Carrera Revell of Americas returns to the Javits Center this fall with a fresh lineup of slot cars, model kits, and R/C vehicles. The Toy Book (TB) caught up with President and CEO Frank Tiessen (FT) for a peek under the hood.
Carrera hit a milestone this year with 60 years of racing action. How has the company celebrated?
We celebrated in various ways. The launch of our own direct-to-consumer website was important to us. This is not to compete with all of our trade customers, but to give consumers and fans another resource for our products. Additionally, we have, or are still in the process of launching some special- and limited-edition products for the anniversary.
For Toy Fair, we teamed up with Slot Mods, the No.1 custom slot car raceway maker, and had them build a very elaborate Digital 132 track showpiece!
What new products are you sharing this fall?
The change in the Toy Fair schedule is a bit challenging timing-wise and not every item for 2024 is ready yet. But we are proud to show new products and licenses in our Carrera and Revell ranges. We are very happy to announce that Carrera inked a licensing agreement with the most important racing series in the U.S. — NASCAR. We are partnering with the dominant Hendrick Motorsports Team and will release various sets and cars in our GO!!!, Evolution, and Digital 132 ranges next year.
We also secured the Batwheels license for our highly successful Carrera First range, and for Revell, we will show new licensed products inspired by James Bond 007, One Piece, Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon, and Stranger Things.
Also, we will show for the first time some selected Revell R/C products for the U.S. Many people here in the U.S. don’t know that over in Europe Carrera and Revell are the No.1 and 2 brands for R/C vehicles according to Circana. In the future, we want to build on that success here in the U.S.
That is just the tip of the iceberg, so we will definitely make it worthwhile to stop by our booth.
What can you tell us about Carrera’s relationship with retailers in the hobby channel?
We are very lucky that we are well connected in the hobby channel. These retailers are basically the backbone of our business and extremely important for our hobby-grade products. They have the expertise and know what to recommend to each customer [at every stage] in their slot car or model-building journey.
Just under three years ago, Carrera and Revell merged to become Carrera Revell of Americas. How has that benefited your relationship with retailers and consumers?
As always, when merging two companies there are some challenges in the beginning and I will definitely not try to sugarcoat this. However, the team has worked very hard to bring the brands together and to offer the assortments across all channels. I think that with a broader range [of products], we are becoming a little more important for our trade partners and it also makes it easier for them to try something new without a huge [inventory] commitment.
Looking ahead, what is your outlook for 2024?
Like many toy companies, we experienced an increase in business during the pandemic. We’re happy with how it’s continued since then. For slot car racing and model kit building, a lot of people either found their way back to these hobbies or discovered them for the first time and are now sticking with them. Our job is to build on that, attract even more fans … and keep our current fans happy. We are happy to have one foot planted in the hobby and specialty side of the business, while the other foot is in the mass market. Both sides will see a lot of NEW from us next year. So to answer your question, our outlook is pretty positive for 2024!
A version of this feature was originally published in the 2023 Toy Fair 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!
