As far as I've understood the situation, Stefan Löbich is CEO and Wolfrad Bächle is Technical Director and both of them are listed as top managers. See this link or the German Link which also lists the area managers (Vertrieb = Distribution, Produktion = Production, Finanz- und Rechnungswesen = Finance and Accounting, Entwicklung/Konstruktion = R&D, Einkauf/Logistik = Purchase/Logistics).

In my mind, a succesful company should besides, the CEO, if they appoint some managers as part of the top management team, also have a Marketing Director, not only a Technical Director.

I didn't say that you said that! I just asked the question!


In English, when you say so and so is the new, and such and such is the old, that implies that the 'old' has been replaced by the 'new', hence the reason why I asked the question.

But in Germany, it seems you can have two people at the same company both with the same job title!

Hi!
China to Europe: yes. China to Hungary: yes. China to Germany: I dunno ...

Yet another article discussing the Simba-Dickie takeover.
No results before end of February or even March.

Also discussed here:
https://www.marklin-user...old-to-Simba-Dickie.aspx

Excellent news, Stephen. That's the kind I ♥ to read, especially when it's about my favourite company! Cheers,Peter

Hello,

Having just visited my local dealer for the first time this year, I will now post another of my periodic rants against Walthers.

As Robert states, their pricing policies discourage sales. More importantly they discourage sales through local dealers. These dealers are Märklin's primary representatives in the US. Walther's pricing forces many customers to the "indirect" sales channel of vendors that import directly from Germany.

In my case, nearly 80% of my yearly spend no longer goes to my local dealer. Even though I want to show loyalty and give him my business, it's difficult to justify purchasing through him and Walthers, when I can go to someone who imports directly and literally get twice as many toys for my money!

Now back to the visit to my local dealer ... the main purpose was to order the new Mega Digital start set. Despite the added cost, I wanted to give this business to my local store. I was quite surprised and upset to find out that Walthers has decided to no longer import the Mega sets. Apparently they don't want to be burdened with the added shipping costs of the large boxes and so will now deny these sets to the US consumer!

In my humble opinion, if Märklin is serious about expanding US market share as the quote from Herr Direktor Löbich implies then Walthers must go.

Bye,

All over the world those items are sold with 3+ stickers - only in the USA they use 8+ stickers (IIRC they have to prove the safety of their plastics to get a 3+ rating).

In reference to the 8+ sticker, after a similar thread, I checked them out at my dealer back around Christmas. I don't believe his My World sets have the 8+ sticker. I should be visiting my dealer soon, I will recheck to see if that is correct.

Robert

Marklin/Dickie news.

Acquisition decision is scheduled at the end of april. 5-year job guarantee for employees.

>SWP<

>N.TV<

Both in German.

Still - Simba Dickie seems to be a more serious longtime owner in the current market than the former owner Kingsbridge, who were a bunch of risk capitalist economists draining the company of money...

Herr Pluta has done an excellent job so far - so I think they are considering this option as the best long term option for the company...

Well, I wonder if Simba Dickie have their own distribution channels in the USA? That would in part agree with Lobich's desire to see expansion there.

regards
Kimball

Märklin: signal for Simba

Marklin steams towards destination: One over by Simba nothing stands in the way, says council chief Georg Geiger. 98 percent of employees have signed labor contracts change.
Author: JOA SCHMID |

The negotiation poker between Göppinger Traditionsuntenehmen Märklin and Simba Dickie enters the decisive round, "One over by the Fürth Bobby Car manufacturer Simba-Dickie, nothing stands in the way", yesterday, boss Georg Geiger told the NWZ. In fact, 98 percent of the 480 people who signed in at the headquarters of the Stuttgarter Strasse amendment agreements, which would amount to a continuation of the house collective agreement for another five years, confirmed Geiger. With the written consent of the employee, smears compared to valid regional collective extrapolate, an important condition of Simba-Dickie is met. "We had expected and see the positive," it says Märklin trustee Michael Pluta. He anticipates the beginning of April with a decision. The toy manufacturer Simba Dickie would not comment on the negotiations.

