Playing At Business - toy & game business podcast with Steve Reece
108 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago -Podcast about the toy & games business, hosted by leading toy business expert Steve Reece of www.KidsBrandInsight.com. Steve takes a look at different trends in the toy & game biz, and speaks to interesting people from across the business.
© 2018 RG Marketing Ltd. All rights reserved.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Ep 106 - Board Games: 10 Key Success Factors AKA What I learnt Working On The Best & Worst Selling Games Of All Time
February 22, 2024 13:54 - 24 minutes - 35.6 MBIn this latest episode host Steve Reece shares 10 Key Success Factors for Board Games based on decades working with and on some of the most iconic Games of all times, including Hasbro's stable of Family Games such as Monopoly. Clue/do, Risk, Game of Life and many more. Unusually Steve also acknowledges working on the worst selling board game of all time, as well as the best. If you are in the business of Games this is a must listen episode. Sign up for our free email newsletter on t...
Ep 105 - Spielwarenmesse 2024 Toyfair Review & EU Toy Market Outlook For 2024
February 15, 2024 15:31 - 26 minutes - 27.7 MBAnother Spielwarenmesse Toyfair in Nuremberg has been and gone. This episode reviews this years show, and based on conversations at the show and market data released at this time gives an analytical outlook on the key drivers and trends of the European Toy market for 2024. Sign up for our free Email Newsletter here: www.ToyIndustryJournal.com
Ep 104: 2024 Global Toy Market Outlook, Another Year Beckons
January 05, 2024 15:03 - 30 minutes - 31.4 MB2020 and 2021 were unexpectedly boom years for the Toy business overall as locked down families invested out of season in play activities for their homebound children. 2022 and 2023 were significantly worse years for the Toy trade. The question now is what happens in 2024? Host Steve Reece talks through the factors affecting Toy market performance in 2024 in this latest episode. For more Toy business analysis, check out our Linked In newsletter here: https://www.linkedin.com/newslette...
Ep 103 - Why Product Selection Is Critical For Toy Companies (AKA Why I Turned Down Settlers of Catan)
November 29, 2023 15:56 - 19 minutes - 20.3 MBIn this episode we take a look at how choosing the right products to launch is the fundamental success factor for Toy & Games companies. Host Steve Reece uses an example of when he turned down a now famous & massively successful product as an example of how sometimes turning away good products is necessary in order to focus on what will work best for your company and the business model and market positioning of your company. For more analysis & insights into the global Toy market, chec...
Ep 102: Selling A Toy Business: How Mergers & Acquisitions Work In The Toy Biz
October 24, 2023 18:16 - 19 minutes - 21.1 MBMany companies in the Toy business grow via acquisition. Company owners often want to sell up and retire or move onto other pastures. In this episode we take a look at some of the biggest Toy acquisitions of all time, we look at why and how Toy Cos are bought and sold and we discuss the details of the process of buying or selling. Maybe you have a Toy business you want to buy or sell, or maybe you just want to understand how company sales work in the world of Toys, either way this episode ...
Ep 101, How To Run A Successful Tech Toy Start Up With HoloToyz
September 26, 2023 10:42 - 42 minutes - 34.5 MBIn this latest episode host Steve Reece talks to Kate Scott & Declan Fahy, the Founders of Holo Toyz. Their company aims to inspire creativity and imagination via augmented reality technology. Kate stated "At our core, we believe that children should be able to experiment, play and learn through emerging technologies in a kid-safe environment away from the open web, whilst not losing touch with the physical world." We discuss this proposition, and the path from starting the business, thr...
Ep 100 - How To Recruit Good People & Find New Job Roles In The Toy Business
August 08, 2023 11:23 - 27 minutes - 27.6 MBJoin Steve Reece in a deep dive into the toy industry's recruitment nuances. Drawing from over a decade as a consultant, Steve unveils key strategies for companies to recruit effectively and tips for candidates to land their ideal roles. Whether you're hiring or job-hunting, discover invaluable insights to navigate the toy business world. Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy companies in the world, as well as 100+ sta...
Ep 99, Gift & Hobby Distribution Channels
June 22, 2023 16:00 - 16 minutes - 17.2 MBGuess what – people have been buying Toys for adults for a very long time. Even though the ‘Kidult’ thing is the big thing nowadays, hobbyits sand people buying Toyetic gifts for adults have been around for a long while. Listen in to Episode 99 as we look at these adjacent areas in more detail! Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy companies in the world, as well as 100+ startups and small businesses. Our mai...
