First Simba Toy Store in Mumbai at Oberoi Mall

Company News

Friday, November 12, 2012

Simba India, a subsidiary of Simba Dickie Group, one of the world’s largest toy companies, in association with Exelixi Management Company launched their first Simba Store in Mumbai at Oberoi Mall on 9th November, 2012. Spread over an area of 5000sq ft, the Simba Store at Oberoi mall is designed to showcase the range of safe and high quality products for kids of all age group. Already covering 14,000 Sq ft. across country, the Simba Store network boasts of a unique consumer experience at par with International standards.

Commenting on their new venture, Ben Nabert, Chief Executive Officer India, Middle East and North Africa for Simba Toys said “Our main aim is to make children happy, that also defines our philosophy which is - We love to make toys. This is the guiding principle linking all aspects of our day-to-day business, which is reflected in our core values: responsibility, reliability, innovation, quality and service. Our retail expansion in India is a step forward in this direction. Simba stores will include some exclusive toys, a child friendly ambience which will create a high quality shopping experience for the kids and families”.

He further added, “Toy industry is enormous in India with a market size of approximately 10,000 Crores however there is a lack of organized market set up. We have tested the waters for last two years, which is why we finally stepped into the market with global franchise retail outlets. In the first phase we are setting up our outlets in metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore but our aim is to enter the tier I and II cities or rather the next metros of the country as there lays the real potential for our product

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Amit Chaudhary, Founder Exelixi Management said, “Our entry in the toys & games segment has been after a lot of thought, research and two years of on-the-ground work. Exelixi's aim is to build a portfolio of international retail brands in consumer categories where we sense a gap in the Indian market. Our research showed that the toys & games sector has intrinsic demand that is growing every year, but supply remains a problem. Parents in India are spending an even-increasing amount on toys for their children but do not have ready access to products that are safe and reliable with ease. With The Simba Store, we hope to bring to Indian parents the opportunity to buy high quality toys for their children, right in their neighborhood. We want to build a pan-India presence over the next 2-3 years”.

Mr. Prasar Sharma, Co-Founder Exelixi, further added, “The objective behind launching Simba stores is to take good quality products closer to the quality conscious, mass to semi-premium TG across all cities in India that desires well known brands, but do not have easy access to them. The Simba Stores boasts of colourful ambience with great products, fantastic licenses combined with lots of fun and engaging activities for kids. We have successfully launched 3 stores over the last quarter in NCR and Bangalore and are entering the Mumbai market with the first store in Oberoi Mall. A number of stores are already in the pipeline for Mumbai, and we should see them coming online in the next 6 months”.

The Simba Store offers an international shopping experience, best quality & safe products, aggressive pricing and around the year activity calendar for kids. The Simba Store has access to more than 80 brands and 6000+ SKUs from the Simba-Dickie Group portfolio including exclusive entertainment properties like Cars2, Spider-Man, Disney Princess, Hello Kitty and The Avengers.

“New brands like Big & Eichhorn from Germany, Ecoiffier from France from Simba portfolio are also being introduced every month to ensure that there is freshness in the collection throughout and the customers can expect a constant stream of products. A significant marketing effort is being aligned to support the Simba stores with a good mix of ATL/BTL campaigns, with local, regional, and national strategic tie-ups”, shared Ben Nabert, Chief Executive Officer India, Middle East and North Africa for Simba Toys.

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