Squishmallows are also popular among star investors: Swiss plush toys are making Buffett’s coffers ring

But the oracle from Omaha received more from an insurer for the investment part in the spring of 2022. The company, almost in the style of a nesting Matryoshka figure, also housed a company called Jazwares, which Alleghany acquired in 2016. Florida’s Jazwares – and now the Christmas circle has come full circle – also owns the Squishmallows brand through its subsidiary Kelly Toys. Plush figures that excel around the world and in Switzerland at Christmas.

At least that’s what the Swiss Toy Association SVS reported after a survey of the largest local retailers at the end of November. In addition to all kinds of evergreen dolls, Lego and remote control cars, Squishmallows brand plush toys are especially popular at Christmas.

Mix of seat cushion and Pokémon card

A Christmas miracle called Squishmallows? Göttis and Gotten are probably scratching their heads at first. At first glance, the toy figures do not seem very unusual. To the untrained eye, Squishmallow’s cuddly toys look like a cross between an egg-shaped seat cushion, a Furby face, and a three-dimensional Pokémon card.

You can see it like this. But the cute creatures are making strong inroads with the target audience. At Swiss toy retailer Franz Carl Weber, for example, spandex figures stuffed with polyester fibers sit on multi-tiered shelves. The explanation for the extraordinarily high demand during a quick visit to the store reads: “It’s popular with girls and boys because it’s cute, plush and soft.” Its name is said to derive from the following characteristics: soft and fluffy (“soft”) and covered with a frothy, candy-like texture, as the sweet marshmallow is known for.

Wonders of Christmas past, such as Ninja Turtles, magic trolls, virtual pet Tamagotchi or Diddl mouse, tended to stand out from the crowd; but this was also true in times before the social media movement. Since the triumph of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, excitement around toys is often pre-ignited in the virtual space. Squishmallows have been scoring extremely well in this area since the pandemic.

On the whole, the success of the cute figures seems to be the total package of four main marketing components. First, the clout with which characters appear on TikTok. The #squishmallows hashtag has an incredible 6.3 billion views. This is also due to the fact that celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian early depicted themselves with cute soft figures on the Chinese image slingshot. Since then, both children and adults never tire of showing off in rooms full of pumpkins.

Collaborations with H&M and Puma

Second, the collecting instinct is important. Squishmallow’s parent company, Jazwares, floods the market with a wide variety of different figures. The choice is quite wide; 168 varieties are currently sold in the Swiss online store Galaxus alone. Point three: Squishmallows fit into any Christmas budget. It starts with the small 19-centimeter figure called “Salamander Forest” (prices start at 11 francs) and extends to the 50-centimeter creature Pokémon Winking Pikachu, which costs 67 francs.

The Pokémon keyword leads to success factor 4: Squishmallows’ parent company, Jazwares, is extremely successful at integrating its products into other worlds through licensing agreements, thereby creating transfers to already well-known characters. For example, there are also versions of Squishmallows from the world of Pokémon, the Disney universe (Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Minnie Mouse) or the “Star Wars” movie series.

Jazwares takes this collaboration strategy even further. US trade magazine “Women’s Wear Daily” reported that the collaboration with H&M will begin before Christmas. This is a 42-piece collection produced by Squishmallows in collaboration with the Swedish fast fashion chain. That’s not all: Next spring, the “plush feel” (self-promotion) will be channeled into a clothing and footwear collection with German sportswear retailer Puma. The push seems clear: Jazwares wants to expand its figures into a global lifestyle brand outside of the usual Christmas season, thereby possibly achieving higher prices. The company already does this quite well today by making individual figures scarce; Rare prints in the US sometimes cost over a thousand dollars.

Squishmallows bearing the likenesses of Warren Buffett and his recently deceased friend Charlie Munger aren’t that expensive. The figurines were first unveiled at Berkshire Hathaway’s last general meeting. Buffett’s students were able to purchase them from the realized investment. Soon many were offered for sale on Ebay. Market value: $500 per plush toy. The face of capitalism, the typically high intrinsic value of the company. Wherever Buffett is drawn, there is Buffett.