Activision: Skylanders proves there is growth at retail

The phenomenal sales of Skylanders proves there’s strength left in the High Street, says Activision.

As we revealed last week, over 6.2m Skylanders toys were sold in the UK last year.

And now the company is preparing the third game in the series, which will be revealed in a matter of weeks.

Skylanders Giants arrived in October 2012 with a huge retail programme. Activision booked in-store space in the UK’s biggest store. Over in France, specialist Micromania developed a Skylanders loyalty card programme.

Retail is challenged. But Skylanders proves that when you deliver innovation and a great retail experience, then you can be successful, and differentiate on things other than price,” Activision’s Euro Skylanders VP Michael Sportouch told MCV.

We now have 2,000 interactive units in stores throughout Europe. It is a big investment for us.

I’m not saying this is the magic solution for the challenges that retailers face. But we feel that creating true experiences can deliver growth at retail.”

LICENCE TO GROW

Alongside Giants, Activision launched two iOS titles – Battlegrounds and Lost Islands. The former was even available in shops and was the No.1 downloaded iOS app for several weeks.

But it wasn’t all about the games, with a deluge of licensed products heading to market too. And there’s more to come.

With our licensing partner, we’ve created a programme with more than 120 licensees in categories like plush, apparel, home dcor, board games, back-to-school and books.

We have a lot of new proposals but we are trying to be selective. There will be some major announcements soon, in terms of licensing and brand partnerships.”

TO INFINITY

Skylanders’ success was always going to attract rivals, and you don’t get bigger than Disney. The firm is launching its own version of Skylanders, featuring characters from the likes of Pirates of the Carribean and Monsters Inc, this June.

We are thrilled by the success Skylanders has experienced in such a short period across Europe and flattered that one of the leading family entertainment companies is joining our category,” Sportouch said. We’re well positioned to continue leading the category.”

So what next for the Skylanders? We won’t have to wait long to find out, with the publisher set to reveal all imminently.

In the next couple of weeks we’ll introduce new things that we feel will offer breakthrough innovation combined with another fantastic adventure,” concluded Sportouch.

If we are able to maintain this level of innovation and keep delivering the magic of the ‘toys to life’ concept, I think we will have a bright future for Skylanders.”