Ep 98 - How The Toy Industry Clears Excess Inventory
June 14, 2023 12:55 - 26 minutes - 27.3 MBA few episodes back we looked at why excess inventory is so dangerous - in this episode we move on to look at the practicalities of how our industry manages excess inventory, where they sell it, how it works and some major banana skins to watch out for when selling clearance stock! Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy companies in the world, as well as 100+ startups and small businesses. Our main areas of busines...
Ep 97 - Unchanging Fundamentals Of The Toy & Game Business
April 12, 2023 19:44 - 18 minutes - 18.5 MBWe are living through times of massive change and disruption. Technology is advancing at a frighteningly quick rate, and the very fabric of society has been changed by our adoption and development of new technologies. However, despite that there are 5 unchanging fundamentals of the Toy & Games business. In this podcast your host Steve Reece takes a look at what has not changed in his nearly 25 years in the Toy business, and what is unlikely to change looking forward another 25 years into ...
Ep 96, 5 Characteristics Of Best Selling Toys & Games
March 23, 2023 14:52 - 19 minutes - 21 MBThere are some recurring characteristics of best selling Toys & Games. In this episode we run through the 5 most important features. This is not so much creative inspiration as it is a ticklist for new Toy & Games products in development. Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy companies in the world, as well as 100+ startups and small businesses. Our main areas of business are: Export Sales Consultancy - let us h...
Ep 95, How To Sell More Toys & Games Internationally
March 15, 2023 15:56 - 18 minutes - 19.9 MBRegardless of which country is your home market, the opportunity outside your borders is greater...in this episode we take a look at some simple ways to significantly increase your export sales of Toys & Games. Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy companies in the world, as well as 100+ startups and small businesses. Our main areas of business are: Export Sales Consultancy - let us help you sell more of your pr...
EP94 - 5 Key Tips To Find & Validate New Toy Factories
March 09, 2023 14:44 - 17 minutes - 19.3 MBEp 94 - 5 Key Tips To Find & Validate New Toy Factories In this episode host Steve Reece talks about his experience helping more than 100 Toy & Game companies find manufacturing around the world, and he shares 5 key tips for finding & validating new Toy factories. We look at why most companies make a massive mistake by focusing on manufacturing cost as the primary assessment factor for a new Toy & Game factory, and much more. Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. W...
Ep 93 - Excess Inventory Kills Toy & Games Companies
March 02, 2023 13:01 - 17 minutes - 18.7 MBExcess inventory bleeds Toy & Games companies to death, unless the company makes bold steps to reduce the size of the problem. In this episode we cover in detail the issues caused by excess inventory, why inventory represents a recurring challenge which needs to be constantly managed and we look at some case studies of best and worst practise. Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy companies in the world, as well a...
Ep 92 Spielwarenmesse-Nuremberg 2023 Toy Fair Review
February 15, 2023 19:08 - 19 minutes - 20.7 MBThis episode reviews the 2023 Spielwarenmesse Toy Trade show in Nuremberg. This show is the biggest trade show covering the Toy business in the world. This show marked Steve's 21st visit, and in this episode he talks through how the show went, the outlook for the Toy business in 2023 and much more.
Ep 92 Spielwarenmesse-Nuremberg 2023 Toy Fair Review
February 15, 2023 19:08 - 19 minutes - 20.7 MBThis episode reviews the 2023 Spielwarenmesse Toy Trade show in Nuremberg. This show is the biggest trade show covering the Toy business in the world. This show marked Steve's 21st visit, and in this episode he talks through how the show went, the outlook for the Toy business in 2023 and much more. Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy companies in the world, as well as 100+ startups and small businesses. Our main...
Ep 91 - UK Toy Fair 2023 Report & UK Toy Market Update...
January 30, 2023 14:19 - 13 minutes - 14.2 MBReport on UK Toyfair 2023, with a short UK Toy Market update based on newly available year end 2022 Toy market performance. Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy companies in the world, as well as 100+ startups and small businesses. Our main areas of business are: Export Sales Consultancy - let us help you sell more of your products overseas. Growth Consultancy for start ups with funding 'Traditional' dist...
Ep 90, Global Toy Business Outlook 2023
January 19, 2023 15:28 - 22 minutes - 19.6 MB2022 was a tough year for the Toy business. But finally that's over...now we can look ahead to what 2023 will bring. In this podcast we look at the 4 key factors driving 2023's Toy market: 1. RETAIL INVENTORY LEVELS 2. CHINA'S RE-OPENING 3. INFLATION RATE & CONSUMER DISPOSABLE INCOME 4. TOYETIC MOVIE SLATE We explain in full detail on this episode of the podcast... Our business is a Consultancy to Toy & Games companies. We have worked with more than half of the biggest Toy...
