For the American counterpart this company is apart from, see Playskool.
Funskool (India) Ltd.
Subsidiary
FoundedMadras, Tamil Nadu, India (1987 (age 39))
Hq locationTarapore Towers, 6th Floor, 826, Anna Salai
Hq location cityChennai, Tamil Nadu
Hq location countryIndia
Num locations (April 2016)13
Area servedWorldwide
Key peopleR Jeswant (CEO)
Revenue (FY18)₹235
Websitewww.funskoolindia.com

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]

Initially a joint-venture between Hasbro and MRF, the former backed out of the venture in 2014, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of MRF in the process.

History

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 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 Fisher-Price.[1] In 2014, Funskool surpassed Mattel to become the market leader in the mid to premium range of the Indian toy market.[6] That same year, Hasbro sold its stake in Funskool to MRF as the company opened a regional division in India.[7]

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.[8] In July 2022, Funskool acquired the licence to manufacture action figures based on characters from Green Gold Animations' Chhota Bheem series.[9]

Funskool products are currently exported to Africa, ASEAN countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Europe, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oceania, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the United States.[10][11][6][4]

Stores

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.[12]

Most Funskool stores are operated by franchisees.[2] As of February 2021, there are 18 Funskool stores nationwide.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Narasimhan, T E (19 August 2013). "Funskool goes in search of larger shelf space". Business Standard. Archived 30 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  2. ^ Law, Abhishek (27 March 2016). "Funskool keen to enter tier-II cities". The Hindu Business Line. Archived 2 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  3. ^ Menon, Bindu D (25 January 2015). "Funskool to go beyond metros; bet on private brands". The Hindu Business Line. Archived 2 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  4. ^ "Funskool new unit with Rs 25 cr outlay in Tamil Nadu". Business Standard India. 20 March 2019. Archived 24 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Funskool become first toy manufacturer to get BIS certification". cnbctv18.com. 7 October 2020. Archived 4 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  6. ^ "Funskool raises its game". Archived 7 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  7. ^ Gupta, Arbind (2023-12-08). "Funskool: Toying with success". Business India. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  8. ^ "Funskool obtains manufacturing and distribution rights for Abalone board game in India". www.thehindubusinessline.com. 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  9. ^ "Funskool to make and distribute Chhota Bheem in India" (in en-IN). The Hindu. 2022-07-14. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  10. ^ V, NARAYANAN (26 December 2019). "Funskool ties up with international brands to expand product portfolio". @businessline. Archived 26 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Funskool to play with own brands". Deccan Herald. Archived 20 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  12. ^ "Lego store launched in Chennai". The Times of India. 2013-08-10. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-07-19.