A flying visit to Mandy Köbke’s Toy Box in Dubai

By Sibylle Dorndorf

Mandy Köbke had her first child in 2012. At that point she discovered how difficult it was to find beautiful, high-quality toys, like those she remembered from her childhood in Germany. Mandy Köbke is an expat living in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Frustrated with the options available at the time, she looked for beautiful children’s toys in every country she visited and often returned with her cases brimming with wooden playthings. These items proved an instant hit with her friends and acquaintances as well. She decided to become a toy distributor – and founded Toybox.ae in 2015.

Interview

Mandy, of course we’d like to know what did you play with as a child?

Mandy Köbke: I had beautiful wooden toys, lots of Montessori and durable products of high quality.

What kinds of toys could you buy in the UAE at the time you launched Toy Box?

Mandy Köbke: There were and are a lot of plastic toys. That doesn’t mean that parents in the UAE buy cheap items – they do look for brands such as Fisher Price – but in terms of the material, mainly it’s plastic.

You established an online-only retail business with Toy Box. Why was that?

Mandy Köbke: The retail landscape here is different to that in Germany, it’s mainly large shopping centres with very expensive rents. You’ll find the big players in those, but hardly any small stores. I opened a pop-up in a new shopping centre in 2022 because the terms were favourable. But then a large furniture store wanted to expand its retail space there, so I had to close after 18 months.

How big was your pop-up?

Mandy Köbke: It was so small – just two metres deep by six metres wide. I displayed a small selection of my range there, the kinds of things people could pick up as gifts. It went well, but there are a lot of costs involved in running a brick-and-mortar store.

Is there nothing like our traditional retail sector in the UAE?

Mandy Köbke: There are community shopping centres and a few small, standalone stores in residential areas, but the landscape is mainly dominated by large malls. You don’t stand a chance in those as a small retailer. That’s why I refocused my attention on my e-commerce model.

Had you e-commerce experience?

Mandy Köbke: Not at all. I taught myself all I needed to know for this. I have a business qualification – which helps, but a lot of the time I’ve had to learn by doing.

How were the initial years with Toybox.ae?

Mandy Köbke: They were hard, but I did occupy a niche with my high-quality toys and gifts. People love beautiful and unusual items that not everyone has – you just have to find them. Then came the trend towards sustainable toys. We’re not yet at the level of Europe, but there is increasing demand for sustainable products, including toys. When it comes to wooden toys, however, I’ve had to put the case forward for them.

In what respect?

Mandy Köbke: Arab customers want the perfect product. Knots in wood were seen as a quality defect. I had to explain that the wood comes from a tree and that such features make the product unique. It was also unusual to get toys without instructions. So I published tutorials on social media, which brought me new customers.

Who were your first customers?

Mandy Köbke: Mainly expats who were in the same boat as me. They wanted the kinds of wooden toys they’d played with as children. To reach more customers, I ran stalls at markets and in nurseries. I now have more Arab than Western customers – it’s been a learning process on both sides.

Do people earn well in the UAE?

Mandy Köbke: For the middle class, wages are average but rents are expensive. Many young families are two-income households and the children are often cared for by nannies.

What’s the schooling like?

Mandy Köbke: There are many private schools and they are very expensive. The children of expats only attend private schools – which cost EUR 10,000 and upwards a year. Those costs used to be covered under employment contracts, but that’s usually not the case now. Children start preschool at four, often with their own iPad. Otherwise, the lifestyle is not as different as you may imagine – there are lots of celebrations: Diwali, Ramadan, Christmas, Easter and so on.

What is Diwali all about?

Mandy Köbke: Diwali is the Indian Christmas. Homes and streets are decorated with lights and there are fireworks and markets. All the celebrations boost business, and exchanging gifts is a long-standing tradition.

Have you multiple sales peaks throughout the year in UAE, unlike in Europe?

Mandy Köbke: We do. But it was still difficult to get my online-only store up and running.

Why was that?

Mandy Köbke: The Emiratis were not especially used to shopping online prior to the pandemic. This only really began to take off with the coronavirus. Many families still like to stroll through the shopping centres and see the products for themselves but then get them for the best price online.

That’s called showrooming in good ol’ Europe...

Mandy Köbke: Yes, unfortunately that’s also a common practice here. You have to use your range and advice to set yourself apart, online as well.

What was the first brand you offered?

Mandy Köbke: HaPe. The company already had distributors in the UAE at the time, but I was able to occupy a niche with my focus on wooden toys.

How did you link up with HaPe?

Mandy Köbke: I first visited the Spielwarenmesse in 2012 to put together a small, select range. After that I added Grimm’s, Andreu Toys, educational toys and prams as well as items for babies and infants.

Are educational toys in demand in the UAE?

Mandy Köbke: Very much so. Parents are keen to introduce their children to fields like STEM at an early age in order to prepare them for the future.

How do you find out about new products for Toy Box?

Mandy Köbke: I’ve been coming to the Spielwarenmesse every year since 2012. I meet my suppliers and find new manufacturers there – it’s a firm fixture in my calendar and one I look forward to.

In addition to Toybox.ae, you’ve also developed a B2B business model. Can you tell us more?

Mandy Köbke: I’m the exclusive distributor for a number of well-known brands in the UAE and the Middle East as a whole. My portfolio includes Magna-Tiles, Ostheimer, Grimm’s Wooden Toys and many others. At this stage, I know which products sell well here and I have contacts who can open the necessary doors.

So any brand looking to gain a foothold in these markets is welcome to reach out to you in confidence?

Mandy Köbke: Absolutely.

About the author 

Sibylle Dorndorf has been covering the toy industry for almost 30 years. Most recently, the journalist was editor-in-chief of the TOYS family of magazines at publisher Göller Verlag in Baden-Baden, Germany. Her passion: companies that reinvent themselves, brands that credibly position themselves, people who have something to say and products with a future.