Independent Toy Industry Sales Expert. Selective. Straight-talking.
Thierry Bourret
Founder & Sales Director
Thierry started his career as a trained French chef before moving into international business, eventually managing a €240 million business unit at Hitachi Europe. In 2009 he founded Asobi, a UK toy distribution company that he built from scratch to £2.4 million in revenue, working with brands like Orb Factory, Radio Flyer and Seedling.
In 2015 he moved to Hong Kong and established Konomocha as an international sales agency, bringing brands like Marvin’s Magic, Classic World and Rainbow Loom to new markets across EMEA and APAC.
Today, Thierry is one of the toy industry’s most followed commentators, with over 19,000 LinkedIn followers and published articles in Toy World and The Bugg Report. He’s known for telling it straight — whether that’s in print, in a buyer meeting, or in a frank conversation with a brand that needs to hear something it doesn’t want to.
Credibility Markers
17000 +
LinkedIn followers in the toy industry
€240M
Business unit managed at Hitachi Europe
2 +
Revenue built from scratch at Asobi UK
Published
Voice in major toy trade publications
Where We Operate
Konomocha is registered in Hong Kong, with support operations in the Philippines and Thierry based in Bangkok. It’s a deliberate setup for a business that operates across time zones from Europe to Asia-Pacific.
Being based in Southeast Asia means direct access to buyers and distributors across APAC, shorter travel times to key markets, and a genuine on-the-ground understanding of how business works in Asia — something you can’t replicate from a European office.
At the same time, we maintain strong relationships across EMEA. We attend Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg each year, run a private showroom in Hong Kong every January, and appear at the LA Fall Preview in September. Our active buyer network spans more than 60 countries.
Who We Work With
We’re selective. Not every brand is right for us, and we won’t pretend otherwise.
The brands that work well with Konomocha tend to have a product that stands on its own merits — something with genuine retail appeal, realistic pricing for international markets, and a team that understands distribution takes time to build. We currently represent brands across toys, collectables, arts and crafts, and gifts, including names like Angel Toy, Hornby, Scalextric, and Dimian.
What we don’t do is take on brands that aren’t ready. If your packaging won’t work in European retail, if your price point doesn’t leave room for distributor margin, or if you’re expecting results in 60 days, we’ll tell you before we waste each other’s time. Twenty years in this industry has taught us that honesty at the start saves everyone a lot of pain later.
The Konomocha Approach
Every brand in our portfolio gets dedicated attention and genuine sales effort. We’d rather represent ten brands properly than fifty half-heartedly.
We believe in long-term partnerships over quick wins. International distribution takes time to build properly, and we’re committed to growing your business year on year, not just landing an initial order and moving on.
Build slowly. Protect what you’ve built.
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