Company Profile - Pokemon

Truly Legendary

It’s a major year for Pokémon, with the franchise celebrating its 25th anniversary as retailers report record sales of its trading card games and consumer products. Mathieu Galante, licensing director (EMEA) for The Pokémon Company International, told Toy World what there is to look forward to in the months ahead for fans and retailers alike.

Mathieu Galante, licensing director (EMEA) for The Pokémon Company International

What is behind the enduring appeal of the Pokémon franchise?

Pokémon is a multi-generational, evergreen brand with an enormous and loyal global fanbase. With four key pillars – video games and apps, trading card games, animation and consumer product – there is something that appeals to everyone. By constantly innovating and releasing a continuous pipeline of exciting new content, Pokémon remains vibrant, relevant and at the forefront of entertainment.

What does the brand offer licensees?

As it’s very important for us to support our partners, we decided to work with a limited number of best-in-class companies in the Toy & Games category. Key licensees include our master toy partner Jazwares (distributed by Character Options in the UK), Funko (vinyl figures), Mattel/Mega Construx (construction toys), Ravensburger (puzzles), and Zanzoon (electronic games). Offering complementary product to our Trading Card Game (TCG) and VG pillars are Ultrapro (TCG Accessories), Power A and Hori (VG Accessories), The Wand Company (replica Poké Ball), OTL (headphones) and Teknofun (lights).

The Pokémon Company works closely with its key partners to offer 360˚ activations and develop unique in-store experience to increase footfall and maintain strong sell-out. These include successful cross-category activations at prestigious stores such as Harrods and Selfridges, and specialist toy retailers like Smyths and Hamleys.

How are your licensees benefiting from the anniversary celebrations and launches taking place this year?

In our most dynamic and ambitious programme yet, we’re teaming up with other iconic brands and global superstars to help fans celebrate Pokémon’s journey throughout the year. An increased profile, combined with a dedicated website, unique promotions and special merchandise, will have a halo effect on licensees – much as we saw from the huge awareness and excitement around our first live action film, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.

Licensees including Jazwares, Mattel, Scholastic, Funko, PowerA and The Wand Company are all releasing exclusive anniversary merchandise, supported by strong promotion and fashion collaboration programmes including Levi’s and Casio BabyG.

How important have Pokémon’s retail and licensing partnerships been to the success of the franchise?

Consumer products are one of the four core pillars of the Pokémon franchise. The Pokémon community, from young to old, has very high expectations and wants products that are high quality and true to the brand, hence why we are very protective with our IP. We care about our fans, customers and partners, so we seek out collaborators who can meet and exceed these expectations.

Celebrations are already under way, with many more activations promised; can you tell us more about what’s to come?

Our first music venture, P25 Music, is a year-long global celebration of Pokémon through the power of music. Headlined by pop icon Katy Perry, it also features some of the world’s biggest artists who will create new songs, styles and pop-culture moments through the lens of Pokémon. A partnership with Universal Music Group will see the celebration culminate in a special year-end digital release, Pokémon 25: The Album.

Following the release of all-new Nintendo Switch adventure New Pokémon Snap at the end of April, video games Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl will launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch in late 2021. These are faithful revitalisations of two iconic Pokémon games from 2006 which first introduced trainers to the Sinnoh region.

A pan-European retail TCG giveaway promotion is ongoing until October, with another treat for TCG fans coming later this year in a special 25th anniversary themed collection. Starting in March and running through to October, we are also celebrating one of the eight Pokémon regions each month, highlighting key characters and moments plus products launching within that month.

What does the future hold for Pokémon?

We have a thrilling start to 2022 with the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Introducing fans to the long-gone Sinnoh region of old, it promises an experience unlike anything Trainers have experienced before as they embark to create the region’s first Pokédex. We aim to continue to surprise and delight our fans with more exciting content and partnerships too. Watch this space for more information.