Don’t call it a comeback, they’ve been here for years.
Slot cars raced onto the scene in 1912 when the Lionel Train Co. first introduced the idea of a four-wheeled vehicle riding a center-aligned rail set between the toy train tracks the company was known for. While the concept wasn’t an immediate hit and Lionel shifted its focus back to trains a few years later, decades of evolution dropped the green flag for a slot racing boom.
The speed-obsessed era of the 1960s and ‘70s saw brands like Scalextric, Aurora AFX, and Carrera jockeying for retail positions in toy departments and hobby shops. As with many classic toys, the popularity of slot car racing hit a decline, but TYCO stepped in with new innovations to carry the concept into the ‘80s. The company issued elaborate sets that featured tracks that ran up walls, had glow-in-the-dark features, or tapped into mainstream trends and pop culture licenses. When Hollywood turned its attention to the world of big rigs through films and TV series like Convoy and B.J. and the Bear, TYCO launched U.S.-1 Electric Trucking.
While the mainstream hype soon faded, slot cars kept on going, fueled by a growing number of adult enthusiasts — kidults before “kidults” were a thing. And, like the wheels of each electric- or battery-powered car, the industry kept on turning with cyclical trends. By the late ‘90s, a five-year cycle began, in which headlines hyping a slot racing “comeback” or “resurgence” started popping up on a regular basis and haven’t stopped since. But something unexpected was about to hit the nitrous button for the entire slot car industry: a global pandemic.
GETTING BACK ON TRACK
“I think the pandemic has helped the ‘stay-at-home’ type of hobby,” explains Dave Kennedy, Publisher of Slot Car News. “I had spoken with a number of slot car dealers who said they had ‘Christmas levels’ of sales volume during the pandemic. I think enough of that momentum has carried over — so far — that the hobby has seen more growth since then.
Simon Owen, Head of Brand for Scalextric at Hornby Hobbies, agrees that global chaos sparked a need for high-speed comforts. For some consumers, it was a nostalgia play, but for others, they were getting in on the action for the very first time.
“In the UK, Scalextric has tremendous power as a brand name, and we saw many consumers coming back to the brand to reconnect with their own children in a time where they suddenly found themselves spending more time with them,” Owen says. “Since then, the sheer breadth of car options and the accessibility of the hobby has, in my mind, allowed the activity to flourish.”
When it comes to accessibility in the U.S., Carrera is leading the charge in offering affordable, entry-level sets for a young generation of racers. Frank Tiessen, President and CEO of Carrera Revell of Americas, says that the 60-year-old company has found success balancing its assortment for kids and adults.
“The past two years have been absolutely outstanding for the Carrera brand,” Tiessen says. “Our licensed Carrera First sets really introduced preschoolers to slot car racing and it seems as if a lot of them are staying with it. Of course, we have our core of hobby-grade fans, and even there we have seen a very nice and steady increase over the past few years.”
Carrera First includes sets inspired by brands such as Peppa Pig, PAW Patrol, Disney and Pixar’s Cars, and Nintendo’s Mario Kart. Carrera Go!!! offers features for kids ages 6 and up, and the brand has extensions that appeal to tweens, teens, and adults.
Similarly, Scalextric’s latest licensed offerings tap into iconic franchises such as Back to the Future, The Blues Brothers, Knight Rider, Batman, and more. Round2’s Auto World brand, founded by late industry legend Oscar Koveleski, even struck a deal with Mattel to offer a range of slot cars and track sets under the Hot Wheels brand for instant consumer recognition.
RACING INTO RETAIL
Kennedy, a former sales executive for both Scalextric and Carrera, has extensive connections in the slot car industry including manufacturers, distributors, and a vast network of mass, specialty, and hobby retailers. He says that retailers looking to expand into the slot racing category can position the track sets like a gaming system. They can sell a traditional analog or a modern digital (with speed controls and more options) set and look at additional cars or accessories as add-ons to keep customers coming back.
“Think of these as investments like an Xbox or PlayStation,” he says. “The cost of a basic system is $500 and the individual games cost $45-50. Consumers understand this pricing now, and they regularly accept buying a new gaming system every few years and games to add to it at about the same price as adding 1:32-scale slot cars to a track set.”
One thing that everyone agrees on is that licensing will be the key driver in attracting and retaining slot car enthusiasts in the years to come. Whether it be a hot new property or an evergreen brand with nostalgic roots, the combination of entertainment and top automakers still takes the checkered flag when it comes to racking up sales at the cash register. As for the future, Tiessen says it’s all about balancing the business as he teases more excitement on the horizon.
“On the toy side of the business, we will continue introducing new licenses like we did this year with Peppa Pig,” he says. “On the hobby side, it means releasing new authentic replicas from all the famous car manufacturers. There will be more to come, and we think that by Toy Fair in New York this fall, we will be able to make a big announcement.”
Race on!
A version of this article was originally published in the 2023 Classics & Specialty Issue of The Toy Book. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!
