The Pokémon Company International has announced that the Pokémon brand has beat the 2016 sales record and that the presence of the Collectible Card Game and Pokémon toys on the European market continued to grow throughout 2017.
According to the NPD service data of toy sales, Pokémon is the number one brand in strategic toy sales of collectible cards in Europe with a total that exceeds 100 million euro. The total sales for this type of toy in Europe in 2017 was 122.181.669 euro and Pokémon took a huge cut of that, equal to 82%.
Sales of the Pokémon cards continued to increase in the most important markets, with an increase of 42% in the United Kingdom, 56% in Spain and an incredible 644% in Italy. The Pokémon toys also saw significant growth in sales for 2017: an increase of 54% in the United Kingdom, 14% in Germany and 146% in Italy.
The Pokémon brand has also been recognised and received two awards at the Toy Fair in London. The Pokémon collectible card game won the Pocket Money Toy of the Year at the Toy Industry Awards that is organised by the British Toy & Hobby Association and the Toy Retailers Association. While the new line of Pokémon toys by Wicked Cool Toys, distributed by Character Options, was awarded the Editor’s Choice Award at the 2018 Toy Fair thanks to votes from the press who were present at the event.
Simon Benton, Vice President for the Pokémon card game in Europe, said: “2017 was another exceptional year for the Pokémon cards. We are the champion collectible card game in Europe, and the British toy industry awarded Pokémon the Pocket Money Toy of the Year award. Our continuing success is thanks to the incredible support of our distributors and the enormous interest that the cards have enjoyed and, with the help of forthcoming expansion and new initiatives that are already in motion, we are hoping for another record breaking year in 2018”.
Peter Murphy, Senior Director of Marketing at The Pokémon Company International, on the other hand, declared: “The first line of original Pokémon products by Wicked Cool Toys was accepted in a fantastic way by sellers and the media at the recent toy fairs in London and Nuremberg. The enormous interest that was demonstrated for the new line of toys was very encouraging and we are looking forward to a constant sales increase when the line is available at the end of the year”.
The global phenomenon that is Pokémon started in Japan in 1996 with a Role Play game for the Nintendo Gameboy, which then broke out into the United States and Europe between ‘98 and ‘99. The very first Pokémon game introduced 151 original Pokémons. Today, the Pokémon universe is populated by over 800 Pokémons that players can catch, exchange and use to battle as they try to become the best Pokémon trainers.
From its debut to the present day, Pokémon has become one of the best known brands on a global scale in the entertainment sector and has under its belt:
- One of the most successful video game brands of all time, with over 300 million video games sold across the world;
- 23,6 billion cards sold in 74 countries and in 11 languages;
- Over 450.000 players in Pokémon events each year;
- Over 900 episodes in the TV series, with 21 seasons aired.
