Funskool India Ltd, a joint venture between MRF and Hasbro Inc, opened its first branded retail outlet in Chennai on Saturday.

The Lego brand store will sell the entire Lego products range.

John Baby, Chief Executive Officer of Funskool, said though the company’s core business will remain manufacturing, it will expand its retail network based on the success of this pilot store. “We may look at Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi for our future expansion,” he said.

According to Arun Mammen, Chairman, Funskool India Ltd, the company’s stores to be opened in future will also showcase other brands the company represents in India.

The company, which has been in the business for over 25 years, representsmany global brands such as Lego, Tomy Takara of Japan and Ravensburger of Germany and has licence arrangements with Walt Disney, Warner Bros and Nickelodeon. It recently tied up with Siku of Germany to distribute their range of die-cast, scale model vehicles and with the Hong Kong-based New Bright, the world leaders in radio-controlled vehicles.

Besides, Funskool, whose turnover crossed the Rs 100-crore in 2012-13, is planning to aggressively try to enter into distribution pacts with some larger international toy brands. The company has two manufacturing facilities in Ranipet (near Chennai) and Goa catering to domestic and export markets.

ravikumar.r@thehindu.co.in

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