With the takeover talks to play the collective agreements of the Märklin employees and the associated financial burdens for the buyer, an important role. Fürther Bobby Car manufacturers want to give his vows to "dream wedding of the toy industry" only if the employees spend at their headquarters in Göppingen part of the dowry. The Märklin company agreement, which was concluded in the course of insolvency in 2009, is to be extended beyond 2014 for another five years, was the claim of Simba Dickie, which met at the Göppingen IG Metall on deaf ears. Although the union rejects a takeover by Simba does not, however, insists on a gradual reduction of Märklin in the applicable collective labor contract. An extension of the collective bargaining agreement was not home to do with her.

In order not to jeopardize the takeover, Märklin had offered employees the change contracts that have now been signed by almost 100 per cent of the workforce.

"I see the future of Märklin optimistic," says Geiger, boss. For employees with the new contracts, no deterioration was not related. Losses during summer and Christmas money could by attaching to the company's success annual bonus to be compensated. Moreover, the contracts included a job security until 2019. Trustees also Pluta assessed positively the new contracts: "We think it's more than generous, the staff in Göppingen to guarantee the job for five years," said Pluta. "That's extraordinary." Now obviously missing is the knot of Fuerth.

---

Family company based in Fürth

The 56-year old entrepreneur Michael Sieber had begun in 1982 with his father as a wholesaler. Now counts his company Simba Dickie to the largest toy maker in the world. Now wants Sieber, who has been proven with the acquisition of renowned toy companies a knack to take the model train manufacturer Märklin.

Simba-Dickie has 3,700 employees worldwide and in 2012 made sales of approximately EUR 615 million. The company is Mattel and Lego, the number three on the German toy market. 2012 is celebrating its 40th Anniversary. Simba-Dickie maintains central offices in Nuremberg, in the center of the German toy industry, in Lavans / France and in Hong Kong.

http://translate.google....imba%3Bart5583%2C1901048

hi all
well it looks like it will happen and could increase the range of goods which we are able to sell
If you have a look at the simba dickie website you will see they are a group of 12 companies
and when you look at each brand you will see that simba have been involved in taking over
and rebuilding a lot of the companies including wooden trainmaker, and schuco cars, majorette pedal cars
and just last week the LGB wagon in the new range came in with a SIMBA digger on the wagon, so we could
see a lot of toys added to the Marklin my world range and all well made european stuff
they seem to be a german based company that likes to look after their countries name and with Goldman sachs wanting
to exit they are probally a good match for marklin because they understand the toy business and its nature of sudden
changes and with marklins recent 48% cash flow of 120 mil euro is probally attractive to them.
so we shall see and regarding the parts, they have had to rationalise to cut down the number being used, but with longterm
objective to have this parts range available for us all, as they had over 14000 parts
regards
bryan old toot

It seems the decision has been made (German text only): Simba-Dickie buy Märklin
http://www.handelsblatt....mt-maerklin/7959090.html

They say there will be a press conference tomorrow (Thursday).

FROM GOOGLE TRANSLATE:

Simba Dickie takes Märklin

20.03.2013, 15:33 clock

The toy industry refers to a "dream wedding": The insolvent model train manufacturer Märklin is performed by Bobby Car manufacturer Simba Dickie. The dispute was last a Märklin company agreement.

Fürth / Göppingen. The adoption of model train manufacturer Märklin by Fürth Bobby Car manufacturer Simba Dickie is perfect. That the German Press Agency (dpa) learned in Nuremberg on Wednesday from well-informed sources.

The agreement is to be on this Thursday officially announced at a press conference in Fürth. There want the head of the Simba Dickie Group, Michael Sieber, and Märklin insolvency administrator Michael Pluta explain details of the agreement. In the industry is a "dream wedding of the toy industry," the speech.

