TERRITORY REPORT: BENELUX & NORDIC


THE FACTS BENELUX


Population: 27,970,600


Countries: Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg Currency: Euro


Languages: Dutch, French, German, Luxembourgish,


Key retailers: 12Game.com, Bart Smit, Bol.com, Carrefour, Collishop.be, Colruyt, Cora, DelHaize, Dixons, Dreamland, Dynabyte, FNAC, Free Record Shop, Fun, Gamemania, Intertoys, Makro,


Mediamarkt/Saturn, Music Store, Smartoys, Supra Center, Traffic, V&D, Wehkamp


Distributors: ABC Soft, BEMs, Big Ben, CLD Distribution, DIES, EBS- Benelux, Favour Games, Gameworld, Hermans Retail, Home Entertainment Group, Horelec, Micromedia, MMS, PB Projects/Saltoo, Rigu Sound, VSN


NORDIC Population: 25,218,000


Countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden


Currencies: Euro, Danish Krone, Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krona


Languages: Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian


Key retailers: Antilla, Bilka, Blockbuster, CDON, Citymarket, Coop, Discshop, Elkjöp, F-Group, GAME, GameStop, Mediamarket, OnOff, Spaceworld, Stereostudio, Top Toy, Webhallen


Distributors: Also, Amo, Bergsala, Game Outlet, Koch Media, Massemedia, MPX.no, Nordic Games Supply, Nordisk Film, Panvision, PH/Elap Distribution, Plan 1, Platekompaniet, SIBA, Wendros


28 January 21st 2010


new strategies that will help them grow, or at least stay afloat. “The video games industry in


Europe faced some hard financial challenges during 2010, and Benelux was no exception,” says Michel van Elmpt, managing director of publisher Easy Interactive. “It was a tough year for the whole industry, with many companies bringing in lower turnovers in our home region. Alongside the financial pressures, the lack of new consoles on the market and the handhelds nearing the end of their lifecycles definitely caused a depressed level of consumer interest.”


Because of the falling sales, retailers and distributors are being more selective on the games they stock. “As the market declines, there has been less room for B and C titles,” says Hans Large, general manager


50


The number of Gamemania stores that opened in the Netherlands last year


for Koch Media in Benelux. “There is a strong focus on triple-A titles and franchises, with budget games performing well. The segment in- between is under pressure.” Leboutte agrees: “The market is challenging for publishers, distributors and wholesalers. “With the number of SKUs required often double or even triple that of France or the UK, it’s important to have a relevant logistic organisation and a fine-tuning commercial team. “You need the right products in the right quantities in order to function in this market.”


A TANGLED WEB


THE ONLINE games retail landscape in Nordic and Benelux countries is just as crowded as the High Street, if not more so.


Not only do many of the major


bricks-and-mortar chains have a web presence, but there are also prominent online-only retailers, such as Bol.com. While this marketplace


has been quieter than that of the UK in previous years, 2010 saw a significant increase in online sales. “E-commerce has developed in Belgium thanks to specialist sites like Smartoys,” says CLD Distribution CEO Jacques Leboutte.


“Bol.com has also helped drive the sector in the Netherlands.”


www.mcvuk.com


Publishers have to be just as careful in this increasingly competitive environment, working even closer with the High Street to secure product space.


“The majority of retailers have been able to lower their stock positions thanks to publishers adjusting their minimum orders. This helped to sustain the market and improve margins,” says van Elmpt. “Distributors have to be more discriminating, which means that publishers like us have to be more strategic with above-the-line spends.” Despite this, there was impressive growth among retailers over the past year in Benelux. Gamemania opened more than 50 new shops in the Netherlands, while Belgian chain Smartoys opened its 25th shop.


LOST IN TRANSLATION It’s a similar story in the Nordic regions: Denmark and the Scandinavian trio of Norway, Finland and Sweden. While the industry has felt the strain of recession, careful planning has ensured that many titles still return a tidy profit. “Retailers focus more on strong titles, as well as budget and pre- owned games,” says Martin Sirc, GM of Koch Media’s Nordic office. “Any titles in-between tend to suffer and often fail to get listed everywhere. “The Nordic market consists of four different languages which further complicates things – just try fitting a four-language blurb on the back of a DS game.” When working in a market that is considerably more fragmented than that of the UK, strategy becomes key and margins for error grow smaller. But the games industry in Benelux and Nordic is so accustomed to juggling consumer tastes and trends that economic troubles are just another challenge, rather than a burden.


“


We have to cope with a lot of different retailers on a tiny and limited market of 25 million people.


Jacques Leboutte, CLD Distribution


BOXING MATTERS


There have been several developments on the distribution scene over the last year, with the recession taking its toll on struggling firms.


“In the Netherlands, a major development was distributor Avalon Entertainment going bust,” says Koch Benelux GM Hans Large. “Fortunately, it was later acquired by Hermans Retail.”


Additionally, Nordic company


KE-Media was bought out by its management – a buyout partially funded by fellow distributor Bergsala – and became Nordic Game Supply. The surviving distributors have proved that growth is possible in the region, with CLD Distribution’s turnover


improving by 40 per cent year-on-year.


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