House of Cards

The trading card business has been around since tobacco companies began including baseball cards in packages of cigarettes years ago. Today, the business has blossomed into a megabucks market and has very little resemblance to your father's trading cards and impromptu flipping games.

The collector buying the products today is the person in GameStop looking at games or in Best Buy looking at DVDs. “It's not the kid dropping a bike on the sidewalk; those days are gone. Retailers need to understand that,” says David Brown, president and CEO of Serious USA, New York.

Serious has created interactive trading cards that work on the PC, Xbox and PlayStation. “It bridges that gap between the sports collectible and the ever-increasing interactive market,” Brown adds.

“In the last few years trading card games, because of their place in the mass market, have been bringing consumers back into the hobby stores for the better selection of cards. Then they see all the signed cards, and cards with swatches of jerseys on them and it gets them back,” says Don Williams, spokesman for Upper Deck, Carlsbad, Calif.

Smart retailers know how to boutique the various trading cards and trading card games together along with other store products. Making the trading card and trading card game section a destination area can help retailers and consumers keep track of all the new and varied product coming out month to month.

“[Trading card section] is one of the places all the independents can do a decent business. No one in the mass market stores really undercuts trading cards like they do toys,” says Allan Caplan, president of Inkworks, Morrisville, N.C. “This allows a retailer to boutique the section for a month or two to really capitalize on a movie launch.”

Also, organization needs to be a top priority so consumers know exactly what they will find and where they will find it, and that hot properties are well-represented.

“By making a card section, retailers can manage the migration of their customers as they grow older,” says Joe Hauck, vice president of global trading card brands for Wizards of the Coast, Renton, Wash. “This is a release-driven business as opposed to seasonal like trading cards, so a section will always keep kids in the know and will allow a retailer to keep a close eye on what is actually moving.”

Trading card games are a gateway of sorts for younger kids to get into trading cards. “There is a lot of cross over, there are kids who start off on trading card games and then get into the trading cards,” says Clay Luraschi, spokesmen for Topps, Duryea, Pa.

Many manufacturers add special cards and items to the mix to help generate buzz for a product. “It's very tough to just produce trading cards so we're getting into different areas like collectible tins and packaging small toys with the cards,” Michael Simon, vice president of marketing and sales for Art Box Entertainment, tells Playthings. For its upcoming Universal Monster line of trading cards Art Box, Irvine, Calif. is developing a toy that will be packed with the cards or packed in a special box.

“We are always trying to push the envelope with the content in our cards,” Williams says, “We keep bringing new innovations to the cards like adding swatches of jerseys to the cards. But in the end it's really up to the retailer to know what works best for their customers.”

Topps has added autograph cards to its pack mix. “However you can bring the fan closer to the game through your trading cards, the better,” Luraschi says. “We offer something called Topps of the Class, where we send information and support materials to the stores that can be passed out at schools. That way when kids come in with their reports cards they will get a specific pack of cards.”

Trading nights are a solid vehicle for retailers to drive store traffic and interest in the card segment. Most retailers will find that the sports card manufacturers are more than willing to have in-store appearances of some of the players depicted on the cards. But the tricks of this trade don't really apply to the trading card games.

Trading card games are driven by the need of the player to have the better deck. It's all about getting the right cards so you can defeat your opponent whether it's at an official tournament or at a store league. Trading card games are a social collective.

“Really it's about community. The biggest obstacle is that they can't buy a game if there isn't anyone else to play with. So if the retailer has league night or game night people will come back,” comments Scott Gaeta, vice president of sales and marketing for Decipher, Norfolk, Va., “Gamers need a place to play.”

Besides needing a place to play games gamers also need information. Retailers don't need to know all the ins and outs of a gaming system but they should have a general knowledge base. “The best way is to have someone who knows and plays the games help the retailer out,” says Hauck. “Asking a gamer who already knows the players and the game will allow for a more informed buy, so the risk is lower and all it might cost the retailer is a pack of booster cards.”

“Once the retailer starts the tournaments, players will feel supported by the retailer, then by the company, and soon people will hang out, trade and buy,” says Adam Sheehan, events manager for Score Entertainment, Arlington, Texas.

Every manufacturer of trading card games has a support staff dedicated to helping a retailer host organized play events in their stores. Whether a retailer wants to become an official tournament station that allows players to get ranked nationwide or just have a league, most offer special kits that come with rare cards and other items to garner interest in the events.

Traditionally trading cards and trading cards games have been an almost males-only pastime. But companies like Wizards of the Coast have created Star Sisters to try and crack the tween girl market. “It's really more of a collectible charm game with truth or dare stuff that tween girls find fun. If you complete the challenge you get a charm. It really adds to the social aspect and is in a play pattern that girls like,” Hauck says.

Not to be left behind, Upper Deck has developed a Bratz trading card game. “It's more cooperative than most trading card games in that it allows groups of up to eight to play with one another. We are also going to launch a Winx game next spring,” says Williams.

A new player in the field is LocaSmarts, Ormond Beach, Fla. It has developed an activity collectible trading card game called U Go Grl. The cards have activities for solo or group play and are specifically designed for the tween girl.

Lego, Enfield, Conn., is breaking into the trading card game territory as well. “Knights Kingdom is more brick-based than Bionicle so it's geared for younger kids. We wanted to include the storyline for them so that's where we came to the trading card game,” Michael McNally, spokesman for Lego tells Playthings. “But we didn't limit it to just being in the product; the Lego club members get it packaged in the magazine and it is also available in a board game that is just being released by Warren Rose Art called 'Save the Kingdom,'” he adds.

In the end trading cards and trading cards games have gone beyond the niche and into the mass markets, bringing with it a new customer base and more sales opportunities.