Company Profile
Clementoni
The Italian Job Clementoni was established in 1963, when company founder Mario Clementoni decided to introduce a previously unknown product to the Italian market - the board game. The goal that has guided the company’s activities for over fifty years is to help children learn while having fun – a fundamental principal which it still adheres to today. Clementoni is now firmly established as a leading European toy company, which has seen its turnover grow by 50% in the past six years. Strongly oriented towards the international market and at the same time deeply rooted in its home territory, it recorded a consolidated turnover of 188m Euros last year, of which 55% was generated by exports. With 500 employees in Italy and more than 80 abroad, the group currently has sales offices in UK, Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, Poland, Turkey, Benelux and an operating subsidiary in Hong Kong. Managed by the second generation of the family, all of the children are involved in pivotal roles: Giovanni Clementoni has held the post of Group CEO since 2002, Stefano Clementoni deals with the Asian subsidiary, Pierpaolo Clementoni is involved in product development through the Advanced Research department and Patrizia Clementoni manages the HR department. A qualified group of managers, led by general manager Guido Vingiani, has worked closely with the family to formulate a strategic plan which has enabled the company to achieve more than a decade of growth. 80% of total production still takes place in the factory in Recanati, in a facility of over 50,000 square metres. Thanks to Clementoni’s considerable experience and know-how in paper and cardboard products, the company has implemented a strong reshoring approach which has enabled it to bring home numerous production processes previously outsourced to the Far East. In recent years Clementoni has introduced a wide range of educational games, created, designed and developed by the in-house Research & Development team, which consists of more than 60 young researchers. The company holds firm beliefs in this approach, investing more than 3% of its turnover in this area.
Toy World spoke to UK country manager Shahbaz Khan to see how 2017 is shaping up for Clementoni and what lies ahead in 2018. the plans we have this year, we are confident we can continue our growth in the UK and become one of the strongest branches of the group.
What do you put this performance down to? We have built a solid presence across three main categories - Infant, Science, Puzzles - which is translating into a strong performance. As a business, we have invested heavily in product development, as well as supporting new and key lines with additional TV, consumer and social media activity. Acquiring strong licences is important to us and we are proud to have launched product ranges based on popular licences such as Paw Patrol, Trolls, Num Noms and Shimmer & Shine. Our commitment to retail is paramount and we have worked strategically with core retailers to build our business, and to support their partnership with us, which has led to significant growth.
How has the UK operation expanded this year? How has business been for Clementoni in the UK and across Europe this year? Clementoni is performing well across Europe and we expect to finish the year with a positive result compared to last year, in line with our expectations at the start of the year. The UK is one of the strongest-performing subsidiaries, with growth of 20% versus last year, which is fantastic considering the conditions of the market and the strong numbers we posted last year. With
We have expanded our team to five people in the UK, with a dedicated sales force which allows us to give more time and support to our customers. We have also put in place a backoffice team to improve our overall operations and service in the market. We are already looking to add to the team in 2018 as the business grows. Due to this expansion, we moved offices earlier this year, allowing us to incorporate a full showroom and provide easily accessible premises to welcome our customers.
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Which product categories are you focusing on? The three main core areas for us are Infant, Science and Puzzles. This year we have expanded our STEM range to include educational products, which is already enjoying a great response. We have bought STEM into our pre-school range for the first time with DOC – our Smart Educational Robot. DOC provides a great way for children as young as four to learn the basics of programming, within a fun and interactive game-play. At a highly competitive £29.99 price point, Doc is also fantastic value for money. Our Interactive Globe, which launched in 2016, continues to be a bestseller, proving that educational products are one of the company’s strong points. Infant lines under our own Baby Clementoni brand are performing exceptionally well; we now have branded bays and dedicated areas within store purely for our interactive infant toys. Product Development is key here - we always ensure our products are jam-packed with educational features to satisfy parents, but also with fun activities which the child can enjoy solo, or with their mum or dad.
How do you stand out in these competitive sectors? I believe we are an appealing supplier as we operate in a variety of different categories, but also because we specialise in these sectors with strong investment in product development and marketing support. Our innovation is exciting and due to our development being in-house, we are able to keep our price points competitive across all our ranges. We also work very