Company Profile
ahead of the game
Following a year which saw unparalleled sales resulting from the unprecedented situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it was very much anyone’s guess as to how the Games category would fare in 2021. Tomy, then, is understandably pleased with its astonishing performance in Q1 and Q2, which has set it up for an even bigger and better 12-month period than it enjoyed in 2020. Rachael Simpson-Jones paid a visit to the company’s head office, and sat down with Mary Wood, general manager UK & Ireland, to find out more about Tomy’s upcoming releases, marketing plans and strategies for the year ahead.
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Tomy was very fortunate to have an exceptional 2020, due to the fact it has a strong presence in the categories consumers were seeking,” Mary tells me, safely distanced at the other side of the company’s expansive games showroom. “In the UK, we had the best year we’ve had in a decade, which was surprising but obviously satisfying. Our performance gave us the momentum to enter 2021 on very strong footing; when we previewed selections for customers for autumn/winter, we were doing so off the back of some great sell-through. Nothing was overstocked, and retailers were very receptive to what we had to say. We’re trying not to be too overenthusiastic – we knew it would be hard to have as good a year on Games as we did in 2020. However, our numbers are solid and we have strong listings across the board, meaning it may well, incredibly, be even better this year.”
Toy World 24
Brand loyalty has always been a key factor in the toy space, but even more so over the past year. During the pandemic, we saw consumers lean into brands they know and trust, and Tomy benefits from having several big brands in its portfolio. Within the Drumond Park portfolio, this includes No. 1 adult game Articulate, whose sales have doubled since the pandemic began. The introduction of Logo Second Edition marks the first time in over a decade that a new Logo game has arrived on the scene; in terms of volume, the follow-up game is expected to achieve even higher sales than Articulate. Tomy’s Pop-Up Pirate has been its No. 1 Kids Game for the last few years and appears in no danger from being ousted from its top spot, while Screwball Scramble Level 2 will be TV advertised this year for the first time, with aim of bolstering the success of both the new game and and its predecessor, the original Screwball Scramble.
