Leading African retailer Game has launched a new range of toys, exclusive to the brand, which will be available to customers from 11 November, as part of its turnaround strategy – Retail Re-imagined. Game seeks to offer its customers a range that is budget conscious featuring not only some of the best international and local brands.
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“Following extensive research, our strategy behind our toys category this year is to provide consumers with an affordable, exciting and engaging range of toys. We have researched our market extensively and one of the key findings is that for many families, disposable income is fast decreasing, in an economy that is struggling, yet parents are still looking for quality products at unbeatable prices,” says Neville Hatfield, Vice President of Merchandise, at Game Stores. “Furthermore, the range also caters to not only fun and entertainment, but education as well.”
Game’s private label brands and new ranges include; Punkimals, which are interactive pets, that giggle and move, Make It Real which encourages creativity through arts and crafts, X-Shot a fun blaster that encourages active kids and adventure or Sparkle Girls to name just a few. Game has something for everyone this festive, including a range for the older more tech savvy consumer, which will include remote control vehicles, drones, robots and interactive plush toys. Game also stocks popular international brands such as Batman, Frozen and Barbie.
Game finds clever way to tap into ‘kidfluencer’ phenomenon
Game will launch its Kids’ Toys Club competition on 11 November 2020, when the digital catalogue goes live, and will give children the opportunity to review Game’s new toy range. “It’s important that we get a stamp of approval from our real toy experts which are the kids. And we believe that The Kids’ Toys Club competition will assist us in doing that,” says Katherine Madley, Vice President of Marketing at Game. “In addition, we’ve also seen the online sensation of Kid Influencers, where parents showcase their kids on their social media platforms or create separate accounts for their little ones and we are hoping to tap into this important demographic,” says Madley.
“If you want the truth ask a child. Influencer Marketing is all about credibility and who more can be more credible and trustworthy to review toys than kids? There has been a steady increase in pre-teen and teenage influencers worldwide, whose account and “career” is often co-managed by their parents. Parents find it easy to create these platforms because some are already documenting these moments and making memories with their kids so it’s easy to just share, while others see this as an opportunity to generate an income and have their kids associated with some of their favourite brands,” says Pierre Cassuto Global CMO and Africa CEO of Humanz SA, an influencer marketing agency.
To enter Game’s Kids’ Toys Club, parents of children between the ages of 5 and 12 will need to tell us which 3 toys from the Game catalogue they would like to see on their festive wish list. The catalogue is available here and the competition entry page is here
“For 50 years Game has continued to bring customers the best value at unbeatable prices, and this is through staying ahead of the trends through research and constantly assessment on what we can bring to make the lives of our customers easier,” says Hatfield.
About Game Stores
Game is a trusted brand with a 50-year heritage of delivering the best value on quality merchandise for African consumers, through its 121 stores in South Africa and 28 throughout the rest of Africa. Since its inception in 1970, Game has been focused on providing our customers with unbeatable prices, which is reinforced through our Price Beat Promise. Game continues to leverage Walmart and Massmart’s strong supplier relationships to secure the best deals for our customers.
Recent accomplishments (2019/2020):
- Voted SA’s top retailer in 6 of 8 categories in ROOTS 2019 consumer survey
- Most Google-searched retailer during Black Friday 2019
- Winner of Best Appliance Store in the Star Reader’s Choice Awards, the Daily Sun reader’s Choice Awards, and the Sunday Times and Sowetan 2019 Shopper Survey
- Winner of Coolest Stationery Store and second Coolest Toy Store in the 2020 Sunday Times Next Gen Awards
Image Courtesy: Supplied