Habermaass
Corporate brand
UnclaimedHabermaass is a German family-owned group whose Haba and Wehrfritz businesses make toys, games, educational products, and furnishings for childcare and schools.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Habermaass GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned German manufacturing and trading group headquartered in Bad Rodach, Bavaria. The company is best known internationally through the Haba brand, which produces wooden toys, games, puzzles, textile play products, children's-room accessories, and related items. Its business portfolio also includes Wehrfritz, a specialist supplier of furniture, equipment, teaching materials, and therapy products for day-care centres and schools. The group has additionally operated or owned businesses in children's clothing, digital education, mobile applications, educational workshops, and specialist toy retail. The company was established in 1938 after merchant Eugen Habermaaß acquired part of a factory producing finely polished wooden goods. In the same year he joined Anton Engel and Karl Wehrfritz to form Wehrfritz & Co. The partnership was reorganised as Habermaaß & Co. in 1940, with Eugen Habermaaß as managing partner and his wife Luise as co-partner. Although wartime production included transport and ammunition crates and wooden training models, the business later developed a consumer identity around carefully made wooden toys. The Haba name became associated particularly with building blocks and other early-learning products. After Eugen Habermaaß died in 1955, Luise Habermaaß assumed management. Their son Klaus Habermaaß joined the company after training as a cabinetmaker and completing engineering studies in 1961. Under the family’s direction, the company expanded its product range and international footprint. It entered educational furniture and equipment through the Wehrfritz business, created the Jako-o children's fashion mail-order operation in 1987, established overseas subsidiaries, and broadened its games publishing activities from the 1980s onward. Haba's board and children's games became important parts of the business, with titles such as Obstgarten, Karambolage, Kayanak, Der schwarze Pirat, Diego Drachenzahn, and Funkelschatz receiving notable German children's-game awards or nominations. The group has remained privately held while operating internationally. Its United States activities have included Haba USA and, from 2021, the Bella Luna Toys and Oompa businesses. Other expansion included a French subsidiary, a United Kingdom operation, a Hong Kong subsidiary, the acquisition of school-furniture manufacturer Project Schul- und Objekteinrichtungen, and investments in digital education. The group also founded or controlled Haba Digitalwerkstätten and acquired the children's app developer Fox and Sheep, later selling that business. Habermaass entered a difficult restructuring period in 2023. The company closed its Digitalwerkstatt sites, announced substantial job reductions, discontinued the Jako-o baby and children's fashion division, and filed for insolvency in self-administration on 12 September 2023. The restructuring plan announced in December 2023 concentrated the continuing business around Haba toys and the educational-furnishings operation then called Haba Pro, formerly Wehrfritz. The Eisleben school-furniture plant was sold effective 1 January 2024, and the self-administration proceedings ended on 1 March 2024. Jako-o continued under a licence arrangement for functional clothing and textile accessories. Further workforce reductions followed in 2024 and 2025, while Haba Pro was renamed Wehrfritz again in 2025. In 2023 the group reported revenue of €216.2 million and employed approximately 2,000 people, according to the cited Wikipedia reference. Habermaass also maintains a philanthropic dimension through the Habermaass Stiftung, which supports nature protection and projects involving children and young people. The group therefore combines a traditional toy-manufacturing heritage with educational furnishings, learning resources, international distribution, and family-foundation activities.
History
Habermaass traces its origins to 1938, when Eugen Habermaaß acquired half of a Bad Rodach factory making finely polished wooden goods. He had previously worked in commercial and trading roles in the Coburg and Upper Franconia region. In April of that year, Habermaaß, Anton Engel, and Karl Wehrfritz established Wehrfritz & Co., a wholesale business. Wehrfritz left after six months, and Engel withdrew in 1940, when the enterprise became Habermaaß & Co., a limited partnership managed by Eugen Habermaaß with Luise Habermaaß as co-partner. During the Second World War, the company made transport and ammunition crates for the Wehrmacht as well as wooden model vehicles and tanks used for training. After the war, the American military government placed the business under trustee administration for approximately one year. Eugen Habermaaß died unexpectedly in 1955, after which Luise took over management. Their son Klaus trained as a cabinetmaker, studied engineering, and entered an active leadership role in 1961. The business gradually developed a consumer-facing identity around wooden toys, especially building blocks, while retaining its manufacturing base in Bad Rodach. Expansion accelerated from the 1980s. Habermaass purchased the American company Skaneateles Handicrafters in 1980, later operating it under names including T. C. Timber and Habermaass Corp. The group founded Jako-o in 1987 as a mail-order business for children's clothing, toys, and accessories. A French subsidiary was established in 1993, followed by additional international operations in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Project Schul- und Objekteinrichtungen, a school-furniture producer, was acquired in 2009. The company also expanded into digital products, buying Fox and Sheep in 2015 and taking full ownership of Haba Digitalwerkstätten in 2020. Fox and Sheep was later sold. Haba's games business expanded from the mid-1980s. An internal editorial team began developing games in 2001, complementing the company's established toy lines. Its catalogue came to include family and children's games, puzzles, ball tracks, vehicles, craft products, dolls, books, and outdoor-discovery products. Several Haba games won or were nominated for German children's-game awards. The Wehrfritz business developed a complementary position supplying furniture, room equipment, teaching materials, and therapy aids to educational institutions. Outside Germany, some of these products were sold under Haba or Haba Education branding. The group remained family-owned but encountered serious financial pressure in the early 2020s. Jako-o had longstanding economic problems, and its transition from older software to SAP was associated with falling revenue at the beginning of 2023. Habermaass closed its Digitalwerkstatt sites in April 2023, announced large-scale job cuts in July, and discontinued Jako-o's baby and children's fashion division in August. It entered insolvency proceedings in self-administration on 12 September 2023. A restructuring plan published in December sought to preserve a smaller core of roughly 1,000 employees and focus the group on Haba toys and educational equipment. The Eisleben furniture plant was sold at the beginning of 2024, and the insolvency proceedings ended on 1 March 2024. Jako-o continued through a licensing arrangement covering functional clothing and textile accessories. Additional workforce reductions were announced in 2024 and 2025. In 2025, the Haba Pro educational business resumed the Wehrfritz name. The group also includes the Habermaass Stiftung, founded by Klaus Habermaaß in 2019 to support nature, environmental protection, children, and youth projects. Since 2025 it has operated under its current foundation name.