Ep 89, The Future Of Toys Part 4: Toy Manufacturing
January 02, 2023 18:34 - 23 minutes - 24.5 MBThe Toy industry does not spend enough time worrying about available production capacity. For decades we have presumed that we can get our Toys & Games produced from the same old factories in China...but things have changed... ...and the pace of change may be set to accelerate. We discuss what Toy manufacturing will look like in the future in this episode.
EP 88, THE FUTURE OF TOYS: PART 3 - CONSUMERS
December 01, 2022 13:01 - 21 minutes - 23.3 MBIn the third episode of this podcast series we take a further look at The Future Of Toys, this time looking at Toy & Game Consumers. We discuss what areas could see the most change, the areas which will most likely stay the same as well as identifying one massive threat to the Toy industry and at the same time one massive opportunity.
Ep 87, The Future Of Toys: Part 2 - Product
November 15, 2022 11:35 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBIn the 2nd in this series we take a look at the most fun part of the Toy business - Products! Most people who work in the Toy business do so because they love Toys, most of us have a collection of the Products we have worked on around us as we work. The podcast looks at some fundamental factors of Toy products which are unlikely to change, even far out into the future, and we also look at how Technology will facilitate deeper play experiences and interactions with Toys.
Ep 86, The Future Of Toys, Part 1: Retail
November 01, 2022 15:27 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBIn the 1st of a series of podcasts looking at the future of the toy business we begin with a look at Retail - how it's evolved, how it affects the toy business today and what future changes we can expect to see. Many fundamentals stay the same, we discuss these key areas in this podcast, but we also look at how technology is evolving constantly and affecting Toy Retail as a result.
Ep 85, The 5 Hard Learnt Truths About The Toy & Game Biz
September 28, 2022 12:50 - 16 minutes - 15 MBHuman beings tend to learn best by making mistakes. In this podcast we look at the 5 big learnings that toy & game people have to make...ideally as inexpensively as possible! There are 5 big areas where toy & games companies can really mess up, listen to the podcast to find out more about what they are.
Ep 84, LOCALISATION: THE UNDERVALUED SALES DRIVER FOR TOYS & GAMES
September 15, 2022 13:33 - 21 minutes - 20.7 MBLocalisation is normally the poor cousin to the more exciting and glamorous parts of developing a toy or game product and bringing them to market. Yet localisation is a critical functionality and process for maximising the commercial success (or otherwise) of our products. In this episode we look at the key elements of localisation, and I share a few amusing anecdotes which show how localisation done badly can cause unintended consequences & commercial failure.
Ep 83, The 5 Key Ingredients Of Massive Hit Toys & Games
July 20, 2022 17:11 - 13 minutes - 13.9 MBProducts tend to vary from category to category, but at the heart of any top selling you will normally find most or all of the 5 key ingredients we run through in Episode 83 of the Playing At Business podcast. We discuss successful products such as Spin Master's Paw Patrol ranges, Monopoly board game & the truly iconic Rubiks Cube. This episode is for anyone who hopes to develop & launch a top-selling toy or game.
Ep 82, How To Manage A Drop In Consumer Demand For Toys & Games
July 13, 2022 17:12 - 21 minutes - 22.6 MBIt's looking like 2022 is panning out to be a tough year in the toy & game biz! The question is what companies can do in the face of a drop in consumer demand. The reality for most companies is that they have not faced a significant drop in market size, at least not for a very long time. For sure companies revenues will have gone up and down due to competition and the quality of their own product lines, but most of us have not had to deal with a strong decline in the toy market. In this ep...
Ep 81, How To Manage A Toy Company In An Ever Changing World
July 06, 2022 10:28 - 18 minutes - 19.5 MBThe world has changed so much in the past couple of decades. Sometimes the rate of change can be bamboozling...but there are some underlying fundamentals of managing toy & game businesses which haven't changed. Listen to Episode 81 to find out more...
Ep 80, Why Big Toy Companies Morph Into Entertainment Companies
July 01, 2022 09:45 - 18 minutes - 17.6 MBOne of the major trends in the toy business in the last decade or more is the morphing of the major toy companies into cross platform entertainment companies. In this episode of the Playing At Business podcast we take a look at this trend, and we also look at what smaller companies can do to try to compete in the entertainment world to capture the opportunities to sell more toys!
Ep 79, The Key Success Factor For Board Games Is...
