Press release,
Turnhout, Tuesday 19 June 2001
CARTA MUNDI INVESTS TO BECOME WORLD PLAYER
EUROPEAN LICENSE FOR HARRY POTTER PLAYING CARDS
Carta Mundi, the European market leader in the production and sale of playing cards, has acquired the license for Harry Potter playing cards for 22 European countries. The Belgian playing card producer can thus launch a complete line of Harry Potter playing cards throughout Europe. Besides the development and production, Carta Mundi will also be taking charge of the entire marketing and sale of the Harry Potter playing cards.
Obtaining this European license allows Carta Mundi to further develop its international strategy and strengthen its presence on the world market. As part of this effort, in 2001 Carta Mundi is once again investing in the further expansion of its headquarters in Turnhout.
Magic in a book
Harry Potter sprang from the fertile imagination of the English writer J.K. Rowling.
He is an orphan who discovers that he is predestined to become a great wizard. He receives a mysterious letter admitting him to the ´Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry´. One school year is described in each Harry Potter book. Harry Potter's schooling goes on for 7 years, which means there will be a total of 7 books, 4 of which have already been published. More than 100 million copies of the first 4 books have been sold worldwide. On November 21st of 2001, Warner Bros. will also launch their film of the first book, ´Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone´.
European launch
Carta Mundi has acquired the European license for the development, production, marketing and sale of Harry Potter playing cards in 16 languages in 22 countries.
The products which Carta Mundi is launching under this license are aimed at the age category of 8-14 year olds. In the Harry Potter series, Carta Mundi is launching 3 playing card products all of which are available in both a deluxe version and a mass-market version.
Specific know-how from a rich Kempen tradition
Carta Mundi, established in Turnhout, the world's centre for playing cards, has been a leading playing card producer for more than 175 years. The product line of Carta Mundi is divided into 2 business units. First there is the ´playing cards´ unit, which includes 3 product groups. There is our own retail collection with the licence cards (e.g. Disney and now Harry Potter as well) and the tarot cards. The advertising cards and the casino cards also form part of this unit. The second, ´games´ business unit includes the collecting cards (e.g. Pokemon) and the cards for games (e.g. Monopoly and Cluedo). Our own R&D and marketing unit develops new cards and innovative games which, combined with many years of experience and workmanship, constantly further enrich the Carta Mundi assortment.
Carta Mundi is held 50% by the packaging group Van Genechten and 50% by the graphics group Brepols. In 2000, Carta Mundi achieved a turnover of 90 million EUR (3.6 billion BEF), an increase of more than 60% over 1999. This altogether extraordinary turnover increase is partly due to the success of the collecting cards, especially Pokemon.
Carta Mundi, cards of the world
Along with its headquarters and production centre in Turnhout, Carta Mundi also has 2 production sites in Germany and the USA. These 3 establishments annually produce around 200 million card games with nearly 550 employees. The 6 other sales offices in the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Hungary and Switzerland, together with local agents in several other countries, form a worldwide network. 97% of the production is exported via this network to over 50 countries around the globe. The local presence in the various countries allows Carta Mundi to offer playing cards throughout the world, which are always in keeping with local cultural values, standards and traditions.
New investments worth 10.5 million EUR (425 million BEF)
in Turnhout site
In recent years, Carta Mundi has made substantial efforts to further expand the company and position itself as a world player. After an earlier breakthrough as a European market leader at the beginning of the 1990's, Carta Mundi clearly feels comfortable in its role as a leading world player.
Over the past two years, Carta Mundi has opened branch offices in the Netherlands, Hungary and Sweden and made acquisitions in Germany (Ass) and Switzerland (AGM).
Carta Mundi wishes to keep investing in the further expansion of its market position in the future.
Thus in 2001 Carta Mundi plans an additional investment of 10.5 million EUR (425 million BEF) in its Turnhout headquarters.
7.4 million EUR (300 million BEF) is being invested in the existing production hall to update the equipment with the most advanced printing and card-making technology. The new investments in the existing production infrastructure will increase the capacity by 15% over 2001.
In addition, Carta Mundi is starting to build a new 5200m² warehouse, which represents a 40% expansion of the surface area. An amount of around 3 million EUR (125 million BEF) has been provided for the project.
50 new employees were already hired in 2000 to support the new investments of the past 2 years. In 2001 Carta Mundi will expand its personnel by another 20 employees, in order to further develop its market position as a world player.