Toy Triangle is a leading toy company, distributing and developing toy brands that reflect global trends and provide beneficial play features for over 30 years across the MENA region. Toy Triangle provides both fun and educational development

“Toy Triangle pursues a strategy of continuous development. We have just added 2 major brands to our already strong portfolio which includes many leading global brands,” said CEO Sabri Alkathiri. “And just recently, we have invested and launched an entirely new category of developmental toys for children with unique or special intellectual needs.”

“Understanding our market needs and demand, we leverage opportunities to serve our consumers with the right product at the right time. Our core mission is bringing smiles to children and joy to parents, whoever and wherever they are in the Middle East and North Africa region,” he affirmed.

With its choice of brands the company carefully makes sure that the toys it imports and distributes promote the use of children’s intuition to build their characters, trigger their imagination and creativity and learn through the play experience.

Mr Alkathiri emphasised that the company’s market-leading position reflects its strong background in the toy industry, a wide sales and distribution network and special partnerships with all stakeholders – suppliers and retail partners, as well as customers.

“It’s all about communication. We have great suppliers who listen to us and understand our requirements and translate those into fine products that are appreciated by our customers.  Feedback is very important, and we are in constant communication with families as well as retailers.”

The joy of movement

As a result of social media, children in the region are well aware of recent trends and Toy Triangle makes sure that it has the right range at the right time across the many product categories. It is not only about popular toys and games. Parents increasingly demand products that encourage children to keep moving, as it is movement – not sitting with iPads – that is beneficial for their well-being. Toy Triangle is well-positioned to satisfy this demand within its Outdoors and Sports toys category.

And then there is one special group of children that has been growing all over the world – children with special needs, be it autism or ADHD. “At school and home, these kids find it difficult to sit and focus, so we have included developmental toys to help teachers and parents to manage that challenge,  with the prime objective of adding value to family life,” reflected Mr Alkathiri.

It is for these children that the company has just launched a special brand of educational toys to help address developmental issues. “The response has been amazing. These kids need some support within their caring families and by offering the right type of developmental toys we are helping their parents also, and contributing to happier family life.”

Changing the game in lockdown

As with most companies across all sectors, Toy Triangle has had to embrace the significant changes brought about by the pandemic. With stores closed and children sitting at home, the company had to quickly adapt its modus operandi.

“During the lockdown, certain toy categories saw a significant increase in sales as children stayed at home. We had to quickly ensure product availability across all platforms and increase our digital presence and online communication to make our toys accessible throughout the region.  This has worked very well and we have also successfully launched many new must-have toys during this period,” noted Mr Alkathiri, adding that the pandemic made it clear that although brick and mortar shops will certainly remain important, it is e-commerce that is the future of the sector.

The lockdown has pushed the company to look internally. So while the standard go-to-market strategy was disrupted, Toy Triangle managed to create new opportunities with new channels and partners, and reallocate resources to ensure the business ran smoothly.

“We remained fully available and provided tailor-made solutions to help our partners continue their business. We also converted challenges into opportunities and defined new ideas which we are incorporating into our plans for 2021 and beyond. The ultimate outcome has been strengthened e-commerce relationships, an enhanced corporate culture and brands positioned for growth and success,” said Mr Alkathiri.

New frontiers

As a result of this internal analysis, the company will be re-sizing and re-strategizing the business for sustained growth and vitality and has defined exciting plans that will be rolled out in several phases across the years to come.

“We will also accelerate and foster the right kind of corporate culture in preparation for the future. As the leading toy distributor, we want to work even more closely with all our partners and bring many more smiles to children and joy to parents. Our goal is to lead the industry in the years to come and integrate advanced technologies and data analytics into our business, in order to improve our levels of service and our offering to consumers,” Mr Alkathiri affirmed.

Over the next year or so, Toy Triangle plans to further enhance its operations in Dubai, UAE, to lead the Middle East regional growth. As a partner with Expo Dubai for toy merchandise, the company is launching a range of toys to coincide with the events and activities in Dubai.

Summarising the business outlook, Mr Alkathiri said: “Our markets, like the rest of the world, have witnessed disruptions on a global scale like never before. We are crossing new frontiers each day as we face challenges that many of us have not experienced before. We believe that strong values-based partnerships, collaboration, increasing efficiencies and economies of scale are the key to surviving this period.  We are ready to professionally partner with anyone who shares our values. Together, we want to lead, support, and grow our toy industry in the Middle East.”