Toronto-based toy and entertainment company Spin Master has opened a new sales and marketing office in Warsaw, Poland, as part of the company’s ongoing expansion in Central Eastern Europe (CEE).

In a statement, Spin Master’s president and COO Ben Gadbois said the new office is designed to open additional markets, leverage the company’s geographic footprint through new channels of distribution, and increase sales with existing distributors.

In tandem with the Poland push, Spin Master has tapped Pavol Vano as GM of CEE. Reporting to Hedley Barnes, GM of Spin Master Northern Europe. Vano will be based in Prague and will be responsible for sales and marketing activities in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. The company’s centralized European operations and finance functions will remain in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Direct distribution in the territory includes Smyk, Toys “R” Us and Carrefour, while traditional trade business is managed through wholesalers including M&Z, Euro TRADE, Rekman and NAVO Orbico – Libra.

The expansion into Poland follows Spin Master’s launch of its popular Hatchimals and PAW Patrol brands in China in July. Both PAW Patrol and Hatchimals products are available in the territory in 137 Toys “R” Us stores, along with full market support at top online retailers (including Tmall.com and JD.com), as well as department store chains. Moving forward, the company will expand all of its core brands throughout China.

According to market research firm The NPD Group, Spin Master is the fourth-largest global toy, games and entertainment company. In Q2, Spin Master posted revenue of US$276.7 million, up 54% from the same period last year. In Europe, specifically, gross product sales increased by 32.4%, while North America saw growth of 60.3% and the rest of the world saw growth of 42.4%.

In addition to Hatchimals and PAW Patrol, Spin Master’s brands include Air Hogs, Bakugan and Meccano. Additionally, Spin Master Entertainment writes and produces the hit preschool series PAW Patrol.

The announcement comes six weeks after Spin Master bolstered to its North American team, adding former Guru Studio director Jamie Whitney and Sony Pictures Animation alum Alex Soto. Toronto-based Whitney was tapped as executive producer and showrunner of the company’s entertainment division, while L.A.-based Soto joined as executive producer for creative development. The hires came after Jennifer Dodge earlier this year rejoined the company newly created role of EVP of Spin Master Entertainment.

From Kidscreen