June 24, 2022 09:27 - 16 minutes - 17.4 MBThere is one fundamental success factor for board games which is overwhelmingly present in the most successful board games of all time. From Chess to Clue/do, and from Monopoly to Mousetrap, any board game which sticks in the market features this one fundamental feature at the very core of the gameplay mechanic. It isn't glitzy marketing, it isn't necessarily a beautiful looking game box, but what it is reaches to the very heart of human existence. We reveal what this factors is at the sta...
EP 78, Consumer Playtesting. The Secret Weapon Of Successful Toy & Games Companies
June 14, 2022 10:35 - 16 minutes - 17.1 MBToy & games companies generally don't test their products enough with consumers. We all know how much testing goes into ensuring products are compliant with safety standards, but what about testing to see if they are compliant with functionality, fun and general appeal to kids & their parents? Consumer research playtesting is the not so secret, but shamefully under-utilised weapon of toy & game companies. All the major global toy companies have extensive consumer research programs, but as ...
Ep 77, The Impact Of Inflation On The Toy & Games Business
June 07, 2022 12:37 - 17 minutes - 18.2 MBInflation is very high in most western markets right now. This is a challenge for the toy industry to manage, because our products are discretionary purchases, and when mandatories such as food and heating increase in price, this can reduce the amount of available funds consumers have to buy toys. In this episode we look at the current drivers of inflation, we look at the time it is likely to take for this inflation to diminish and we look at how toy & games companies can best navigate th...
Ep 76, Electronic Toys, The Biggest Fundamental Failure Factor
May 16, 2022 15:33 - 14 minutes - 13.9 MBElectronic Toys are not new. The toy business has a long history of dumbing and pricing down electronics & tech in general into toy formats and toy price points. In the end though, whether these tech toys work or not in the market doesn't come down to the tech/electronic itself. Listen to Episode 76 to find out what really matters even more!
Ep 75, The Creative Play Category: Key Success Factors
May 12, 2022 14:25 - 16 minutes - 17.2 MBCreative Play toys have been around for a long time, but this isn't an easy space with so many generic stationery products and 'Me too' generic kits for sale straight from the factory gate in China. In Episode 75, we take a look at the key success factors, and how companies can build brands in this space & win over the long term.
Ep 74, Nearshoring For Toy Manufacturing: A Reality Check
May 10, 2022 11:35 - 22 minutes - 24.7 MBWith soaring container shipping prices, Covid lockdowns and rising costs in China, many toy companies have begun to look at 'Nearshore' option for manufacturing. We run through the pros, cons and realities of Nearshoring in this episode of the Playing At Business podcast.
Ep 73 - The Intersection Between Toys & Video Games
May 04, 2022 18:07 - 22 minutes - 23.7 MBNot that many people know that the video game business was considered to be part of the broader toy business for quite some time before it eventually became clear that the Video Games business was a bigger beast than its parent! In this episode of the Playing At Business podcast we talk through the differences between the Toy and the Video games business models, as well as looking at other points of intersection between the two.
EP 72, HOW TO FIND & VALIDATE GOOD TOY FACTORIES
April 28, 2022 13:46 - 19 minutes - 17.4 MBToy companies (both big & small) rely heavily on the factories they work with. Every time they produce a toy your reputation and potentially your business rest on the factory & their complying with safety, ethical and quality standards. Competitive pricing is also a concern of course, manufacturing spend is the biggest cost for toy & game companies, so comparatively small savings in percentage terms can add to up to significant money. In Episode 72 of the PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast we ta...
Ep 71, The Inevitable Rise Of India As A Toy Manufacturing Hub
April 20, 2022 18:09 - 24 minutes - 21.9 MBThe toy business is moving from a single hub (China) sourcing model to a multi-hub model. India is the only other country with comparable population size, with abundant cheap production line labour and existing industrial capacity and domain expertise in plastics. There are many more reasons though why India's rise in toy manufacturing is an inevitability. The current manufacturing solutions in India are not perfect, but as the toy business begins to clamour for ever more production capac...
Ep 70, The 10 Commandments Of The Toy Business
April 20, 2022 16:39 - 21 minutes - 19.3 MBThere are some core fundamental practises that successful toy & games companies follow. If you look at any company operating in the toy biz with longevity and success, they will no doubt be following these 10 'Commandments'.
EP 69, HOW TO MAKE TOYS KIDS WANT
April 14, 2022 18:54 - 19 minutes - 25.3 MBSometimes toy companies get so lost in their own internal processes and stakeholder conversations that they forget to think about what their end consumer i.e. children will want out of a product. We run through how to make toys that kids will want in this episode of the Playing At Business podcast.
