Vesna toy factory annually produces over a million dolls. Combining traditional and modern technologies in production, the company creates toys that convey national flavor and culture.
Turning points
Three dates in the history of the company are significant. The first date is 1942, the year of formation of the enterprise. These were the hardest years of the Great Patriotic War, but despite this, taking care of children at that time was a matter of national importance. Therefore, it was decided to organize a toy production in Kirov, and on June 26, 1942, the cooperative craft society Igrushka was founded. The next important stage was the process of uniting ten toy-manufacturing enterptises of the region into Vyatka association (1963). Thanks to the planned economy, the Vyatka association had no problems with product sales. Universal trading bases worked as planned and the goods were distributed between stores. The Ministry of Light Industry exercised general management and determined the priorities for the further development of each individual enterprise. The third important date for the company is 1991 - the year of Vesna formation. After the reorganization of the Kirov Production Association Vyatka, the company was created under the Vesna brand. The company under Vesna trademark has been producing a wide range of toys for 76 years.
Strategic potential
The company’s strategic potential is material, financial, informational and human resources that help to achieve its intended goals. Vesna annually holds strategic and foresight sessions, market research on important decisions regarding markets, customers, partners, development directions and the overall business model. At the beginning of this year, the company held a strategic session with the leadership and key employees of the factory in order to develop new projects that give impetus to the development of the enterprise and increase the company’s profit. As a result, Vesna received four promising projects that are currently being implemented. The company bases its relationships with customers and partners on honesty in communication, quality of products, prompt response to market changes and the introduction of the most modern technologies. With large partners Vesna holds consumer conferences, meets at exhibitions, forums, while communicates with direct consumers in social networks and on the company’s website. Sometimes customers proposals are implemented in specific projects. For example, the project on doll clothes was realized in 2018 to improve the appearance and consumer appeal.
Major products
The whole process of toy creation takes place within the walls of the factory. This is the author’s work of a large and cohesive team. Today, the company is one of the recognized leaders in the production of dolls in Russia, so the doll is the visiting card for which buyers recognize Vesna. Of all the raw materials available in the global commodity market, the company chooses only the best, safe and high-quality materials. Currently, there is an active work on the assortment policy of the enterprise. Only in the last three months 100 SKUs have been updated. Today, Vesna has more than 800 product items in its assortment. The company is not going to stop there and is constantly working on the quality and safety of toys for children.
Manufacturing technology
The company uses world-famous technologies in the production of plastic toys - rotational molding, injection molding and soft toys stuffing.The quality of the technological process is provided by the equipment, so only in the last 2-3 years the company has modernized and updated its workshops with modern knitting and sewing machines, as well as rotary kilns. For the production of plastisol, the factory has installed modern Italian equipment, including vacuum loading lines. This is almost completely closed and automated line to minimize the contact of the production process with the external environment, which, in turn, contributes to the quality of plastisol.
Export to other countries
The faktory has long been working with the export of products. Most of the mare deliveried to the CIS countries: Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, since they have a higher level of trust in Russia. Another factor is that the quality of domestic goods is higher compared to, for example, some products of Southeast Asia. Vesna is constantly expanding its pool of foreign partners. In 2018, the online store has completed the largest number of foreign orders since its opening in 2010: to USA, Canada, Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, Israel, Australia, Ukraine, Greece, France and Latvia. In addition, through whole sale buyers dolls disperse around the world and could be even found in New York stores. In 2019, the delivery modules will be updated and the geography of supplies will be expanded.
Trusted partners
A good partner is a key condition for success and the Vesna is grateful to its regular suppliers for the reliability, quality of raw materials, fast delivery and flexibility in solving problems. For example, the supplier of packaging for dolls JSC Raduga is the company which has been working with Vesna since its formation. From foreign companies, reliable suppliers of equipment and raw materials are: Polivinil Rotomachinery S. p. A., Caccia Engineering S.r.l., Manufacturas ULLSPLAST S.L
Mission and values
Toy production is a socially responsible business. The quality of the future citizen ultimately depends on the conditions in which the child develops. Therefore, the mission of the company is to create and produce high-quality toys at the level of the best domestic and world standards, satisfying the continuously changing consumer demands. The company’s products are designed to form and develop the aesthetic taste of children. Today, the factory employs 550 people - these are foundry workers and assemblers, artists and sculptors, designers and seamstresses; engineering and technical personnel: designers, chemists and technologists. Management processes provide services such as: commercial, marketing, financial, legal, economic and administrative. It turns out that specialists from 90 different professions are involved in creating one doll. Achieving success requires maximum concentration of the efforts of the entire factory and each employee on improving the quality of products and processes and on the rapid development and launch of new products. Despite the challenges of the time, the company has a stable economic position and continues to occupy a leading position in the production of dolls. The average industry profitability (8% ) is given by the enormous work of a large group of like-minded people.
Certificates and awards
The quality management system of the enterprise is certified for compliance with the requirements of the international standard ISO 9001. Also, the company was awarded the Quality Leader prize. This is the highest prize of the competition program 100 best goods of Russia, awarded for the stable production of high-quality products. Baby Dolls Vesna is the winner of the national award in the field of goods and services for children Golden Bear. This is a professional award that encourages consumer qualities of products and services, the highest achievements of companies, government and public organizations and industry leaders who have made a significant contribution to the development of the industry of goods and services for children and families with children. In 2017, the factory received the Best for Children Quality Mark. The Best for Children is a system of voluntary certification of children’s products, services for children and adolescents in the QUALITY category.
New investments in further growth
Vesna plans to continue to implement a scientific approach to the formation of the range. The employees of the marketing department study the audience of potential buyers, the types of demand, the expectations of customers; competitors who work in the same segment; market trends. Based on the study, the company determines the change in demand in the future and the pricing policy. In connection with this approach, Vesna began a large-scale change of collections in the main range. The company has created a new version of the doll Asya Vesna named Asya. Incredible Adventures; as well as the new doll Baby Sonia Vesna. The company plans to create and develop from eighty to one hundred new and updated products quarterly. Vesna has entered into an agreement with the licensing agency Melnitsa and New types of dolls have already appeared on the market: the Rosa Barboskina doll and the Barboskin and Luntik finger puppet theaters. According to the director of the Melnitsa, LyudmilaTsoi, this is the first experience of working with one of the oldest Russian manufacturers Vesna, and licensing agency is pleased with the result. Thanks to the attention and scrupulousness in the development of this project, fans of the Melnitsa cartoon studio will appreciate the play value of the new products. For its part, the studio releases new episodes of the Luntik and Barboskin TV series and provides the company with marketing suport. In 2018, Vesna entered the large retail chains, such as Magnit and Svetofor. The company also entered into an agreement with the well-known network METRO Cash & Carry, X5 Retail Group (“X5”), one of the leading Russian multi-format retail companies, and the Wildberries online hypermarket, a Russian international online store. In 2019, Vesna plans to ensure uninterrupted supply of goods in accordance with the contracts and the expansion of sales in the foreign market.
