Reliance Brands (RBL), which bought British toy retailer Hamleys in 2019, is all set to acquire 40% stake in Italy-headquartered Plastic Legno’s toy manufacturing business in India for an undisclosed sum. The deal will help Reliance Brands strengthen its toy production in India with the acquisition of Plastic Legno's Pune-based Dream Plast.
The deal comes against the backdrop of global retailers such as Ikea looking to increase the sourcing of toys, albeit wooden ones, from India. A joint statement by both RBL and Plastic Legno said the investment will not only help RBL bring vertical integration for its toy business but allow it to diversify its supply chain with a long-term strategic interest in building toy manufacturing in India.
“It is imperative for RBL to build design-to-shelf capability for an advantage over the competition and to be an accelerator in building a robust toy manufacturing ecosystem in India not only for domestic consumption but also for global markets,” said an RBL spokesperson.
Dream Plast, which operates three factories in India, is a plastic injection moulding company specialising in the production of toys, food packaging containers, sport items and childcare products. It is a subsidiary of Plastic Legno of the Sunino group that specialises in the “transformation of plastic materials”.
The Indian government last year approved eight toy clusters across India at a cost of £230 million after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked that with 85% of toys sold in India are being imported, the country’s share in the $100-billion global toy market is very less.
