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Playmobil

In 1876, a locksmith named Andreas Brandststter planted a seed that would eventually blossom into Playmobil by founding an eponymous lock and metal fitting company in Furth, Germany. His son, Georg, took over the company in 1908, changed its name to Mertallwarenfabrik and in 1921 moved the headquarters to Zirndorf, Germany, where it remains to the present day. By the 1930’s, the company started manufacturing telephones, cash registers and various items for toy shops using sheet metal. It also changed its name to Geobra (short for Georg Brandstatter). It wasn’t until the 1950’s that the company started focusing production on plastic with the first prototype Playmobil item, a racing car, being produced in 1958. It was the oil crisis in the early 1970’s that led the company to start developing small moveable figures with fitting accessories because they had a good price to value ratio. The toys were to be called Playmobil. Playmobil was introduced at the 1974 International Toy Fair in Nuremberg but amazingly received a lukewarm greeting! However, by using an innovative marketing strategy, Playmobil was in German toy stores by the Autumn and parents and children alike responded uniformly with fascination and enthusiasm. Playmobil has been a top seller ever since.