Industry News
Fanatical’s digital sales surged 148 per cent in December 2018, capping strong Q4 growth
Fanatical, an online games retail platform which operates out of the UK, has reported an explosive year-on-year sales increase of 148 per cent for December 2018.
Transactions for the month of December almost doubled, up 93 per cent year-on-year. In the same period new customers leapt by 130 per cent and average order value grew by 28 per cent.
December’s sales success helped Fanatical to grow its fourth quarter revenue by 74 per cent year-on-year. Standout successes in Q4 included Fanatical’s Black Friday and Winter Sale events, and the Kingslayer Bundle, a Fanatical exclusive.
The overall UK digital games market saw a revenue increase of 12.5 per cent for the calendar year 2018, according to The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).
Focus Multimedia Limited launched Fanatical in 2012. It currently offers a range of over 5,800 PC and Mac digital products, all officially licensed from a growing roster of 900 game publishers and developers.
“The fourth quarter has seen an exceptional performance across Black Friday and the Christmas period,” said Craig Johnson, Managing Director of Focus Multimedia. “We are now actively recruiting additional staff at our UK HQ to further accelerate our scale and growth. We’re thrilled that on the back of these strong results, 2019 is shaping up to be our most successful year ever.”
The ERA revealed that gaming accounted for more than half of the UK’s total entertainment market for the first-time last year. Of the £3.86bn generated by the UK video game market in 2018, £3.09bn (80 per cent) was from digital and £770m (20 per cent) from physical sales.
With customers in 200 countries, Fanatical is now accelerating its international expansion programme. Support has been added for 15 additional languages, allowing customers to shop for their favourite games quickly and easily. These include Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), German, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, French, Polish, Korean, Italian, Dutch, Hungarian, Turkish and Swedish.
“Fanatical now delivers a best in class customer experience by allowing gamers to browse and buy in their native language,” said Grant Hughes, PR & Partnerships Manager at Fanatical. “We are already working closely with new partners in new territories, as we bring our market-leading deals and exclusive games bundles to a wider international audience.”
/END
Notes for Editors
- As a comparison, Fanatical’s revenue for the month of December 2017 increased 14 per cent year-on-year, while revenue for Q4 2017 increased 17 per cent year-on-year.
- Fanatical has over 2 million social media followers across Facebook, Twitter and Steam Community.
Press assets: Download here
Questions? Please contact Grant Hughes, PR & Partnerships Manager at Fanatical – [email protected]
About Fanatical
Fanatical is a popular global e-commerce platform which retails over 5,800 officially licensed games with pride and passion. We originally launched under the Bundle Stars brand name, going live in 2012 and serving our one millionth customer in 2017. Bundle Stars was rebranded as Fanatical in November 2017, reflecting our growing catalogue of AAA games. Unbeatable customer service and trust is a cornerstone of Fanatical’s business ethics, earning us a 5 out of 5 rating for customer service on the independent consumer review service, Trustpilot. Operated by independently-owned Focus Multimedia Limited, Fanatical is run by a team of passionate gamers in Staffordshire, England. For more information, please visit www.fanatical.com
Industry News
SKS365 keeps investing in people: GROW People Management Program took the next level
11 experienced people managers from the SKS365 group’s 4 locations gathered last week in Belgrade for the new GROW People Management Program. From 15 th to 19 th of April, through trainings, discussions, and social connections, people had the opportunity to further grow individually and as a team, while enjoying Belgrade’s city center and rivers.
Created in 2023 with the purpose of building foundation people management skills across the organization, GROW initiative evolved this year by including a new, advanced program for experienced people managers to further consolidate their skills and prepare for future opportunities.
Building and fostering connections, sharing experiences, and enjoying team building experiences – all these activities have been part of the GROWpmp agenda for the 11 people managers coming from Commercial, Product and Development, Finance, and Sportsbook departments of the group’s 4 locations – Malta, Italy, Austria, Serbia.
