Playing At Business - toy & game business podcast with Steve Reece

Spider-Man has been around since first appearing in comic books back in the early 1960s. Today Spider-Man is a mighty movie and entertainment franchise - the 5th biggest grossing movie franchise of all time in fact, with the most recent instalment: Spider-Man No Way Home heading towards the Top 10 grossing movies of all time.

Spider-Man has also been a strong presence in toy aisles for decades. In this episode of the Playing At Business podcast we take a look at the factors driving the enduring appeal of Spider-Man and why Spidey is such a good fit with toys!

Once seen as a slightly strange thing to do, today toy collecting is very much a thing. Major companies like Hasbro and Mattel have extensive programs and platforms to nurture, grow and monetise fans and collectors of their brands and products. In this episode, we talk about all things toy collectors, and why they are of increasing financial importance to the global toy business.

Tens of thousands of visitors, thousands of exhibitors - toy trade shows represent the biggest opportunity to get face to face with the most people who can advance your toy & game business.

In this episode we discuss trade shows and how to get the most out of them, as well as taking a look at the major toy trade shows coming up soon.

Toy sourcing has never been more challenging than it is at the time of publishing this episode. Shipping costs have soared. Factories which have been supplying toy & games companies for decades are shutting in China. Alternative toy hubs are lacking in capacity as demand soars for toy manufacturing away from China. China will still have a key role, but it will be a lesser role over time, as some production ebbs away. In this episode we discuss all these things and look at the pros and cons of particular toy manufacturing hubs including Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Eastern Europe and Mexico.

This is a must listen episode for business owners and Sourcing teams!

Paul Dixon has had an amazing career, and amassed huge life wisdom. He talks us through his career and shares some deep insights into life on Episode 52 of the Playing At Business podcast.

Paul worked as a Toy Buyer for major mass market retailer TARGET. He has run his own consumer products business, and also worked as a Toy salesman. He offers strong insights into how toy retail buying works, and explains how he managed having moved to become a sales man. He also discusses having been in New York on 9/11/2001, and the impact that terrible event had on his life outlook.

This was one of our favourite episodes to record, we're sure you'll find it insightful, touching and entertaining.

Matteo Vezzosi is the Executive Director at the Asia Toy & Play Association. In this episode we discuss with him the toy markets of Asia, and how toy companies can access those markets.

For anyone interested in distributing their toy products across Asia, this is a must listen episode.

We never expected to get to 50 Episodes but we did! Celebrate with us as we review our experience of interviewing people from across the toy business for the last 3 years.

We also discuss the massive 2022 movie slate, packed full of toyetic blockbusters & what the likely impact is on the toy business.

There are 4 distinct lifestages of toy companies.

The product development and marketing initiatives the company chooses to run, the company strategy and management are all influenced by, if not defined by the lifestage.

In this episode, Steve Reece takes his usual approach of strategic thinking with a no nonsense, no corporate speak delivery to explain the key differences between companies at each stage of growth, and how each tends to or needs to operate differently.

2021 has been an 'interesting' year for the global toy business.

2022 looks set to be another challenging year with various head winds and disruptive factors affecting the toy business., but with some accompanying tailwinds.

In this episode, Steve Reece explains his analysis of the prospects for the toy category for 2022 based on more than 2 decades of analysing and working within the toy business.

Overall, the outlook is positive, but it yet again won't be plain sailing!

Listen in for more toy market analysis on 2022.

These are turbulent times for supply chain managers in the toy business. Some of the challenges though could have been more easily managed if toy companies had avoided the one major mistake they seem to make by default.

Aside from container shipping being exorbitant and timings unreliable, there have been many other issues along the way which make Sourcing harder.

By taking a more strategic approach toy companies can get out ahead of the problems and resolve them with less stress and less impact.

This is a must listen episode for anyone involved in Sourcing.