May 12, 2006, can be downloaded from gmuender-tagespost.de for a fee .
- ↑ Hg Capital fails with the sale of Schleich , Finance-magazin.de on May 2, 2013, accessed on February 13, 2017
- ↑ The Smurfs find a new home . In: faz.net , May 18, 2014, online , accessed February 13, 2017.
- ↑ The French grab the Schleich toy company . In: Die Welt Online , May 18, 2014, online , accessed May 18, 2014.
- ↑ Ardian buys consumer goods manufacturer Schleich from HgCapital , Ardian press release of May 18, 2014 and JUVE of May 19, 2014