Respecting the geekiness

Toy World spoke to Saga Alliance’s Gregory Benassar, following the company’s acquisition of Heathside Trading last year, to find out what plans are in place to expand the business in 2025.

Can you tell us a little about Saga Alliance and how it came to acquire Heathside Trading?

Saga Alliance is run by four people, all either ex-Asmodee executives or former owners of companies that were sold to Asmodee. We have all been involved in the geeky collectible business forever, and we all started our journey into that business because we were passionate gamers or collectors ourselves.

We all joined Asmodee when it was aiming to become the worldwide leader of board games and geeky games. We succeeded, and Asmodee was sold four times during my time there. Over the past ten years, we averaged about ten mergers and acquisitions each year. When Asmodee was acquired by Embracer a few years ago, we were faced with a decision– did we want to have a comfortable job organising the empire, or did we want to build something new, utilising everything we learned through our journey, with our own money.

The four of us chose to start that new adventure with the formation of Saga Alliance, and Heathside was our first major acquisition. We saw that the Kidult and pop culture business was fragmented – it encompasses a variety of categories, including toys, figurines and collectibles, as well as trading card games and board games.

We noticed that there wasn’t a player with a global vision in Europe. What we are trying to do is to build a pan-European global distribution entity, covering pop culture, kidult, collectible, licensed products and fan-based products.

Why did you choose Heathside Trading?

I've known Darren Epstein for over 20 years. I've worked with him at several different ventures, from when he was mainly dealing with trading card games through to him joining Heathside. So, we knew that Heathside had a strong distribution presence in the value channel; a rapidly growing segment that is becoming a destination where pop culture fans in the US and Europe can find products.

Heathside has also transformed in the last few years by adding the Khadou brand to its portfolio. From primarily being a closeout company distributing pop culture and licensed ranges into value channels, Heathside started to design and develop its own products under the Khadou brand, as well as distributing leading ranges from other companies. We saw this as a very important step, and our ambition is to continue to grow the Khadou part of the business, as many companies want access to value channels for their own collectible and kidult products. Due to the relationship Heathside has built over the years with those channels, together with a deep understanding and knowledge of the market, we are effectively acting as a Category manager to those buyers.

Trends and licensing are a big part of Kidult. As Khadou has enjoyed success with current and retro licensed brands like Molang, South Park, Only Fools and Horses and Sonic the Hedgehog, I saw that we could expand our licensing presence to continue growing the business.

The other interesting part of the Heathside business for us was the acquisition of direct-to-consumer business Master Replicas, which targets a different audience – older collectors and consumers with a particular love of nostalgic pop culture brands. For example, Master Replicas is the worldwide exclusive master toy partner for Star Trek, while it is also now taking over the figurines that were with Playmates for so many years. The reason we can do that is because we have a database of a quarter of a million consumers around the world. We’re releasing and pre-selling very high-end, precise models and products that we are designing as an experience for hardcore fans.

Heathside is a multi-faceted business: it covers the value channel, it offers distribution opportunities, and the direct-to-consumer side of the business. While they are all different segments, they have the same goal – to provide pop culture collectibles to fans and kidults. And while Heathside is very UK-centric, it’s also strong in the Netherlands because of the many value retailers based there. We are doing good business with the likes of Action, but also in Poland with Biedronka and Pepco. We recently opened France and Eastern Europe, and Germany will open just a bit later. Then we can take the ranges that are doing well in the UK into other territories across Europe.

How will you look to take Heathside’s various ranges forward?

With Heathside, we will continue to grow, building more relationships with various toy manufacturers and collectible manufacturers all around the world. We’re working extensively with the likes of Funko: we turned the traditional closeout business - where you buy now because there will be no more, and you don’t know what’s going to happen next month - into a repeat purchase model. Because of the nature of the products that we are providing through trading, people will come back to us regularly.

If we’re looking at Funko, fans want new products. Because we are real fans and we really understand what we buy, we are not just allocating products blindly to retailers - we are building assortments, understanding the demographic and the best-selling items for each of our customers. So, we are evolving it into an extended, hybrid version of what closeout is, because of our deep knowledge of the product and the retail market.

When it comes to Khadou, it is currently focused on specific channels, especially in the UK, which means that we have a lot of growth potential with the likes of The Entertainer and Tesco. Amazon is also a big growth target, as we currently trade in a very limited way with Khadou on the platform.