GROWpmp included a variety of topics that people managers in SKS365 recognized as the key areas for management development. Topics such as influence through communication, team effectiveness, DEI, through to presentation skills and business topics like understanding finance and management reporting, were delivered with the support of external professionals and internal experts, while designed and organized by the SKS365 People & Culture team.
Industry News
Kindred’s Share of Revenue from High-risk Players Shows Slight Increase
Kindred Group plc’s (Kindred) share of revenue from high-risk players showed a slight increase to 3.2% (Q4 2023 3.1%) in the first quarter of 2024. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the high-risk revenue share decreased marginally. The percentage of detected customers who exhibited improved behaviour after interventions came in at 87.1% (compared to 87.4% in Q4 2023 and 83.0% in Q1 2023). This sustained trajectory in the improvement effect after interventions, observed over an extended period, serves as a testament to the strong dedication and collective efforts throughout the company. It reflects Kindred’s ongoing commitment to fostering positive change within the industry.
“We continue to see our share of revenue from high-risk players fluctuate quarter to quarter, and we are working closely with all teams across the company to support customers towards a more sustainable gambling experience. However, it is encouraging to see that our Journey towards Zero data has steadily decreased since 2020. A similar trend can be seen across the healthier gambling behaviour effect after interventions. This tells us two things: our work is paying off, but we need to continue to push ourselves to propel a sustainable progression,” Alexander Westrell, Director of Communications at Kindred Group, said.
“It was very encouraging to witness the open and transparent discussions at the Sustainable Gambling Conference in London on 20 March, where those with lived experience shared their important stories. Also, it is evident that technology is moving forward, and will provide greater opportunities to detect and intervene in the future. We hope to see more regulators engage with the industry and with experts to secure a more sustainable industry for everyone,” Alexander Westrell added.
Industry News
PENN Entertainment Names Aaron LaBerge as Chief Technology Officer
PENN Entertainment announced that Aaron LaBerge has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective July 1, 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Mr. LaBerge will report directly to PENN CEO & President Jay Snowden.
In his new role, Mr. LaBerge will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and execution for PENN, while leading the multinational team of technologists and serving as the key business leader for the company’s Interactive division.
Mr. LaBerge spent more than 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, in two stints separated by five and a half years as a technology entrepreneur. He was most recently President & Chief Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN where he was responsible for driving all technology and product development in support of The Walt Disney Company’s two media divisions. In that role, he helped set the vision and strategic leadership for how Disney uses technology to enable storytelling and innovation, drive its business, and create unparalleled consumer experiences with entertainment and sports content.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our PENN executive team. Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world, there is no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactive division into its future. I know Aaron is looking forward to working with Todd George, our head of operations, and our entire Executive Team to continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming, sports betting, and digital sports media,” Mr. Snowden said.
“I’m excited to join another talented team at PENN Interactive and lead our technology strategy. PENN Entertainment is at the forefront of the fast-changing gaming and sports media industry. I plan to use my experience from Disney and ESPN to help make ESPN BET an essential piece of the sports fan experience. Together, we’ll push the limits and redefine how fans interact with sports and gaming,” Mr. LaBerge said.
Prior to his most recent role at the Walt Disney Company, Mr. LaBerge was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ESPN from 2015 to 2018. At ESPN he played an instrumental role in the growth of ESPN’s consumer-facing digital media products and services – leading many of ESPN’s most ambitious and challenging projects and helping establish ESPN’s position as the leader in digital sports and innovative sports technology development. He was a key architect in the design, development, and engineering of ESPN’s state-of-the-art facilities in Bristol, CT; Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; and Austin, TX, as well as data centers and infrastructure that connect those facilities around the world, as well as the technology design and development to support the launch of the multi-platform SEC Network.
Between 2007 and 2012, LaBerge was co-founder and CEO of Fanzter, Inc. – a venture-funded consumer software and digital product development company. At Fanzter, he directed all day-to-day operations and led the development and launch of a variety of consumer-focused internet and mobile products, ground-breaking social and commerce technologies and more.
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