MD Interview Alex Green - Asmodee UK

Every month TnP will be talking to the managing director of a major toy company. In this issue, we interview Alex Green, MD of Asmodee UK

Alex Green, MD of Asmodee UK

What’s your background?

I’m the longest-serving UK employee of Asmodee UK, having worked my way up the business over 25 years. With a heavy background in purchasing, I have worked across all the commercial departments as well on the logistics side.

Tell us a bit about your company.

We are the UK’s leading distributor of board games, card games, roleplaying games and other tabletop products (source: The NPD Group data), supplying primarily to the UK and Eire but to some European customers as well. We’re part of the larger Asmodee Group, headquartered in France, which is dedicated to offering great games and amazing stories across every aspect of the tabletop gaming world – and beyond!

What supply chain issues have you experienced during the pandemic - and do you see more supply chain issues over the next 12 months?

We have seen quite a lot of pressure around inbound logistics, particularly with lengthening lead times and increasing costs from the Far East. In the past three to four months, we have seen continuing congestion at UK ports, which has led to extra delays on product coming in. We also experienced great sales at the back end of 2020 which pulled through stock that we would have expected to sell in 2021. As a result, we are having to wait for restocks on certain lines. We see the supply chain beginning to improve in Q2, but we expect there to be an element of tension within the system for the whole year, and that the costs for inbound freight from the Far East will remain at higher levels than we had seen in the years before the pandemic hit.

When marketing to consumers, what do you see as the best channels for this and why?

We are continuing to evolve our marketing strategy and have learnt a lot over the past year. Marketing to consumers is something relatively new to Asmodee UK, but we are incredibly excited by the opportunities that it brings and are looking forward to exploring all the possibilities. During 2020, we started advertising through TikTok and we have high hopes for continuing to use that platform - particularly to launch new products a little further outside of our typical offering, such as the upcoming Loopy Loopers range of fidget toys, which we are delighted to be bringing to the UK on behalf of Blue Orange.

What changes have you made in light of the restrictions that Covid-19 has created?

We have followed and worked within the guidance provided by the government throughout and have been able to switch the majority of office staff to working from home. It’s been long enough that we’re able to appreciate both the positives and not-so-positives that come from both home work and office work, and we’re looking forward to a time when we can find the right balance of both for the business. While our logistics operation has continued to operate as usual, we have introduced all the appropriate measures to keep staff safe and secure on site. We are providing appropriate equipment, have reviewed our working processes to minimise interaction, and have explored every option to make our sites as secure as possible.

What opportunities has the pandemic created?

At first, the pandemic definitely impacted business, due to the huge amount of uncertainty. Then, like a lot of companies in the games & puzzles sector, we saw a huge upswing of interest in our products as people were looking for different forms of home entertainment. That trend lasted for most of 2020 and led to us having a fantastic year across a number of ranges and products. We saw record sales for games such as Catan and Ticket to Ride Europe. Then, towards the end of the year, we saw the collectable card game market really come on strong on the back of the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Magic: The Gathering. During 2021, we have continued to see good demand for core titles but the lockdown in the UK since 4 January has affected business.

How has Brexit affected your business?

The UK’s departure from the EU customs union has certainly presented challenges, some of which are ongoing. Uncertainty remains around all the requirements to trade with the EU and the best way to manage these. This applies to both importing and exporting but, from our perspective, the biggest challenges are around exports. We are engaging with a number of partners to explore various solutions that would allow us to trade with our European partners as efficiently as possible. But we are aware that no available solution would be as smooth or as frictionless as the system that we left. Our driver is to ensure that we provide the best possible service to all our partners and we continue to strive to be, by the end of Q1, in the best place possible to allow us to have the most success going forward for the remainder of 2021.

Where do you see opportunities for growth?

The continuing interest in games & puzzles is a great opportunity for growth in 2021 and beyond. We also need to make sure that we remain engaging and on point to keep our products in the consumer consciousness later in the year, as restrictions are lifted and we become able to do many things that have not been possible for the past year: for example, making use of our market-leading demonstrations programme. That will be a challenge but also a huge opportunity. We are also expecting an extremely strong year for the Pokémon TCG; Q4 sees the 25th anniversary of the release of the original video games and the TCG will play a big part in the whole franchise’s year-long celebrations.

Tell us your view on the economy and how you think this will affect the industry.

A big question! While we are hopeful for this year, we also are very mindful that if we experience a rocky general economic trend, that will impact on consumers’ confidence and spending power. We are taking a cautious approach generally and will see which way the headwinds gather in the coming weeks and months and look to adjust appropriately, depending on how things develop. We believe that we have fantastic products that provide great value and entertainment and that will be a key message for us, however the year unfolds.

Finally, what’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?

Well, the past year has certainly been challenging in ways that I would have never previously considered, but I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved throughout the pandemic and that really highlights some of the best parts of the job. It’s a pleasure to work with the great teams that we have across all aspects of the business, from the logistics side to the support departments such as IT, HR and finance through to the commercial sales, marketing and purchasing teams. We have access to a wide and varied product portfolio that provides great value, entertainment and social interaction for people and there’s always something new coming through. Being part of the Asmodee Group also provides us with a great deal of support and ability to discuss different trends across many countries and that is a very rewarding experience.