Company type | Joint venture |
---|---|
Industry | |
Founded | Madras, Tamil Nadu, India (1987 ) |
Headquarters | Tarapore Towers, 6th Floor, 826, Anna Salai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India |
Number of locations | 13 (April 2016) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | R Jeswant (CEO) |
Revenue | ₹235 crore (US$29 million) (FY18) |
Owners |
|
Website | www |
Funskool (India) Ltd. is an Indian toy manufacturing company, founded in 1987 with headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Apart from its own brands and its American counterpart Playskool, the company also manufactures and distributes products in the Indian market under license from foreign toy brands including Hasbro, Disney, Warner Bros., Takara Tomy, and Ravensburger. [1]
Funskool was established in 1987 as a joint venture by MRF Ltd. and American toy manufacturer Hasbro, Inc. [2] The company began commercial operations the following year. [1] Funskool manufactures all its products (including licensed products) at manufacturing facilities in Ranipet, near Chennai, and in Goa. [3] Funskool opened its third manufacturing at Ranipet on 20 March 2019, which is dedicated to handling exports. [4] [5]
The company's main competitors in the Indian market are Mattel and FisherPrice. [1] In 2014, Funskool surpassed Mattel to become the market leader in the mid to premium range of the Indian toy market. [6]
Funskool's licence to manufacture Lego products was discontinued in 2019. [4] In June 2022, the company acquired the rights to manufacture and distribute the board game Abalone from Asmodee. [7] In July 2022, Funskool acquired the licence to manufacture action figures based on characters from Green Gold Animations' Chhota Bheem series. [8]
Funskool products are currently exported to Africa, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Europe, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the United States. [9] [10] [6] [4]
Funskool opened a Lego store in Chennai in 2013. [6] Following the success of the venture, the company opened the first Funskool store in Coimbatore in March 2014. [2] [6] By September 2015, the company had opened one store each in eight cities across the country. [6]
Most Funskool stores are operated by franchisees. [2] As of February 2021, there are 18 Funskool stores nationwide. [11]
Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth and Elliot Handler in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. Mattel has a presence in 35 countries and territories; its products are sold in more than 150 countries. Mattel consists of three business segments: North America, International and American Girl.
Hasbro, Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of Kenner, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, and Wizards of the Coast, among others. As of August 2020, over 81.5% of its shares were held by large financial institutions.
Samsonite International S.A. is an American luggage manufacturer and retailer, with products ranging from large suitcases to small toiletries bags and briefcases. The company was founded in 1910 in Denver, Colorado, United States.
Tyco Toys was an American toy manufacturer. It was acquired by Mattel in 1997, becoming one of its brands.
The LEGO Group is a Danish construction toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The LEGO Group has also built several amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland, and operates numerous retail stores.
Ranipettai is a town in Tamil Nadu, India and the headquarters of Ranipet district. Ranipet is an industrial hub of greater Vellore city. It is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the Chennai city center. It is a major industrial town located on NH 4 Chennai-Bangalore highway, on the northern bank of the Palar River.The estimated population is 397,000 as of 2024.
MRF or MRF Tyres, is an Indian multinational tyre manufacturing company and the largest manufacturer of tyres in India. It is headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The word MRF comes from the company's initial days when it was called as Madras Rubber Factory. The company manufactures rubber products including tyres, treads, tubes and conveyor belts, paints and toys. MRF also runs the MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai and MIDD – MRF Institute of Driver Development in Chennai. MRF Limited has emerged as the world's second-strongest tyre maker, with a AAA− brand grade.
Schleich is a German producer of hand painted toy figurines and accessories. The company is headquartered in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. In 2020, the group employed 440 people and generated sales of 188.7 million euros. Half of the sales are generated outside of the German domestic market, and Schleich branded play figurines and playsets are sold in over 60 countries. In 2022, the company sold a total of approximately 40 million figurines.
The automotive industry in India is the fourth-largest by production in the world as per 2022 statistics. As of 2023, India is the 3rd largest automobile market in the world in terms of sales. In 2022, India became the fourth largest country in the world by the valuation of its automotive industry.
Sindy is a British fashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindy's look and range of fashions and accessories made her the best-selling toy in the United Kingdom in 1968 and 1970. After Marx Toys' unsuccessful attempt to introduce Sindy in the United States in the late 1970s, Hasbro bought the rights to Sindy and remodelled the doll to look more American. As a result, the doll's popularity declined; in addition Barbie manufacturer Mattel filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement, which was settled when Hasbro agreed to remodel Sindy's face. During the 1990s, Barbie's share of the doll market continued to grow while Sindy's diminished, which led to Sindy being delisted from major retailers in 1997. Hasbro returned the doll's licence to Pedigree, and the doll was relaunched in 1999, manufactured by Vivid Imaginations. Sindy's 40th anniversary in 2003 saw a new manufacturer, New Moons, and another relaunch and redesign. There were further relaunches in 2016 by Tesco and in 2021 by Kid Kreations.
Mega Brands Inc. is a Canadian children's toy company that is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel. Mega Bloks, a line of construction set toys, is its most popular product. Its other brands include Mega Construx, Mega Puzzles, and Board Dudes. The company distributes a wide range of construction toys, puzzles, and craft-based products.
Chhota Bheem is an Indian animated comedy adventure television series, created by Green Gold Animations based in Hyderabad. This show is available in English, Hindi, Telugu,Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Marathi. Bheem is a brave, strong and intelligent young boy. He often manages to solve everyone's problems which endears him to the townspeople of Dholakpur.
Rajiv Chilaka also known as Rajiv Chilakalapudi and Sitarama Rajiv Chilakalapudi is the founder and CEO of Hyderabad-based Green Gold Animations and the creator of a few cartoons including Krishna cartoon series and Chhota Bheem which has now been made into an animated series and films. For his work in presenting cartoons at affordable price, Chilaka was conferred with an honorary doctorate of humane letters by the Academy of Art University, San Francisco in 2016. He was the recipient of the 2013 School of Computing and Engineering Alumni Achievement Award at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
KRE-O is a line of construction toys manufactured by South Korea-based Oxford and marketed by Hasbro. Kre-O was released in stores in Fall 2011. The name Kre-O comes from the Latin word creo, which means "I create".
Chhota Bheem and the Throne of Bali is a 2013 Indian animated film written and directed by Rajiv Chilaka and produced by Chilaka and Samir Jain. The film is based on the Indian animated series Chhota Bheem. It is the sixteenth instalment in the Chhota Bheem film series and the second film in the series to be released directly to movie theatres. Distributed by Yash Raj Films, it was released in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. It received mixed reviews. It was voted best animated feature film of 2013 by IBNLive.
Vellore, located in Tamil Nadu, India, has a diversified economy, primarily based in leather processing, shoe manufacturing, automobile assembly, precision tool milling, explosive materials production, and the service industry.
Green Gold Animation Pvt Ltd, is a Hyderabad-based Indian Animation company, with offices in India, Singapore, Philippines and the United States. It is known for creating the Chhota Bheem television series and the Krishna film series. Green Gold Animation was founded by Rajiv Chilaka in January 2001.
Ranipet district is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, India, formed by trifurcating Vellore district. The Government of Tamil Nadu has announced its proposal on 15 August 2019, together with Tirupattur district. However, it was officially declared on 28 November 2019 by Tamil Nadu Government. The town of Ranipet would serve as the district headquarters.