Subject:
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Re: Pokemon blitzes Lego
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego
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Date:
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Thu, 30 Nov 2000 10:13:41 GMT
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Viewed:
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1607 times
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"David Eaton" <deaton@intdata.com> wrote:
> In lugnet.lego, Eric Joslin writes:
> > Frankly, blaming their losses on Pokemon seems like a bit of a cop out.
> > Pokemon was just as (if not more) popular in 1999 as in 2000, and they • managed
> > to run a profit that year.
>
> I hate to post me too posts, but ...
> Blaming losses on Pokemon may be a good cover for the news and for Joe
> Public, but if people inside the company *really* think that Pokemon is at
> fault for their sales drop, they need to get sacked. Lego (and the rest of
> the toy market mind you) has survived LOTS of fads. Kids ALWAYS are
> attracted to them, and end up opting for fad toys. As far as I'm concerned
> the Pokemon fad is only a very small chunk of the business they 'might' • have
> had in its absence.
I agree with both of you that Pokemon is probably not the only reason for
their losses. But just for your information, Pokemon has been launched in
Europe in 2000 and not in 1999. There's a pretty standard calendar for
licensed products: first launch in the USA, then 4 top 8 months later in the
UK, then on very close dates the other European countries. This applies to
everything, from Star Wars to Harry Potter, from ET to the Lord of the
Rings.
The Pokemon merchandising was put on the market in UK on late 1999/first
2000, and in Germany, France, Spain and Italy from January to March 2000,
being still a very strong title. I don't know any details about percentages
of Lego sales in the various countries, but those five European countries
together count a population almost double of the USA, and you still have to
add up Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Denmark,
Sweden, Norway... just to mention the countries where the Lego group is
supposed to hold a strong share in the toys market. So Pokemon definitely
may have had a bad and strong influence on the sales of Lego sets.
I have more than an idea of the figures Pokemon moved. The company I work
for produces trading cards and collectible stickers for many publisher
including the Topps/Merlin group, who released the Pokemon cards and
stickers. I cna't reveal any detail, but I have been in this business since
1982, and know the figures of the previous years too. Pokemon has been no
doubt the strongest title ever in this market, a once-in-a-life thing.
Ciao
Mario
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Pokemon blitzes Lego
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| (...) D'oh! Of course. I didn't think about the time lapse for things making their way to Europe. (...) Ah! LEGO sets aside, the first two Harry Potter novels were released in the UK before even the first one was released in the USA. It was not (...) (24 years ago, 30-Nov-00, to lugnet.lego)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Pokemon blitzes Lego
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| (...) I hate to post me too posts, but ... Blaming losses on Pokemon may be a good cover for the news and for Joe Public, but if people inside the company *really* think that Pokemon is at fault for their sales drop, they need to get sacked. Lego (...) (24 years ago, 29-Nov-00, to lugnet.lego)
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