Company Profile
Magic Box
25 Years of Magic Box International Toys is a pioneer in the creation of collectible toys and play sets, and this year marks its 25th anniversary. Still a family-run business based in Barcelona, overseen by chief executive David Bella (whose two sons are also an integral part of the business), Magic Box has had much to celebrate over the years, and has big plans for future growth. Rachael SimpsonJones spoke to David to find out more.
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agic Box’s 25-year history has seen the company transform itself from a stickers and trading cards publisher, kicking things off in 1992 with a collection of trading cards exclusively based on F.C. Barcelona, to a toy company with multiple best-selling ranges in its portfolio. Driven by a formula of innovation and creativity, David shares with me what he feels to be Magic Box’s biggest achievements. Among them are the invention of the concept of
collectibles in photography form in 1997, with the company’s first launch in this format featuring the now-iconic UK pop group, the Spice Girls. A huge success, this collection went on to sell 80m units. In 2003, Shoot Out then introduced kids to the joy of collecting and playing with football trading cards, beginning with the FA Premier League. Over five years, 90m Shoot Out packs were sold. But while Magic Box has racked up numerous wins with licensed collectibles, including with properties such as Pokémon, Digimon and Dragon Ball, as well as The Simpsons and Disney, it’s the company’s own IPs that have catapulted it into the spotlight; the 1996 launch of Gogo’s Crazy Bones is considered by Magic Box to be the start of the collectible figures trend, a phenomenon that has lasted several decades. More than 250m first-generation Crazy Bones units sold between launching and 2000, when the second-generation hit shelves and went on to ultimately sell 100m more, a total of 350m units in eight years. Like its predecessor, the third-generation surpassed expectations yet again, with 400m of the colourful collectible characters making their way into the hands of kids. Magic Box’s second
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own IP, Zomlings In The Town, then arrived in 2014, introducing blister packs and play sets as a wider part of the collectible play pattern, and Star Monsters launched two years after that. Then came SuperZings. The hero versus villain format, featuring ordinary everyday food items and household objects, became an overnight hit, with soaring demand for the figures further fuelled by the introduction of larger toys and play sets. To date, SuperThings has sold over 200m units, resulting in the brand becoming the UK’s No.1 Action Figure brand in terms of Share of Units and No.2 in value, and recently achieved the status of No. 1 Toy Property in Spain. “Retail has been key to our success over the years, as our partners have believed in and supported us from day one,” notes David. “Likewise, we have always made it an important part of our marketing strategy to support our retailers with point of sale, marketing assets and more, which has led to fantastic relationships and mass distribution of our products. SuperThings is
