Sunman, the Turkish market leader in toy retail, distribution and production, has acquired 100% of Romania’s largest toy brand, Noriel. Combining its 38 years of experience with the power of Noriel, Sunman aims to strengthen its presence in foreign markets, to increase its product range by utilizing the opportunities in the market, and to reach a significant volume especially in toy exports.
Starting its toy story 38 years ago with distributorship in Kadıköy and reaching nearly 250 stores in Turkey and TRNC with its retail brand Toyzz Shop, Sunman, an important player in domestic toy production with its factory in Gebze, continues its investments in foreign markets as well as in Turkey within the scope of its growth plans. Sunman, which opened its first overseas store in Kosovo in July with the aim of becoming Turkey’s global toy brand this year, made an important purchase two weeks later that would carry its name to the top in the Balkans this time.
Noriel, acquired by Sunman, is recognized as the number one and most reliable brand in the Romanian toy market. Starting out as a family business in the 1980s, Noriel continued its rapid growth after being acquired by Enterprise Investors, one of the largest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe, in 2016. Today, it operates all over Romania with its 88 modern stores and its powerful online platform covering Bulgaria. Noriel is the one-stop shop for kids and parents with the largest toy retailer in its region.
“Noriel is our first acquisition project abroad” Cem Sunman, Chairman of Sunman Group, expressed his views on the purchase agreement; “Our company, which started its business life with the distribution of leading branded and licensed toys in Turkey with the motto ‘Toys are our business’ 38 years ago, has signed distributorship agreements with more than 60 brands from many countries of the world. We opened our first “Toyzz Shop” store by investing in the retail sector in the early 2000s, and today we have reached 250 stores in more than 50 cities. In 2017, we invested in a 12.000 m2 factory in Gebze to switch to domestic production, and today we have become an important toy manufacturer employing 250 people. Within the framework of our export-oriented growth strategies, we have been evaluating the opportunities to buy abroad for a long time. We consider our acquisition of the Romanian brand Noriel as an important step that will increase our foreign market share and our presence in the region, and support our exports. I would like to thank Kerem Göktan, owner of SGL Consulting, who gave us great support during this four-month period, Hergüner Law Office team and Wolf Theiss law firm leader Ileana Glodeanu, good luck to our industry and our country.”
