Business development in 2021 and outlook for the new year

Looking back, the Simba Dickie Group recorded an increase in sales in 2021 despite the Corona pandemic and bottlenecks in logistics and procurement. There was also further development at the Group's logistics center in Sonneberg in Thuringia, which was completed in 2021. A fully automated high-bay warehouse here provides an additional 13,200 pallet spaces. The capacities of the automated small parts warehouse have tripled. Since July 2021, the Simba Dickie Group has also been handling Märklin's complete logistics there.

Toy novelties

The diverse range of toys comprises more than 4,000 articles and will once again delight young and old with great new products in 2022. Children and adults can look forward to sustainable toys made of wood and plastic, enchanting dolls, exciting board games, entertaining toys for the garden, and fascinating model vehicles for young-at-heart adults.  Making a contribution to protecting our environment - this is something that the Simba Dickie Group continues to keep in mind when developing its new toys, whether in product development, packaging design, optimizing production processes, energy efficiency in manufacturing plants, or logistics issues. The guiding principle of the company philosophy "we love to make toys" is reflected in the values of responsibility, credibility, innovation, quality and service.

Earnings, financial situation and investments

Manfred Duschl, Managing Director of the Simba Dickie Group, announced at the start of the year: "Despite the restrictions, we were able to increase consolidated total sales by 5.5% in 2021, from €715.0 million in the previous year to €754.1 million now."

The international share of the Simba Dickie Group remains unchanged at 75%, as in the previous year. The Group's main export nations in 2021 were again the USA, France and Italy.

For 2022, Manfred Duschl forecasts: "Due to the aforementioned significant price increases in the procurement of goods and in the sea freight sector, price increases in sales will be unavoidable. It remains to be seen how the market will react to this. In addition, Corona will continue to occupy us. Despite this unchanged critical situation, Simba Dickie Group plans to increase its consolidated total sales by 5.4% from €754.1 million to €795.0 million in 2022."

The Simba Dickie Group has made investments in the order of EUR 50.0 million in 2021. The Group's financial situation is unchanged from the previous year. It is good, solid and very stable.

At the end of 2021, the Simba Dickie Group employed 3,000 people worldwide.

Outlook to the new year

Exciting developments are on the horizon again for 2022. The Simba Dickie Group acquired a 49.0% stake in the Spark Group in 2021. The Spark Group, whose parent company operates under Minimax, is a well-known manufacturer and distributor in the model vehicle sector. The Simba Dickie Group will contribute the Schuco brand and product line to this joint venture, with the aim of jointly gaining even more weight in this market segment for this product area.