Speaking exclusively to Toy World, Jakks also revealed a sneak peek of the company’s 2019 range.
2018 has proved to be a very good year for Jakks. A number of its new introductions have comfortably exceeded expectations, especially its Incredibles range, while the success of Morf Board and Master-a-Million has seen the company establish itself as a force to be reckoned with in the outdoor category.
Catching up with David Carscadden, managing director EMEA, at the start of the 2019 preview season, it is clear he is very happy with this year’s performance.
“We’ve come a long way in a short space of time,” he explains. “We’ve really extended our capabilities here in the UK; the office now serves as the company’s European HQ, supporting our sales teams across the continent, as well as the Middle East and Africa. My role now involves overseeing the whole of EMEA, which I believe has given us a new sense of clarity and focus in the region. It will be my 10th anniversary with the company in January and I feel it’s given me a new lease of life.”
Ken Goodisson, UK senior marketing director, walked Toy World publisher John Baulch through the 2019 range.
“As well as our continuing strong partnership with Disney, over the past few years we’ve developed partnerships with other key licensors, such as Warner Bros and Nickelodeon,” he explained. “Harry Potter has been a massive success for us, especially the feature wands. We’ll be launching a range of play sets in 2019, all with magical features and movement, which will complement the wand line and give us a strong range offering.”
Ken added: “Our Nintendo business has transformed in the past 18 months, since the launch of Switch. Tying in with the new game releases has enabled us to extend our range significantly, and with a new movie on the horizon in 2021 we’re confident it will continue to grow. Megaman is a classic boys’ property, based on a Capcom video game from the 80s. The TV series will be broadcast in the UK on Pop TV from September and it will roll out across Europe next year. We’ll be launching our range in spring.”
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