Convenient looking teddy: Steiff wants to sell furniture in the future

economy

Sunday 04 November 2018

This has already worked with the sale of children's clothing. At present, Steiff, the stuffed animal manufacturing company, wants to introduce another group of products to the market: children's furniture. However, progress in new segments is not over yet.

The toy maker Steiff, renowned for its soft toys, will also sell furniture in the future. "In 2019 nurseries and nurseries will be set up in Steiff," said Peter Hotz, managing director of Steiff Beteiligungsgesellschaft, at "Welt am Sonntag". At the beginning, the range includes an umbrella bed, a wardrobe, a sideboard and a changing table with a soft headboard in teddy-look.

"The fashion industry calls Steiff, we've proven it," Hotz told the newspaper. "I like furniture a lot because they allow us to stay close to children." A company in East Westphalia manufactures corrugated furniture.

Hotz was fundamentally willing to expand to other product groups. "Of course, we are constantly watching the market," he told the newspaper. But there are also limits: "I can not imagine electronics with a Steiff logo at the moment."

For estimates, according to which already 40% of toy spending in Germany is spent on digitized products, Mr Hotz said: "We only cover the remaining 60%." With a tablet or smartphone, kids can no longer cuddle, "with the teddy already, and he hears a child better than Siri," said Hotz about Apple's digital voice badistant.

New stores are to follow

In sales, Steiff is turning more and more to its own stores. There are already 20 such stores in Germany and Steiff is also represented in major European cities such as Vienna, Zurich and Paris. "We want to further develop this type of distribution," said Hotz.

In addition, Steiff specifically considers pharmacies and booksellers as distribution partners in order to be present in city centers and to be perceived by customers. "In addition, furniture stores are a new target group for us and, of course, for online commerce," said Hotz. On the other hand, department stores and self-service discounters would be out of the question as a point of sale. "There are some requests, but we still see ourselves as a high-end product that does not belong to a net basket."

Source: n-tv.de