The company, founded 75 years ago by Friedrich Schleich in Schwäbisch Gmünd, is one of the largest toy manufacturers in Germany and a leading provider of original play concepts internationally. The famous toy figurines from Schleich are sold in over 50 countries and have found their way into children’s rooms all around the world.

As a global player with Swabian roots, today the company is majority owned by the European investment group HgCapital. Other shareholders are the two managing directors Paul Kraut and Erich Schefold.

The design of the Schleich play worlds and the creation of the production tools are done in Germany, as are the quality and safety tests. The production itself takes place both at the company’s German headquarters in Schwäbisch Gmünd and in other production facilities abroad.

Alongside production at the German company headquarters in Herlikofen (Schwäbisch Gmünd), Schleich also works with long-standing partners who produced exclusively for the company in Portugal, Tunisia and China.

Each of the production locations undergoes regular and strict quality controls and checks as part of the Schleich quality promise.

All partner companies are ICTI / ISO 9000 certified or are undergoing the certification process.

▸ Quality and Safety

Schleich’s company headquarters are in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. The famous Schleich figures are on sale in over 50 countries around the world. Contact with international clients takes place via our other offices in Lyon for France, London for Great Britain and Ottawa for Canada and North America, as well as through our distributors in other countries.

▸ Distributors

Schleich is represented by its figures in over 50 countries around the world. It's quick and easy to find out which toy shops near you stock Schleich in Germany, Great Britain, France, Canada and North America using our “Store Locator”.

▸ Store Locator

In all other countries our partners and distributors will be pleased to help you. You will find more information and contacts here:

▸ Distributors

Only the best is good enough for our children's development.

Our Schleich figures help promote children's development and, through creative and imaginative play, help them to learn the lasting values which will prepare them for a joyful and positive life.

This objective is our number one priority and is firmly anchored in everything we do.

Each year we develop and expand our play worlds with new figures which were missing before or which increase the play value of the world as a whole.

We take inspiration from nature, collaboration with international experts and our most critical fans, the children. The first step is to draw out the idea and develop the design. After initial checking and approval of the design our modellers begin to form the figure in wax. This takes a great deal of flair and experience. This first model goes through another approval process by internal and external experts. In the next step a resin cast is created from the final wax model; this is used as the model for painting the figure and for creating the production tools. The tools are painstakingly refined by hand until the production pattern for the figure meets our high quality requirements. Hand painting makes every figure absolutely unique.

Children are the most valuable thing that people can give one another. Your well-being is important to every parent because you are the future of our society. So when it comes to toys, parents and educators want only the best quality.

For Schleich this goes without saying. We make sure that your Schleich play worlds are perfect in every way and that there are no hidden risks of injury. In order to achieve this, there are various guidelines and regulations for the manufacture of toys. We do everything necessary to comply with these requirements. But we do much more for your safety: the regulations which we set for ourselves are even stricter than the law. All our products are checked by internal teams of experts using demanding tests at our German headquarters in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Other tests are also carried out by independent, accredited test centres. Only once a product complies with all laws, standards and guidelines – including our own requirements – is it approved for production and can carry the Schleich S flag. Everything is subject to strict quality controls – even our suppliers.

Finally we make sure that working conditions, including those of our international suppliers, are fair and socially supportive. Schleich staff regularly check all production premises.

When it comes to toys, parents and educators demand the best quality and the highest level of product safety. These are our top priorities which we stick to one hundred percent – no compromises. Because children are our future. The primary duty of our company is to support you in every way we can and protect you from harm. This is why we check the design, material and safety of our toys with the greatest care.

The CE label on our toys confirms that the product complies with the relevant European regulations (EN71). Of course, we comply with all national standards or even exceed them. Alongside the international standard IS0 8124 we also meet country-specific regulations for North America, Japan and many other nations. Some of the conditions set by other countries and markets are even stricter than the European standard. Every single Schleich product meets these conditions and requirements too.

We not only set tight controls for ourselves and our production stages, we begin with our materials suppliers. They are only approved for use in Schleich products if they are aware of the quality of their processes and materials, comply with international toy regulations and can present the relevant laboratory reports.

The main materials we use are a variety of plastics and a special softener. We make sure that this is used in the same way all over the world so that small parts cannot break off our figures and the material is pleasant to the touch and not too hard. This softener was developed and tested by BASF for particularly demanding applications. It is not only approved for use in toy manufacturing but also for food packaging and for use in the medical field for example as bags for blood products, breathing tubes etc. This means that here too, we are meeting all legal requirements.

Schleich quality assurance staff check and control all production premises as well as our materials suppliers every year.

Each Schleich figure carries the Schleich embossed label in the least obtrusive spot possible so as not to detract from the pleasure of play. This embossed label gives our company name and headquarters, the country of production and the CE label. This means that each figure can be clearly identified with regard to country and year of production.

More obvious for the consumer is the Schleich S flag on the packaged figures. This clearly signals that the figure belongs to the Schleich family.

Schleich's lifelike animal figures are divided into 6 sales groups. Each one of these price categories is assigned a coloured dot (green, blue, red, yellow, grey and brown) which is displayed on the Schleich S flag on the figure. All the figures within one colour group are sold at the same price.

In order to meet our own high quality standards we put our figures through all kinds of situations to simulate play and stress. This helps us to ensure that our figures last a very long time and can stand up to some tough play. If, in spite of this, your figure is damaged while you're playing with it then we are sorry. In case of any complaint you can send your figure back to us and we will check the fault and send you a replacement.

Are the instructions missing from the packaging of your Schleich accessories? Then we’ve made a mistake and apologise sincerely.

But this doesn’t mean that you can't put your accessory together. Under “Construction manuals” in our “Consumer Service” section you will find all the instructions for current Schleich accessories. Have fun building and playing with them.

▸ Construction Manuals

Playing with Schleich figures is similar to old-fashioned role-play. A game with no instructions and no limits which lets the child's imagination run free. Schleich play worlds embody for children a harmonious world in all its natural and varied forms: a miniature play world for little hands. Inspired by mother nature, their creativity is encouraged and they learn to express their emotions.

Our Schleich figures help promote children's development and through creative and imaginative play help them to learn sustainable values which will prepare them for a joyful and positive life.

With Schleich, “Anywhere’s a Playground™” means that there are no limits on your imagination: not where you play and not how you play. With no need for instructions or translation you can play with Schleich anywhere in the world, no matter what continent you live on or what language you speak. A tiger is a tiger, anywhere in the world.