There was disagreement in the ongoing talks for months, most recently, the question of a collective wage agreement for the Märklin employees. Since these cuts in holiday and Christmas bonuses and no pay increases provides the IG Metall had demanded a return to the surface tariff

Märklin, boss Georg Geiger, however, had already been reported in early March that many of the approximately 470 employees at its Göppingen (Baden-Württemberg) had approved the acquisition of the house collective agreement. In return, the employees get a job guarantee until 2019.

http://translate.google....-maerklin%2F7959090.html

Alex, please include a link to the original German article in your posts, so that folks can read it for themselves, should they want to. /BDNZ

Dear Club Member:

We are pleased to announce Simba Dickie held a press conference today in Fürth, Germany and announced their takeover of Märklin (includes all the brands: Märklin, Trix and LGB). For more information, please see the attached press release we just received from the press office.

To learn more about Simba Dickie, here is a link to their English language website:

http://simba-dickie-group.de/en/index.shtml

To read an article from 2012 about Mr. Florian Sieber, the new managing director who is joining the current managing directors Mr. Stefan Löbich and Mr. Wolfrad Bächle, please click on this link:

http://simba-dickie-grou...florian_sieber.139.shtml

Best regards,
Märklin, Inc.

But it is significant history and it it worth following the journey to the end point..

Here is a video I had not seen before. Unfortunately I cannot understand most of what is being said and reminds me I must get on with learning the lingo
It has interviews with Herr Pluta and Marklin Staff and Marklin enthusiasts and Alexandra Marklin




There is also a lot about the lead up to the insolvency and the Marklin Museum burglary of 2005

The comments below the video are interesting reading too. If you use Google Chrome it has a translate button
They are a bit like our forum sometimes

Two years has passed since the last post in this thread.
I now never hear/read anything about economic trouble at Märklin, but also nothing about recovery or updated plans by Simba-Dickie for the brand.
Last things I heard of, was a gradual return of production from China, to the new plant-addition in Györ. Some 400 new jobs created. (Alas not in Germany, but still a positive trend)
If somebody is in the know, could we then please have some heads-up and/or some links if anything additonal has surfraced?
Thanks in advance!

So, again around 4,5 years has passed since the last posting here.
I am sorry if this is considered necro-posting, but the subject is really interessting to me, and I dont see it discussed anywhere else...

Browsing through the german WIKI page about the company, it says that sales in 2020 was up 40%, compared to the previous year. ("Thanks" to CoVid).
If 2019 was €112 mio, that would make 2020 a whooping €160 mio!
So thats positive, right? (if the article in WIKI is correct, which is never a given!)

I suppose that the current CoVid situation will last 6 months more (at least here in Spain), and even if this doesnt constitute a continued INcrease in sales, it might be helping to mainTAIN the higher sales rate, and thus a healthy influx of money to the company.

I am also interessted in more information about the whole Kingsbridge period, and their nemesis Alix Partners. -But that link is dead on the Wiki page. My public-school level german makes me seem to understand that Alix was sentenced to pay €14 mio Kingsbridge. But wether this has been done, appealed or settled, I dont know.

Anybody else has more information on the subject¿?

No, it does not.
It says that orders went up by 40%. Sales did not grow by the same amount as Märklin was unable to deliver.

Wikipedia does not give a link to support the claim about the "40%", but I think I read something to that effect somewhere.

Newspaper post, update November 30, 2020:
Source: https://www.stimme.de/su...a-krise;art19071,4419951

English: Sieber gives no exact prognoses for the current business year, but thinks a small growth is possible.

Update: I found this:
https://www.kunststoffwe..._auftragsbuecher_t246852


A whooping growth from 112M EUR to 113 M EUR for this financial year is expected. Märklin is aiming for 120M EUR in the next financial year starting in May 2021.
This article indicates a growth of 40% for the order backlog in December 2020 compared to the year before. The order backlog also grows if products are delayed and not shipped on time.