Faced with the attraction of children and the interest of adults who resell them at a high price, toy stores are getting organized.
Charlie is impatiently awaiting his present. Under the tree, she hopes to discover Pokemon cards that she exchanges with her friends in the playground. But finding them is not child’s play. In the shelves of the Grand Récré, no trace of the “booster”, the name given to the deck which contains ten cards. To hope to get one, you have to go directly to the cash register. And the number is limited, no more than one per person.
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Since its inception in 1996, the Pokemon franchise has spanned the ages and generations of children, but that’s not all. For almost a year, adults have also shown great interest in these cards. On the internet, some are traded at a high price. The number of sales on eBay increased by 574% between 2019 and 2020 with a record price reached by a Charizard card of the first edition sold at 418,000 euros in February 2021. Beyond these rare editions, the “booster” purchased less than ten euros in stores are sometimes found four or five times more expensive online. To the dismay of toy stores like JouéClub, which noticed that some customers did not hesitate to rob the shelves for this purpose. Last June, sales of Pokemon cards registered a 160% increase in its stores.
To prevent their youngest customers from finding the stalls empty, the Grande Récré therefore decided in June to instruct the cashiers to issue the precious cards and limit the number sold per person. “The supplier only distributes a certain number, if we receive 15 packages a day and we sell them all to the same customer, we will make 14 disappointed who are children and that is not our goal”, explains the sign. Same strategy at JouéClub which limits the sale to two packages per family, also at the cash desk. “Even doing this, the cards left very quickly but we were able to sell them almost until Christmas”, explains Franck Mathais, spokesperson for the brand. “Those who wanted these products just to speculate on them bitched a bit. Some have tried to find ways to buy more, but they are unmasked quite quickly. We have shown families that we care about our customers ”, he congratulates himself.
Create the lack
Each quarter a new set of Pokemon cards are released. Once the stock has run out, the children must wait impatiently for the next one. To cope with this strong demand, toy brands are trying to order as many as possible from their suppliers. “We receive them as we go and once everything has been delivered we always try to find out if it would be possible to obtain more”, explains Franck Mathais. In vain, the supply remains below the immense demand for Pokemon cards. And for some, it is a strategy on the part of the firm as explained by Fnac. “We try to satisfy our customers as much as possible within the framework of a limited production which has always been part of the business model of Pokémon cards, which is a timeless license”, she replies, specifying, however, that she has not put in place any restriction on the number of packs of cards sold per person. Pokemon “Deliberately creates a lack to maintain interest in this product”, abounds Franck Mathais.
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A strategy paying off in view of the enthusiasm for these cards which has not been denied for 25 years and which benefits the brand’s other products. Customers in search of the famous “booster” often fall back on another Pokemon toy in case of shortage. Figurines, soft toys, card binders, accessories … In November, five license products were among the ten most sold by JouéClub. A boon for the brand and the toy stores that are guaranteed to be successful all year round.