By Katherin BROWN

Amtoys started life only 15 years ago as an importer of European toys into Belgium. Founders Katia De Paepe and Simon-Pierre Gilliot followed the usual path of micro-companies, with the garage being used as a warehouse and the laundry room as an office. After four years of hard work, they had little to show for it and began to seek out other approaches. "It was easy for shops to contact the toy producers themselves and cut us out of the loop", remembers Katia De Paepe. So they took the bolder move of producing their own range of plushes, and from the outset targeted high quality products. So Nouky, the friendly teddy bear, was born in 1998.

Amtoys’ connections within the retail sector enabled it to rapidly make a success of the venture, and expanded the range to include characters such as Paco the Donkey and Lola the Cow (Toys of the Year 2002 in Belgium). Amtoys followed this with a range of infants’ clothes. To consolidate on what was already becoming a recognised brand, it opened Noukie shops in Brussels and Paris. Over the next two years, they expanded the network by adding further shops in Belgium and France but also Italy, Germany and Abu Dhabi.

The next phase of their growth was almost an accident. "Mothers began to ask us where they could find Noukie DVDs when there weren’t any", says Katia De Paepe. "They thought the characters came from a film". Spotting a latent market, they decided to investigate the feasibility of producing children’s programming. They contacted a scriptwriter and developed five short pilot programmes for the MIPCOM Junior trade fair, generating 80 screenings and numerous enquiries. "We really didn’t know what to expect as we were new to the sector".

After contacting Wallonia’s audiovisual body Wallimage, they put together the financing for a 26-episode series using the Belgian tax shelter and some pre-sales. They also found an understanding partner in Awex. "Over the years, we have worked together and they have proven very professional", says De Paepe. She points to a trade mission to Canada that led directly to further sales of the Noukies TV series over there. "You get aid from experts in their field".

© Dynamisme Wallon, 12/2007

Localisation : Saintes

Founded in : 1992

Activity : production of toys and plushes, licensor of the Noukie characters, production of Noukies animated series.

Employees : 120

Revenue : € 25 Mio

Export volume : 80%