This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Selling: Football


Support on the wing


Pattni Imaginations is targeting the massive market for football equipment with its range of football action figures. David Pittman spoke to managing director Mayur Pattni to find out its tactics.


S


ince coming to the attention of SGB Sports with its collection of fully poseable football action figures at the turn of the year (see SGB Sports February, p5), Pattni Imaginations has gone from strength-to-strength.


Its Match Star figures feature players from five top teams: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and reigning European Champions Barcelona.


These have moveable heads, shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists, waist, legs, knees and ankles. Pattni Imaginations said the new range represents ‘a significant advance from non-moveable football player figures and presents a much more attractive prospect to the consumer’. The first line of figures are set to hit the shelves in October to cash-in on Christmas demand and the start of the new football season, with players featuring the latest home strips for the five teams Pattni Imaginations has struck licensing agreements with.


Pattni Imaginations is now putting its efforts into growing recognition of the range and awareness of its brand in the competitive toy market. This includes through the independent sports retail channel, which managing director Mayur Pattni says is of great importance to the company and its strategy.


He has already gone on record saying that the range will work well alongside existing football- related lines and help independents boost their bottom lines with valuable point-of-sale merchandise that will capture the imagination of consumers.


Further developments are set to support this proclamation, he says. This includes the development of a new website, launched at the end of June, to better promote the figures and support the growth of brand awareness; social network integration, such as the use of Facebook where the Match Stars page has nearly 4,000 fans; developing promotional relationships with consumer football magazines such as Match and


26 www.sgb-sports.com


sell players wearing the wrong kit as Pattni Imaginations uses a manufacturing system that keeps all player bodies identical and fits them with bespoke heads. This allows the range to keep up-to-date with the latest transfers, such as those seen in the last January transfer window when big-money players arrived at both Liverpool and Chelsea,


Even though the product is still four months away from hitting the shelves, Pattni Imaginations was quick to announce that it was to introduce Fernando Torres and Luis Suárez figures in blue and red kits respectively.


Shoot; and introducing other promotional goods and activities.


The new website will include a trade portal for bulk ordering, as well as affording Pattni Imaginations the opportunity to offer direct-to- consumer sales, a service that can sometimes contradict efforts to support and work with independent retailers.


However, Pattni the man says retailers will actually benefit from it offering sales direct to consumers.


“Growing brand awareness through direct-to- consumer sales and our wider promotional activity will promote the products in the consumer’s mind. This will help retailers as it will grow brand awareness and recognition, and make the products a more valuable commodity. “We definitely want to work with independent retailers as the sports market is a key one for us to push.”


He says retailers can work in a number of ways to maximise interest and returns from the football action figures. They can bundle the figures with sales of new kit, he suggests as an example, although noting that idea may have to wait until the toys’ second season in the UK. This idea can be developed further and tied in with the launch of new boots, gloves or any other football products.


Retailers also need not fear having to try and


It is also constantly working to extend its range to new clubs and players as the make-up of Europe’s top leagues develops. For instance, Mayur Pattni says the company is already in discussion with Tottenham Hotspur who are ‘very interested’ in becoming part of the range. Manchester City are another Premier League club Pattni Imaginations would like to work with, as well as Spain’s Real Madrid and a number of Italian teams.


For now though, it is focusing on getting the first season under its belt. “We’re finishing development of the range in order to get an October launch so we hit the market at a key time ahead of Christmas.”


This will mainly be through big name retail partners, such as Argos and Amazon, as at the moment independent retail partners have been slow to bite. This is of no surprise to Mayur Pattni as he is aware that smaller retailers tend to adopt a more cautious approach to stock management. He remain resolute though in his desire to work more closely with the independent retail community.


“It is something we are pushing towards as it is a market we want to work with. The work we’re doing at the moment will allow us to lay the foundations that will grow sales and market opportunities for the Match Star range, and our other line of Rocky [based on the Sylvester Stallone movie franchise] figures.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40