MORE THAN FUN AND GAMES
Canadian toy company Spin Master is now working to expand its hit show and toy line,
Spin Master is working to make Paw Patrol, its hit show and toy line, evergreen, and wants to make the franchise and the rest of its properties global brands.
The show and its toys, the acquisition of American board game manufacturer Cardinal Industries and another Star-Wars-themed toy brought the company’s revenues to $161.7 million (U.S.) in its most recent quarter. That’s a 51.9-per-cent yearover-year jump, the Toronto-based toy firm said Thursday.
Spin Master’s first-quarter profit was $9.9 million, or 10 cents per share, compared to $1.7 million in the same period last year.
“Paw Patrol is resonating with kids — not only in North America, but everywhere in the world,” said Anton Rabie, the company’s chairman. He added that Spin Master is looking to tap into the Asian market with the popular kids’ show, featuring a boy named Ryder and six dogs.
Paw Patrol launched in 2013, two years before Spin Master went public.
“We’re continuing to invest in keeping the Paw Patrol content fresh, with new characters and themes, in order to increase the longevity of the franchise,” director and chief creative officer Ben Varadi said.
“The other amazing thing with Paw Patrol is that it stretches in age and parents will love watching,” Rabie said. Though aimed at preschoolers, he said kids as old as 6 and 7 enjoy the show.
But the executives said they’re not only relying on Paw Patrol. The company’s entertainment group plans to launch up to two properties each year, “and we are actively working on new shows integrated with our toy lines,” Varadi said.
The executives also attributed the growth to its acquisition of American board game company Cardinal Industries, which manufactures games licensed by the likes of Disney and Warner Bros. They said a 75.5-percent increase in activities, puzzles and fun furniture product sales to $49.7 million was “primarily driven by Cardinal.”
Spin Master also recently acquired Sweden-based children’s mobile app producer Toca Boca and Sago Mini, which also produces apps for kids and is based in Toronto.
“The rationale for our acquisition was based on the reality that kids are consuming more content on mobile devices, and we want to be where the kids are,” co-founder Ronnen Harary said Thursday.
Mobile appeared to be the company’s final frontier. It can now provide, Harary said, “an end-to-end physical-digital experience for kids.”
Spin Master was founded in 1994 and has established itself as Canada’s largest children’s entertainment and toy company. Its position in the global toy industry is unparalleled for a Canadian company, according to Michelle Liem, a toy industry analyst at NPD Group Canada.
Spin Master’s large product sales growth doesn’t surprise her, she says, as it is now within the world’s top five toy manufacturers, joining the ranks of Lego Group and Hasbro Toys.
And Paw Patrol is the third-largest growing property in 2015, behind Star Wars and Shopkins, another children’s show and franchise.
“It seems like they’re taking a really holistic view of both the traditional toy industry as well as the digital gaming industry,” Liem said.
It has also opened sales and distribution offices across Europe and recently opened an Australian subsidiary, the executives said Thursday.
Liem pointed to the firm’s purchase of Etch A Sketch and Doodle Sketch brands from the Ohio Art Company as a dive into legacy items, which she believes could be an opportunity to integrate new technology.