In tech age, toymakers keep it real

Nuremberg: In an industry upended by the changing play habits of tech- savvy kids, German toymakers are pinning their hopes for growth on traditional, realworld toys — with a little help from the big screen. At the world’s biggest toy fair in Nuremberg this week, it was a large panel showing a bearded Playmobil figure peeking from behind a curtain that perhaps best exemplified an industry in flux. “We see us 2019” read the tagline, a tongue- incheek nod to how a German person with clumsy English might say it. The teaser for the first- ever Playmobil movie may seem unremarkable — rival Lego has been doing movie tieins for years. But for a company that has hardly tweaked its recipe for success since 1974, it marks a sea- change — evidence of the upheaval sweeping the sector as toymakers compete not just with each other, but also for the attention of children glued to tablets and smartphones. Toy companies have in part responded by joining kids in the digital world, with apps, online games and YouTube videos. They have also chased licensing deals with Hollywood studios. But some of Germany’s favourite toy brands are bucking these trends, keeping the focus on the physical products that they themselves created. “Parents are getting bored of all these tablets,” said Schleich chief executive Dirk Engehausen, whose company is best known for its hand- painted, plastic animal figures. “It’s much easier for a child to really understand the fascination of an elephant, giraffe or cheetah by having it in your hand instead of just swiping over the surface of an iPad,” he told AFP at the fair. Daniel Barth, CEO of Steiff, the 138- year- old company behind the iconic teddy bears with a button in their ear, agreed.