Portuguese retailer Continente has signed an exclusive partnership with Belgian company Road Sixty Geek to introduce ‘geek’ corners in 20 Continente supermarkets.
The initiative, valid throughout October, will offer consumers products related to pop culture available in specially-designed corners, while also providing an immersive experience.
Portuguese ‘geeks’ will be able to buy a range of items, including Funko Pops, mugs, lamps, figurines and collectibles, the founder of Road Sixty Geek, David Kauffman, told Dinheiro Vivo. He added that the offer will include "anything suitable for fans of manga, Disney and cult movies."
A Growing Market
According to Kauffman, citing data from Technavio, the marketing and retailing of products for fans of series, movies and games is expected to represent a global market of more than $416 million (€418.5 million) by 2024.
He pointed out that the sector is growing rapidly thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime that release new content such as Stranger Things, Peaky Blinders, and The Mandalorian.
For Kauffman, Road Sixty Geek brings to the Portuguese and international market the ability to ‘evolve based on market dynamics and thanks to partnerships with top companies like Disney,’ while at the same time also ‘investing in creating stories and unique shopping experiences.’
'Natural Step'
For Luís Ribeiro Magalhães, category manager, Toys, at MC Sonae, the new spaces represent an asset to Continente stores.
"This investment is for us a natural step in the expansion of a category in which we are market leaders in Portugal," he said. "Our ambition is clear: we want to take this segment to the largest number of stores, ensuring that all consumers have access to the category."
Road Sixty Geek is already present with its pop culture corners in 70 Cora hypermarkets in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Romania.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