- 2025
Haba Pro returns to Wehrfritz name
[1]The educational-furnishings business was renamed Wehrfritz again.
- 2024
Insolvency proceedings concluded
[1]Self-administration proceedings ended, while the Eisleben plant was sold and Jako-o continued under licence.
- 2023
Insolvency and restructuring
[1]The group closed Digitalwerkstatt sites, reduced its workforce, discontinued Jako-o fashion, and filed for insolvency in self-administration.
- 2021
Bella Luna Toys and Oompa acquired
[1]The group's US business acquired Bella Luna Toys and the Oompa brand.
- 2019
Foundation established
[1]Klaus Habermaaß established a foundation supporting nature and projects involving children and young people.
- 2015
Fox and Sheep acquired
[1]The group acquired the children's app developer Fox and Sheep, which it subsequently sold in 2020.
- 2009
Project school-furniture business acquired
[1]Habermaass acquired Project Schul- und Objekteinrichtungen, expanding its educational-furniture activities.
- 2001
In-house games editorial team established
[1]Haba began developing new games through an internal editorial operation.
- 1987
Jako-o founded
[1]The group created Jako-o as a mail-order business for children's fashion, toys, and accessories.
- 1980
Entry into the United States
[1]Habermaass acquired Skaneateles Handicrafters, establishing an important base for its later US operations.
Products and positioning
Family-owned, child-centred and education-oriented manufacturing, combining durable play products with equipment and learning resources for early-childhood and school environments.
Wooden toys
Haba wooden toys
Haba's traditional toy range is built around wood and includes building blocks, pull-along figures, vehicles, clutching toys, toy-shop products, ball tracks, craft sets, outdoor products, and discovery-focused play materials. The range is associated with durable construction and early-learning play.
Board and card games · 1986
Haba games and puzzles
Haba publishes children's, family, board, card, party, and puzzle games. Notable titles include Obstgarten, Karambolage, Kayanak, Der schwarze Pirat, Diego Drachenzahn, Karuba, Rhino Hero: Super Battle, Funkelschatz, and The Key: Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land.
Vehicle and ball-track play
Kullerbü
Kullerbü is a modular Haba play system based on vehicle routes and ball-track elements. It extends the company's construction and motion-play heritage and received recognition at the 2018 Toy Awards.
Educational furniture and equipment
Wehrfritz educational equipment
Wehrfritz supplies tables, chairs, cloakrooms, cupboards, room dividers, play and climbing structures, and interior-design services for day-care centres and schools. Its wider portfolio includes teaching materials and therapy aids. The business was temporarily branded Haba Pro before returning to Wehrfritz in 2025.
Children's clothing and accessories · 1987
Jako-o
Jako-o was created as a mail-order business covering children's clothing, toys, and accessories. The original baby and children's fashion division was discontinued during the 2023 restructuring, with a later licence allowing the brand to continue in functional clothing and textile accessories.
Brand decisions
2023
Concentration on Haba and Haba ProStrategyBackground
The group faced economic difficulties, closures, declining activity in Jako-o fashion, and insolvency proceedings.
Action taken
The restructuring plan announced in December 2023 reorganised the continuing business around Haba children's toys and Haba Pro educational furnishings, with a substantially smaller workforce.
Aftermath
The Eisleben plant was sold, insolvency proceedings ended in March 2024, and the educational business later resumed the Wehrfritz name.
2023
Discontinuation of Jako-o children's fashionOtherBackground
Jako-o had experienced longstanding economic problems, with additional revenue pressure during a software transition to SAP.
Action taken
Habermaass discontinued the Jako-o baby and children's fashion division and later licensed the brand for functional clothing and textile accessories.
Aftermath
The original in-house fashion operation ended, while the brand continued under a licensing model.
2021
Acquisition of Bella Luna Toys and OompaM&ABackground
Habermaass's US business sought to broaden its specialist toy retail and Waldorf-oriented offering.
Action taken
The US operation acquired online retailer Bella Luna Toys and the Oompa brand.
Aftermath
Bella Luna Toys moved order fulfilment to Haba USA's facility in Skaneateles, New York.
Sources1 sources
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