What’s your game? T
games&puzzles
A strong finish to 2013 sees companies operating in the Games and Puzzles sector eyeing continued success in 2014. Tom Roberts reports.
here’s no denying that the UK is a nation of board game and puzzle lovers. It’s a testament to the suppliers working in the category who manage to keep the products so engaging.
And the sector is healthy,
there’s no arguing with the figures. Throughout the duration of 2013, the Games and Puzzles super category experienced only two months of decline. Every other month charted growth which resulted in it finishing the year 4% up on 2012’s figures. The Christmas period, predictably, was the peak time for the super category in 2013 with 42% of its sales taking place in the month of December alone. So far this year, the category is performing very well, up 6% year-to-date according to The NPD Group’s data (to the end of February 2014). And a lot of Games and Puzzles suppliers are reinforcing these positive statistics with their own reports of a strong start to the year. Claire McCool of Drumond Park told me that the company has had a fantastic first quarter, with interest in board games described as “staggeringly good for the time of year”. She said: “Retailers are making far deeper selections than ever before right across the appeal spectrum of types including Children’s, Family and Adult. Our order book is already well up on the same quarter last year by more than 50%. If this huge growth pattern is similar for the other manufacturers, the category is going to go through the roof this year.” Claire added that she is seeing real dynamism in the games market right now and has great expectations for two of Drumond Park’s new products, developed from scratch by the company’s internal creative and development team; Logo Grab and Shout!, both of which are selling in well already. She enthused that the interest in children’s and family games has been “phenomenal this year, with many of our perennial favourites performing as never before. We’re helping our retailers shift even more of our products over the Easter holidays by running TV adverts for a number of our top-selling lines. These include Pig Goes Pop, Bubble Buster Kazoo, Magic Tooth Fairy, Don’t Laugh, Doh Nutters, and our new Logo Billionaire family game which is already performing very well.”
Also confident is Adrian Whyles of University
Games who said that the company has also had a very encouraging start to 2014. He said: “The test of how the previous year finished is in the strength of the order book for January and February. Both months have been very encouraging, and March is continuing this trend.” Like Claire, Adrian is also of the opinion that there is a very positive feeling amongst buyers with regard to board games, who are encouraged by last year’s strong performance, adding: “We have also received positive feedback from consumers, the real test, who increasingly
80 Toyworld
consider playing board games as an ideal opportunity to spend time together as a family and have some fun.” Positivity continues to flow from Simon Pilkington of John Adams who said that, following a fantastic year in 2013, which was topped off by winning the prestigious Supplier of the Year award, 2014 has started very positively for his company too. He commented: “Although the games market is very much focused around Q4 and Christmas, 2013’s Game of the Year Gooey Louie remains in high demand as well as the number-one-selling children’s action game, Doggie Doo. Rubik’s Cube also continues to sell strongly throughout the year. We are looking forward to another year of growth whilst continuing to build on the successful formulae that we have developed over the last four years.” Simon revealed that over the Easter period John Adams will be delivering a strong TV campaign to maintain awareness and drive sales of its action games category. He added: “For 2014 we are introducing six brand new products, with something for the whole family to enjoy.” Toy World will keep you updated as they launch. Jeremy Pateman of Tactic Games also reported that his company is on track and performing well in the UK, alongside the rest of the Tactic Group across Europe and the USA. Jeremy commented: “While there is less distribution for the category during the first half we are achieving year-on-year growth through development of new channels not
Drumond Park
traditionally associated with Games and Puzzles. While we are present in the majority of the key retail outlets, there are still plenty to go for. Having a broad licensed product offering has been a significant element in extending our distribution into alternative channels of distribution. But there is a wider product offering across the category nowadays than I can ever recall seeing.” Jeremy observed that this is good for all concerned because product variety and new product development is essential if the category is to retain the strong consumer interest it currently enjoys, adding: “The intention this year is to build upon last year’s success. Our licensed offering is the strongest we have had and we will be heavily promoting key home grown products such as Original Alias. We have also bolstered our sales team in the UK with the appointment of Greg Burns as national sales manager; Greg brings a wealth of experience to the company and the team. And last, but by no means least, there will be two major licence announcements in the near future.” A more recent entry to the Games and Puzzles
sector, Goldfish & Bison, is also enjoying a strong start to the new year. Lee-Anne Neal commented: “We have experienced great success with the launch, marketing and distribution of new and iconic games, and have created a solid base and platform to continue to grow and develop our games portfolio. The launch of Ghost Hunt was a sell out success when introduced in 2012 and
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