Reliance Brands to acquire 40% stake in Plastic Legno SPA's India toy biz

Reliance Brands Limited and Plastic Legno SPA have signed a joint venture arrangement through which RBL will acquire a 40% stake in Plastic Legno SPA’s toy manufacturing business in India. "This investment by RBL serves a dual purpose, bringing in vertical integration for RBL’s toy business and helping diversify the supply chain with a long-term strategic interest in building toy manufacturing in India," said the Reliance ‌Industries' subsidiary on Wednesday.

Plastic Legno SPA is owned by the Sunino group that boasts of more than 25 years of toy production experience in Europe. The group started its India business in 2009 out of a need to develop a strong production hub that would cater to global markets, but more importantly to the fast evolving and growing Indian market.

“Keeping with our honourable Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar India, this collaboration with Plastic Legno’s deep experience in world-class toy manufacturing coupled with our strong footing in the global toy retail industry would open new doors and unparalleled opportunities for toys manufactured in India. It is imperative for RBL to build design to shelf capability for a strategic 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 the spokesperson of Reliance Brands Limited.  

RBL has a strong play in the toy industry with its portfolio of Hamleys, the British toy retailer and homegrown toy brand – Rowan, making RBL one of the leading toy distributors. Hamleys currently has a global footprint across 15 countries with 213 doors and is India's largest chain of toy stores.

“We are very privileged to have RBL as a partner in this Joint Venture. We are confident that Plastic Legno’s experience in Toys production and Hamley’s commercial outreach, will complement one another to enable the JV Company to achieve greater heights and successes. We have important development plans to implement, always in the spirit of creating a cultural background in this specific sector in India. We are ready for the challenges of the future, but when there is a group like RBL alongside, we are sure that together we can do a great development,” said Paolo Sunino, Co-owner, Sunino Group.