Funskool India ties up with Tomy Toys

Funskool India has entered into an exclusive agreement with Japan-based Tomy Toys to retail the latter's infant and pre-school range of toys in India. Funskool is a 60:40 joint venture between MRF, a leading tyre manufacturer in India, and UK-based Hasbro Inc.

Addressing mediapersons Raphael Kuriyan, chief executive of Funskool, said that the agreement with the Japanese toy manufacturer, did not contradict its partnership with Hasbro as Tomy Toys was selling Hasbro brand of toys in Japan.

Funskool aims to garner a market share of 35 per cent of the organised infant and pre-school range category estimated at Rs 35 crore. Kuriyan said that the company would first import 30 to 35 Tomy toys. It plans domestic manufacture of the Japanese toys in the next six months to one year.

Funskool expects a turnover of Rs 40 crore for the year ending December 2004. The company's toy exports is estimated to touch Rs 15 crore of the turnover from Rs 12 crore last year.

He said that the organised toy market was only estimated at Rs 100 crore, when compared to the unorganised market that was 10 times larger.