Company Profile
Ravensburger
What’s
on the cards at
Ravensburger? In May 2022, Ravensburger announced the appointment of Richard Collins as UK & Ireland managing director. A toy industry outsider with a wealth of omnichannel retail experience, he’s wasted no time in putting into action his vision for the Ravensburger of the future - and his hard work is definitely paying off. Rachael Simpson-Jones caught up with Richard to chat about his entry into the world of toys, his approach to retail and consumer-facing events, and why 2024 looks set to be Ravensburger’s best yet.
I
t will come as no surprise to anyone (particularly fans of trading card games or Disney, or both) that 2023, for all its challenges, was a good year for Ravensburger. For a start, the company has maintained its position as the UK’s No. 1 Puzzle supplier, thanks to the hard work of its in-house product development team and the talents of its raft of contributing artists. The company’s Limited Edition Christmas Puzzle, by Roy Trower, was a 2023 bestseller for the 27th year in a row and 2024 marks Roy’s 20th anniversary designing the festive scenes. Eleanor Tomlinson joined the company’s slate of artists with her Coronation Capers design, GraviTrax introduced a new top-selling starter set, and then, of course, there was the launch of Disney Lorcana… but we’ll come back to that. For Richard, it’s been a very strong start to his career in the toy industry. When we spoke, he’d been with Ravensburger for around 18 months: if he were a collectible action figure, in the grand scheme of things, he’d still be Mint In Box. “In the world of toys, a year and a half is nothing,” Richard laughs. “I think I’ll be a newcomer for a decade at least. I’ve really noticed the longevity of service in this industry and within
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Ravensburger itself, where we have a colleague, Pete, who’s been with us for over 40 years. Then there are others at 20 or 30 years. When I joined, someone said to me that you’re either in the toy industry for three months or you’re in for life. I guess that means I’m in for life, then?” Richard has spent pretty much his whole career in retail. His approach to the ‘Theatre of Retail’ – wowing consumers through storytelling, meeting them in different areas of the marketplace and gaining first-hand insight into their product wants and needs - has run like a seam throughout his varied roles and he’s brought it with him to Ravensburger. Over the past 18 months, Brio, CreArt and GraviTrax have all enjoyed a presence at more consumer-facing events than ever before, and the UK’s tallest GraviTrax marble run was unveiled at the Eureka! National Children’s Museum in Halifax back in November, with the help of science presenter Greg Foot. Richard explains that Ravensburger wants to help kids create memories, which is the reason those visiting the Children’s Museum were invited to get as hands-on as possible in rolling the marbles down the run and creating their own tracks. The company also returned to the UK Games Expo in 2023, where its The Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game went down a storm, alongside Disney Lorcana. Other events included MCM ComicCon and the Creative Craft Show, the latter of which was a new venture. The other purpose of all this activity is to help boost product awareness and drive traffic to Ravensburger’s retail partners. As we all know, the marketing landscape
