Rich Henry, Senior Vice President of Sales at the Upper Deck Company, saw the recent comments on ICv2 on Upper Deck's release times to the various channels through which it sells the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG (for a few examples, see 'David Loftus of AK Comics on Upper Deck Release Dates,' 'Bill Eckman of Classic Cards and comics on Upper Deck Release Dates' and 'Paula Fuge of Gnome Games on Upper Deck Release Dates'), and sent us this open letter to hobby retailers:
Dear Hobby Store Owners,
Recently, some of you have been expressing your frustrations on Upper Deck's distribution policies. We feel that this type of dialog is an important step in our business evolution. We value hearing from our loyal and passionate hobby partners. We agree with your assessment that there needs to be a more defined policy to ensure that we protect our core retailers who have helped us to grow the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game community. The hobby retail store owners should feel a great sense of pride knowing that in conjunction with the Upper Deck Company, you're the force behind the millions of duelists throughout
I would like to start by saying that we have been actively pursuing a workable solution to the distribution issue for some time. In 2004 our plan was to ship all channels simultaneously in order for product to arrive at the same time. This plan quickly deteriorated when advertisements and mailers for big box retailers took precedence. The senior management team at Upper Deck has devised a new approach to our distribution policies: we will now employ and protect a street date policy. We strongly believe we have created a system that will work out for all parties involved and enable us to ship to the hobby stores ahead of the big box retail stores. In fact, the mass market retail store's inventory will not be shipped out until the hobby street date (example below).
New schedule for Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Flaming Eternity:
Flaming Eternity ship date February 24
Sneak Preview February 26
Retail ship date February 28
*Please note that with The Lost Millennium expansion set, the fact that the retail channel doesn't ship until the hobby street date will give hobby stores a longer exclusive selling period.
New schedule for Yu-Gi-Oh!'s The Lost Millennium:
The Lost Millennium ship date May 26
Sneak Preview May 28
Retail ship date June 1
We now feel like we have a system in place that will allow the hobby store owners an opportunity to get out in front of their big box competitors. This will enable you to have a head start and further increase your Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game sales. Let me be the first to tell you that we are committed to fostering a great relationship with the hobby stores for many years to come.
I hope this helps to put into perspective our commitment to our partners in the hobby. I would also encourage you to visit frequently our website www.upperdeck.com for updates, announcements, and product news.
If you should have any questions, comments, or concerns please address them with your Upper Deck Tournament Store representative.
