Asmodee Germany can also look back on a strong year in 2020. The Essen publishing house was able to achieve an increase of 30 percent - despite or because of Corona.
Auf dem Asmodee had already seen through the press event let us know that the past year has been a good one. And also based on the sales figures of other large publishers, for example Ravensburger or Kosmos, you could have guessed that things would have gone similarly at Asmodee last year due to the games portfolio. The Essen publishing house was able to increase its sales by 30 percent - that means a new record year.
Asmodee: Long-running hits drive sales
Asmodee Germany has mastered the "Corona" challenge. According to the publisher, Asmodee was able to achieve the best financial year since its foundation. "2020 was a very successful year for Asmodee overall," says sales manager Udo Fischer. Not only were sales significantly increased, but existing sales channels were expanded and new customers and sales channels were acquired.
Some classics also proved to be success factors at Asmodee: Board games such as Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Dixit or Codenames as well as Asmodee's card game Dobble were particularly successful. Dobble alone sold around half a million copies. Talks about strong growth in all markets Asmodee. The Essen publishing house also sees the development of Just One as a particular success Game of the Year 2019: The word game increased sales by 2019 percent compared to 15 in the market figures of the market research company NPD Group. Just One is thus defying a negative trend, after which games of the year often fall significantly in the year following the award. Just One shows the potential for a long-term successful title, says Asmodee happily. The further extensive and varied range of board game experts Asmodee also showed a positive development across the board.
Despite Corona: sales in stationary retail stable
In the Corona year 2020, online retail in particular grew more strongly, as expected, but was still able to Asmodee keep sales stable – and in some cases even increase them – in stationary retail, which is important for sales. “In addition to the overall increased demand for games, this development was made possible because Asmodee supported stationary retail through targeted campaigns,” says the Essen publisher about the reasons for the good result despite the serious pandemic situation last year.
For example, the “Back in the game” campaign was launched at the beginning of April, in which Asmodee's customers were first asked about options for help and then supported with various measures. At the end of the campaign, Asmodee gave away over 33.000 games to the participating stores. A measure for customer loyalty or acquisition that apparently worked.
The one from Asmodee Germany also proved to be successful to the digital game fair launched "Back in the game in your city" campaign. The Essen-based games distributor supported its customers with exclusive innovations that appeared at the 'Spiel digital'. So fans could at least be offered some of the typical trade fair sales flair. At the same time, Asmodee promoted the Local game retailer stores. And: The “Hobby Next” campaign launched at the end of last year is also aimed at local retailers. These are dovetailed and coordinated actions in the shops and on the social media channels of both Asmodee and the participating shops. Asmodee provides special content and promotional items that stores can promote and distribute to their customers. Asmodee also promotes the promotions and the shops, which together bring more players into the shops or, in times of lockdown, the games and goodies are brought to them by other means such as pick-up or delivery.
"2020 was a challenging year for all of us," says Yvette Vaessen, Commercial Director of Asmodee Germany. After we first sent our employees to the protective home office at the beginning of the crisis, we immediately asked the question: How can we help our customers in this situation? With intensive exchange and the successful aid measures, we were able to move a lot and have also received a lot of encouragement from retailers. In 2021 we will continue to stand by our dealers.”
Asmodee is optimistic about 2021
In view of the successes in the crisis year, the sluggish start of 2021 cannot deter Essenr Verlag. With the experiences of the past year, Asmodee looks positively to the future. Yvette Vaessen: "We learned a lot during the crisis and have broken new ground, which we will continue to pursue and expand." Various campaigns are to be carried out this year as well.
And, that is particularly positive for fans, Asmodee was able to further expand its range and sales partnerships. So this year Asmodee can play the successful games of bananagrams add it to the portfolio and also significantly expand its range of handy games to take away with seven new products from Cocktail Games.
And Asmodee is following another trend in the parlor games segment: expanding its portfolio with licensed games, among other things. Board and card games based on licenses have long since ceased to be waste products, but rather as attractive - and often convincing - titles. With Fanzone and Harry Potter Wizarding Quiz, two quiz games with voice output come out. Fanzone delivers questions spoken by the well-known presenter Frank Buschmann on the subject of football and Harry Potter Wizard Quiz deals with the popular films. The Loopy Loopers, a kind of fidget spinner with game character, will also be added this summer, as well as various other games with Marvel, Harry Potter or Disney licenses.
"This year we will be able to offer our customers an even more comprehensive range, with the right product for every sales channel and every customer group," explains Sales Director Udo Fischer.
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