Ep 68, Understanding The Toy Market In France With Yann Fresnel
March 30, 2022 17:39 - 52 minutes - 41.6 MBFrance is one of Europe's 'BIG 3' toy & game markets. In this episode we speak to Yann Fresnel (of Toy Influence), who has extensive commercial experience in the French toy market. We discuss his career in toys, what companies need to understand about the market in France and also look at how his company helps with market entry in 'La Republique francaise'. This episode contains a lot of very useful and insightful information - for example we discuss how the Games category accounts for nea...
Ep 67, How To Acquire New Retail Customers
March 23, 2022 17:26 - 15 minutes - 20.8 MBSelling your products into Retail is rarely easy, but getting into those accounts in the first place is one of the hardest elements of starting a toy or game business. Even for established companies persuading new customers to come on board can be tough. In this episode of PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast we take a look at this topic and look at some fundamentals of acquiring new customers.
Ep 66, The 10 Biggest Changes In The Toy Business
March 16, 2022 10:48 - 24 minutes - 33.1 MBThe only constant is change! The toy & game business is ever evolving. Over time we have observed many fundamental changes in the business itself but also in the world around us which also affects the world of toys. In this episode we run through the 10 biggest changes we have observed over time, and how that helps us predict & prepare for the future.
ADVERTORIAL - OUR CONSULTING SERVICES EXPLAINED
March 14, 2022 11:12 - 29 minutes - 30.9 MBThis not a podcast episode, instead it is an advertorial in which host Steve Reece talks at length about his own experience in the toy & game business and how our Consultancy business came about. We wanted to put this recording up to explain how we work and what we do in more detail for anyone who is interested. We talk through each of our Consultancy services in detail. Normal service on the PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast will resume very soon!
Ep 65 - The Business Of Licensed Toys
March 10, 2022 10:46 - 24 minutes - 26.7 MBLicensed products are a major feature of the toy & games business. In this episode we take a look at the key elements of licensed toys & games in terms of standard deal terms to acquire licenses, the do's and dont's of licensing and we take a look at what a healthy approach to licensing looks like for toy & games companies.
EP 64 - How To Approach The European Toy Market
March 03, 2022 14:56 - 26 minutes - 23.4 MBEurope remains a major region for the toy business, but it is a very fragmented region with more than 40 countries/territories, along with many languages, cultures and peoples. In this episode we discuss how to approach this potentially lucrative but highly fragmented market.
EP 63 - Key Elements Of Successful Collectable Toys
February 25, 2022 13:33 - 23 minutes - 22.2 MBThe Collectables toy category has been a major pillar of the toy business for a long time now. But the costs and risks of trying to enter this category can be high, while product launches tend to be very hit or miss. In this episode of The PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast we look at the key success factors for Colelctable toy product lines.
EP 62 - Effective Toy Packaging - Best Practise
February 25, 2022 12:51 - 19 minutes - 17.8 MBToy & Game packaging is often more important than the product within in terms of motivating someone to buy the product in the first place. There are some fundamentals of effective toy packaging, as well some very common mistakes. We run through all of this in Episode 62 of The PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast.
Ep 61 - Making It As A Toy Inventor With The Toy Coach - Azhelle Wade
February 18, 2022 12:01 - 47 minutes - 38.4 MBInventors are critically important to the toy & games business. On this episode we talk to Azhelle Wade - The Toy Coach - about her work helping Inventors to get their toys & games to market. Azhelle's positive energy shines through in this episode. We discuss the top tips she shares with Inventors and her Toy Creators Academy which helps inventors to develop commercially viable products and bring them to market. For any budding or established toy inventors this is a must listen episode!
Ep 60, How To Succeed In The Board Games Business
February 07, 2022 15:42 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MBThe board games category has increasingly low barriers of entry. Whereas toys may require significant tooling investment, cardboard games basically require a great gameplay mechanism & some eye catching graphic design...but surely there is more to it than that? In this latest episode of the PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast we take a look at the key factors for success for board games companies of all shapes & sizes.
Ep 59, Why Working In The Toy Biz Is A Great Thing To Do
February 07, 2022 15:08 - 21 minutes - 20 MBFor most people working in the toy business, the day to day focus is on the nuts and bolts of their role in the company they work for. Few take the time to consider just how much good the toy & game business does in the world at large. That's what we discuss in this episode of the PLAYING AT BUSINESS podcast - coming straight from the heart we take a look at all the good the toy business as a whole and the people within it do.