Goliath Games acquires Pressman Toy - Mary Couzin Scoops

This is big news, and we couldn't be happier to be the announcement! Adi Golad is a friend and mentor; he gave a brilliant and inspiring keynote at our Toy & Game Inventor & Innovation Conference last November. This is a man who started his business out of the trunk of his car with one product he believed in, and built a family run company based in the Netherlands with offices around the globe. This past May he acquired Crown & Andrews out of Australia, a family run business like Pressman and Goliath.Jim Pressman developed the company his parents Jack and Lynn built into the strong brand it is today. These are the stories that built our industry. David Norman (President of Goliath USA) and I go back to the game I co-invented which brought me into this wonderful business 20 years ago. Since that time David and I have worked on many promotions at our Chicago Toy & Game Fair. I have much respect for these people.

ADI - WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BUY PRESSMAN DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE ALREADY SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHED IN NORTH AMERICA?

It's funny - In 2008 people asked me why we were starting a U.S. company when the market was down and since then we've sold over 5 million board games in America. I've known Jim Pressman for years and have always been a fan of him personally and the company he's built. One of Goliath's main goals is to create global brands and now we share several great brands with Pressman. One example is Rummikub which continues year after year to be one of the best selling games in both the USA and the rest of the world. Another example is Tri-Ominos which we have made into a huge success in Europe and we plan to use some of the best elements of our European marketing campaign in North America. To sum it up, by combining our companies we can now invest more in both expanded products and promotion than ever before.

(FROM CRAIN'S NEW YORK; PHOTO BY BUCK ENNIS)

JIM - WHAT CHANGES SHOULD WE EXPECT AT PRESSMAN?

In 2015, we will promote Rummikub and MASTERMIND on TV in a major way for the first time. We've also locked up the rights on many additional great properties that we will unveil in October at Fall Toy Preview in Dallas. Some of these new items require advanced tooling and we are fortunate to now have the benefit of Goliath's world class R&D department to develop them. Adi and I agree that the one thing that will NOT change is the integrity of the Pressman brand. My family has built it for 92 years and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to build it with Goliath.

ADI - HOW SHOULD INVENTORS CHOOSE WHICH PRODUCTS TO SHOW GOLIATH AND PRESSMAN?

We're always looking for global properties that perform well with TV promotion. We offer inventors a truly global reach for their products as we have offices in 13 countries that sell into over 75 countries and serve over 1.5 billion consumers. In general, we prefer lifetime deals where we can invest more in the product up front knowing that everyone is working together for long term success.

DAVID - WHAT IS GOLIATH'S MARKETING STRATEGY?

Goliath spends over $25 million dollars in global marketing each year. These dollars are invested in many different channels including TV advertising, consumer demonstrations, print, websites, digital marketing, public relations, social media, blogs and more. However, marketing is really the second step. Our primary focus is developing innovative intellectual property that consumers love. Once we find the right item, our global marketing team gets to work. We don't simply manufacture an item and hope it sells - instead we painstakingly develop a great product with a complete and structured marketing plan. This is the formula to our success.

ADI - WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO THE U.S. GAME MARKET?

I believe it is declining retail price points. Given that manufacturing costs are increasing in China, the only way manufacturers can lower costs and still survive is to take money out of marketing or out of the product. Consumers are always a fan of a good price but are disappointed if the quality of the product they buy doesn't live up to their expectations. Also, retailers are disappointed if it doesn't sell through due to lack of marketing budget. However, consumers are willing to pay for great entertainment - consider the cost of movies and sporting events. So our job is to deliver a great game because a great game provides great entertainment at a great price!

Thanks for the great news and letting us be the first to share it with the world!

To read the story behind Goliath Games, click here.