The below is a message from our sales rockstar, Tony Gullotti (see his bio at the end!) about the tariff impact on the toy and game industry. Tony has has been a wonderful connection to the toy and game industry, and has closed sales for various toy and game clients (see our portfolio to find some of our toy and game clients). As a deeply committed toy and game enthusiast himself, he’s felt very strongly about the tariff impacts on fellow friends and business contacts. Below was originally a social media post on his personal profile that we requested to share here. We are rooting for you, friends, and we hope these thoughts/ideas might help!
Tariff Impacts on the Toy and Game Industry will Affect the 2025 Holiday Season
With the daily uncertainty of what is happening with tariff impacts, a lot of people have been making the decision to wait. Unfortunately, waiting an extended period isn’t really an option for toy & game companies if you intend to have product available for this holiday season.
Many of my peers are in a panic; they are receiving 10’s to 100’s of thousands of dollars in unexpected bills. I know some companies will not be able to keep their doors open. While these tariffs affect each business differently, everyone in the toys & games industry is affected.
Thoughts on Combating Tariff Impacts on the Toy and Game Industry
Maybe this won’t help, I know not everything listed will work, but maybe something here will help your business. I just can’t stay completely quiet while so many of my friends are experiencing real grief and despair.
If you have tips of your own, or want to brainstorm ideas together, reach out at info@valamarketing.com.
Tony Gullotti is a seasoned advocate for fun, founder of upcoming indie card game company Satchel Games +over a decade leading small & mid-sized teams in development & sales of board games. He started professionally in 2014 by designing Yashima: Legend of the Kami Masters with university friend Joshua Sprung, which was published by Greenbrier Games and funded for $104k during its Kickstarter launch. After a period with Greenbrier Games, Tony started work with Arcane Wonders 2015-2019 where he led all sales and marketing for projects including Sheriff of Nottingham, Onitama, Mage Wars, and RWBY: Combat Ready. Since 2019 Tony has executed marketing and sales initiatives for CGE Czech Games Edition (Codenames, Lost Ruins of Arnak, SETI) and recently has begun representing Vala Marketing in the board game industry.