“We know how important brick-and-mortar retail is”: Asmodee Germany expands retail, hobby store-focused sales teams with new hires

Asmodee Germany is looking to get its games into a wider selection of mass market stores in addition to boosting its hobby shop relationships thanks to a pair of new sales hires.

Former Ravensburger sales exec Benjamin Pilz, who has more than 12 years of experience in the game and book industries, will take over the support of key retail partners in the DACH region for Asmodee.

He will be responsible for expanding the business in the mass market, food retail, and brick-and-mortar bookstores, Asmodee Germany said, as well as supporting existing distributors in Switzerland and overseeing the expansion of direct business with national key accounts.

Pilz said, “I’ve been following Asmodee’s dynamic and positive development in the toy industry for some time. The company’s spirit fascinates me.

“I’m particularly looking forward to creating new purchasing opportunities – for example, by making games like Dobble visible in less expected locations, such as grocery stores. This will allow us to reach an even broader target audience.”

The company also flagged that it had brought in Jakob Stachelhaus to complete its hobby store-focused team, focused on customer service, consulting, and developing long-term partnerships.

Stachelhaus said, “It’s especially important to me to support our retailers in making games a real experience on-site – for example, through tournaments or demos.

“This way, we create encounters that build long-term player loyalty and, at the same time, strengthen the community around our games.”

Germany is one of Asmodee’s biggest individual markets, representing about 15% of the company’s net sales – putting it in third behind France (20%) and the US (17%), and just ahead of the UK (13%).

Udo Fischer, the CEO of Asmodee Germany, said, “With these new colleagues, we are specifically strengthening the areas of key account and hobby stores, which are crucial for our continued growth in retail.

“We know how important brick-and-mortar retail is, especially for the gaming community – this is where games are tried out, explained, and brought to life through events.

“This is precisely where our mission ‘Inspired by Players’ is particularly evident.”

Asmodee Germany employs more than 250 out of the wider company’s almost 2,300-strong workforce.

About 535 Asmodee staff work in the French operation, according to its most recent annual report in June, while almost 400 are employed in the US.

In the summer Frosted Games, the German-language publisher of titles including Too Many Bones and Endeavor: Deep Sea, signed a deal with Asmodee to expand its distribution across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Udo Fischer said at the time that its distribution programme would eventually extend to “every German book store”, enabling gamers to order games from even small, local book sellers “just as it is possible with books with the overnight service”, so that players do not have to wait days or weeks for delivery.

Other recent distribution deals signed by Asmodee Germany include agreeing with HeidelBÄR Games to expand the distribution partnership for Vlaada Chvátil’s Codenames family of games across Germany, Switzerland and Austria.