Hasbro has opened a new office in Moscow, Russia, with the hopes of gaining a foothold on the Eastern European toy market.
“The firm has opened a Moscow office in order to improve brand awareness and distribution in its fastest-growing market in Eastern Europe.
“Russia is the most attractive market for us… definitely we are coming here to increase our market share,” Tomasz Micek, Hasbro’s Russian head, said.
It estimates it has a three percent share of Russia’s $1.5 billion toy market where it currently sells toys via two distributors.
It has run 12 television commercials this spring in Russia and plans another 20 by the end of the year, according to Micek.
Besides television, the company also plans to push magazine and Internet promotions.
“The good thing about the toy and game business is that it does not tend to be as bumpy as the economy. It seems that parents want to continue to spend money on their children. I’d rather be in my business than in cars, or houses, and that’s where the swings are very very big,” said John Harper, Hasbro’s general manager for Europe.“
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