We will be strengthening our product development team and partnering with some real experts in this field. We are now working with Nic Aldridge – a well-known figure who is highly respected in the UK. He is helping us build a more long-term business model for Khadou by developing relevant ranges for all the retailers in the UK, not just the ones we currently trade well with. We will also be offering more distribution opportunities for companies that want to use our unique distribution facilities in the UK and Europe.

When it comes to Master Replicas, we are in the midst of localising it: at the moment, 50% of our sales are currently made in the US, which is a challenge with the tariff situation. So, we are diversifying by localising the range in French, German and Spanish, and also delivering international marketing activity to help customers in those countries find the products. In addition, we are evolving the range to appeal to a new demographic – the average Master Replicas consumer is currently 35-40+, so now we will be adding new products that will be targeted towards a younger audience. We are in the process of signing new contemporary, on-trend brands – we’ll announce more later this year, with a product roll-out in 2026.

What other plans do you have to strengthen your presence across Europe?

We are acquiring several companies in Europe that specialise in trading card game and board game distribution. However, our vision is not to have separate businesses handling games, toys and collectibles. All of the key retail and distribution channels are ultimately selling the same kind of product, which is Kidult and Pop Culture products. They all have several things in common: they are aimed at adults, they are predominantly licensed, or trend based, and they often have a collectible aspect. Whether they’re a pocket money toy, a collector figurine, a trading card game or a board game is irrelevant - we see a growing market for products that are specifically designed for Kidults. And we understand that demographic because, to be honest, we are that demographic! I'm 50 years old; this is exactly what I've done all my life, so I understand the people buying these products.

What ranges are performing particularly well this year?

Heathside’s most successful range is currently South Park. Molang is also performing extremely well, while Minecraft, Five Nights at Freddy's and Sonic the Hedgehog are also having a strong year. Another brand that might go under the radar but is doing really well for us is Only Fools and Horses -you don't always need to have the biggest licence in the world if you're the main partner, you understand your demographic and you design the right product.

It's the same for Master Replicas. We have the largest range of Star Trek products in the world - it's a major brand for us with a huge turnover. There is constant demand because there is always fresh content with new TV series and new animation being broadcast every few years. Fans of the show are starved of products, and if you design the right products for them, they will come to you because they understand that you respect their geekiness.

How do you define a Kidult at Heathside and how does working with Heathside help retailers to really maximise on the Kidult category?

I think the key to attracting Kidult consumers is to first understand your demographic – these are people that are passionate about specific IPs or trends, and they are really engaged and immersed in that world.

In order to be relevant to them, you need to be able to identify the kind of IP they are passionate about as soon as possible. Take Digital Circus, for example: this is the kind of IP that we have managed to secure early, even though it is not considered mainstream across Europe. Identifying those IPs early enough and understanding the aspects of the brand that appeals to fans is key. It’s also vital to understand what the demographic is, why people find it interesting, and what kind of product they want to consume. Because if you're not designing the right product, even if you have the right IP and you understand the audience, you will not sell through.

A good example of this is what we did with South Park. There was no hype around South Park when we signed it. People knew of it, of course, but there was no big news - no new movie or content. However, people have consistently been fans of the show over the years - many started watching the show as teens, and at that time, there were few associated products. By understanding this audience, we can design products that resonate with them. For example, a talking plush toy that includes key features from the show can evoke nostalgia. The show is fundamentally about its writing, so incorporating elements that remind fans of their favourite memories allows them to relive those moments. It also enables them to share these experiences with others, highlighting the communal aspect of fandom.

I think you need to be a geek yourself or you need to have people that understand the geekiness of each of those IPs and products to design a product that will sell to Kidults.

It's not just the design team and the marketing team; it's also the salespeople. When they go to buyers and they recommend that IP, if you consistently show that you know what you’re talking about, the buyers are going to trust you. Of course, you never know for sure with licensed ranges. But if you're genuine and you know what you're doing, retailers will come to you to ask for your advice and recommendations. That kind of knowledge takes years to build up – and that’s exactly what everyone involved with Saga and Heathside has done, and it’s why we believe our investment in Heathside gives us a great base to grow within the UK and across Europe.