Winning Moves Discover the ‘New 9’ products that are bang on trend

NEWS Nine facts about the New 9

Winning Moves has made a clutch of key products from the drawing board stores in a matter of weeks after coming up with trend-based topics for games based around its popular Top Trumps and Monopoly titles.

It includes some based around the Euro-winning England women’s football team as well as a raft that will appeal to Gen Z consumers.

Here we outline nine facts about the products it is dubbing its ‘New 9’.

1It’s all about supporting retail For a company like Winning Moves, much of its efforts are about finding ways to support retail with innovative product. As the company’s Jack Probyn said: “Retailers are having a tough time at the moment. We get it. And as a business we looked at ways we can help retailers of all shapes and sizes. It’s great for retailers to know that we are able to jump on the latest trends and deliver stock while they’re still red hot.”

Seventeen million people watched the England women’s team’s Euros 2022 triumph

A nation woke up to women’s football as the England team booked their place in the final of the summer tournament, with increasing numbers catching the bug throughout the tournament. And the final itself drew record audiences. And as the whole country went women’s football crazy, sharp-eyed and business savvy Winning Moves was looking at England women’s products it could bring to the market.

Probyn said: “The nation’s interest was obvious. As such, we wanted to provide fun and inspiring games - a Monopoly and Top Trumps pack - to girls of all ages, which celebrated this immense success. We’ve already got a full range of men’s world football stars, so now it’s nice to see us targeting a different demographic.”

Things moved quickly

3All of the New 9 made it speedily from the design and concept stage into stores. Probyn said: “The turnaround from initial idea to delivery of stock in our warehouses is a total of three months.

We started work in the middle of August, and stock is due to land in the middle of November. It’s unheard of in the industry, we know.”

4And it wasn’t as tough as you might think While it is almost unheard of, the Winning Moves team was fired up for the challenge and things ran smoothly. Like a well-oiled machine, all the necessary teams worked efficiently and effectively to produce these games before Christmas,” said Probyn. “From designers, to project managers, from our creative teams to the logistics teams, everyone’s pitched in. In addition, the games are being produced in the UK/IRE, which has helped us hit these ambitious delivery dates. As for the design of the game, we have a crack team of copywriters, designers and product developers who each had a unique role to play in producing the games which are, above all, fun, memorable and inspiring.”

5It wasn’t just a hunch The projects weren’t just brought to market after sitting around in the WM office – the company backed up its creative thinking with proper insight. Probyn said: “After undertaking some market research, it was obvious to see there were no products celebrating the women’s football team’s achievement, so we like to think we’re leading the way for products, as much as they are for women and girls getting into football.” 6 Gen Z is not always catered for The Top Trumps Gen Z product came from spotting a particular gap in the marketplace, as outlined by Probyn. He said: “You may remember, in early 2021, Top Trumps was rebranded to hit three key demographics: preschoolers, tweens, and kidults. Which left a large audience behind: Generation Z.

“After scouring the market and conducting some more market research of our own, we discovered the top six trends that are hot among Gen Z right now: Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, Trainers, Fashion and NFTs. That’s why we’ve created six unique packs, all offering a guide to these latest trends - they’re the Ultimate Guide to Life as a Gen Zer!’’

There’s more to come

7As the company’s Probyn noted: “You didn’t think we’d stop there, did you? After the continued success of Top Trumps Match, where players must match five character cubes in a row, and the fact that there are over several hundred thousand daily players of one of the hottest online word games, we hereby launch… Lex Match. “The game combines the fast-paced, cubeswapping competition that is Top Trumps Match with the spelling and vocabulary challenge of Lex-Go for a whole new dimension of wordplay. Players have to line up five letters to spell out a word by pushing out their opponents’ cubes and inserting new ones to disrupt their words. “There is also a simplified gameplay for younger players, where they have to create three- or four- letter words instead. We did this so that the game could appeal to lexicographers of all ages - we believe the gameplay will not only help the younger audience with developing their vocabulary, but also their strategy and cunning.

“The response to Lex Match has, as with the other products, been similarly exciting. So much so that the initial stock in November is already sold out, with more to arrive at the end of December. So get your orders in!”

8It’s important to think on your feet “Our Top Trumps motto is ‘whatever you’re into, so are we’,” said Probyn. “And that’s what we aim to do: produce new products and keep up with the latest trends. As mentioned earlier, the retail landscape is tough at the moment, and having this kind of initiative has not only excited ourselves, but it’s also garnered attention from many of our customers. We can’t wait to see the product on shelves - both digital and physical.”

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The response to the New 9 from retail has been great

“Overall, the response has been amazing,” said Probyn, referring to the England women’s product. “As such, there will be availability in every channel”

It’s a similar case with the Gen Z titles too. “We’re already looking at replenishment for 2023 after the first hit lands before Christmas.”