Games & Puzzles
Category Overview
There ain’t nothing like a game! With Games & Puzzles enjoying such a strong year in 2020 it was always going to be a challenge to keep the momentum going but, as Sam Giltrow discovers, sales are thriving and still up across the board.
H
ow do you follow a year like 2020? The games and puzzles category was one of the standout pandemic performers, with adults and children alike discovering or returning to gaming to help while away the hours and keep spirits up during lockdown. Although it is undoubtedly a better class of problem to be coming off the back of such a strong year’s trading, it is nevertheless a challenge to anniversary previous numbers of that magnitude. Thankfully, talking to a host of games and puzzles suppliers, the vast majority are confident that games and puzzles sales will be maintained in the run-up to Christmas this year. Meanwhile retailers, concerned about the current supply problems caused by Brexit, Covid-19 and supply chain issues, are already squirrelling away stock to meet demand, as families start planning entertainment for (hopefully) bigger gatherings this year. Indeed,
research commissioned by games giant Hasbro shows that game nights which started during the pandemic aren’t going anywhere, with 90% of parents/families saying they have no plans to stop playing even as the world re-opens. As Jake Cannon, of Firestorm Games in Cardiff, tells Toy World, challenges such as supply issues, along with the increased demand for games, have created a perfect storm: “Game releases and restocks are expected to be very important this year. After industry warnings that stock will run out earlier this year, we have taken the decision to confirm orders for core lines in August and September, instead of October as we traditionally would.” Toymaster marketing director Paul Reader concurs with this approach: “We’re sensing that when suppliers are introducing brand new games to the market this year, they are adopting quite a tight production and availability schedule. With the classic games which sell year-in, year-out, they have a good idea of the numbers they are likely to sell, so
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they are confident in making stock to fulfil the anticipated demand. It’s a relatively safe bet. However, sales numbers on new games are far harder to predict, so we’re finding that they’re taking a more cautious approach. If a new game really takes off, there might be quite a battel for stock across the trade.” One of the major advantages of the games and puzzles category for specialist independent retailers is its consistency, as Paul explains: “This is always a solid category for the independent retail channel. Because of the pandemic, it exploded and became a phenomenal category last year. This year, it has returned to being a solid category again. Puzzles have reverted to a more steady level of sales for obvious reasons, especially as people gradually return to offices and aren’t spending every day at home. However, games are holding their own against last year, especially if you include Pokémon trading cards in the numbers.” Ah yes, the eternal dilemma: are Pokémon
