Ten years ago, Dmitry Kibkalo created a board game as a gift to his father, and then a whole business grew out of this idea. By 2018, his company Mosigra is the largest federal network of board game stores, with its own publishing and production facilities. The niche was chosen so well that in ten years the company reached an annual turnover of 600 million rubles. Contrary to all market scenarios, demand is growing during the crisis. But luck is only part of the game, the rest is strategy.
How it all began
In 2008, companies were in crisis. Dmitry Kibkalo worked as a director at the Coliseum production center, but orders were getting smaller. Together with childhood friend Dmitry Borisov, they had long been thinking about starting a business. And Kibkalo dreamed of giving his father a board game, “The Jackal,” which he, together with other students, invented in the 70s at the Moscow State University. Then the game was made from improvised means: instead of chips – buttons, instead of cards – paper. Kibkalo decided to make it a beautiful and complete product. I agreed with the artists and the printing house and ordered tin figures from Chinese aliexpress. It turned out beautifully and expensively. Only with a circulation did a misfire occur: the minimum order quantity was 100 copies, and for the gifts it was necessary by force of ten.
When part of the circulation was handed out to friends, there were still a bunch of boxes. At cost, the game was expensive – about 5 thousand rubles, shops refused to sell it.
Then Dmitry Kibkalo and Dmitry Borisov, in order to realize the excess of goods, decided to create their own online store. And to have some sort of assortment, we bought another 20 different desktops to your taste. So there was a “Mosigra”.
The first orders were delivered on their own, and in two months they recaptured all investments – 500 thousand rubles from their own savings and borrowed from friends. Partners began to go out in plus, orders were transferred to the courier service. After the New Year, there was no doubt that they had occupied a promising niche in the market. It’s time to expand the range and go offline. The first pick-up point was opened near the Belorusskaya metro station in February 2009. In parallel, Dmitry Kibkalo worked at the Coliseum, and quit only in the summer, already in full confidence that the game is worth the candle.
A store with a sign was opened in 2010, and over two years the number of points increased to several dozen, including franchised ones. This is an incredible success.!
Everything is good when bad
The crisis “Mosigre” was only at hand. Board games are cost-effective entertainment. They are relatively inexpensive, the average price tag is 1.5 thousand rubles. For this money, a person receives quality entertainment for the whole family or company. In addition, one game can be used many times. Therefore, in a crisis, sales of desktops paradoxically grow.
The network has been expanding rapidly. The accumulated profit of the still fragile company was immediately invested in the opening of new stores. But along with success, difficulties also appeared.
Very soon, the company had to reconsider its attitude to expansion into the regions. Setting capital prices everywhere, the team did not take into account that residents far from Moscow were not ready to spend so much money on games. Revenues were different from Moscow, but they did not spare money on salaries for employees and rental of premises. Some stores had to be closed.
The experience of the regions came in handy in working with franchisees. The franchise was used to open points where they themselves could not reach. They created a base for partners through which they gained access to information from the center. Initially, some franchisees violated the terms of the contract: they sold unauthorized goods and did not comply with customer service requirements. Gradually, by trial and error, the company verified the franchise model, which takes into account the interests of both parties and is constantly being improved. It is because of a competent franchise that the network has gained strong positions in retail, and is now represented in 39 cities of Russia and the CIS.
Another feature of the business is seasonality. The peak of sales falls on the New Year and gender holidays. Playing as a gift is still the most common motivation to buy. Accordingly, each summer is a “non-season”, for which you need to prepare in advance.
People, ideas, games
The founders, Dmitry Kibkalo and Dmitry Borisov, are self-taught in business. Many mistakes were avoided only because in previous works there was already little experience in producing, IT and PR. Tools and work technologies were invented on the go. And for this you need to know your product well, respond quickly, be able to surprise and be a customer friend.
Mosigra believes that the game is an effective marketing tool. She sells herself if people have the opportunity to get to know her before buying. Previously, games were on shelves, sealed in cellophane. In Mosigre, they thought up opening boxes for the buyer and showing what was inside the game. You could play right in the store. This simple action doubled sales.
The company went further and began to hold game libraries – meetings at board games, free for everyone. We hired animators to explain the rules and entertain visitors. If people liked the game library, they would definitely buy the game home..
Game libraries have become traditional. At first they were held in city cafes, then the company began to travel with them to festivals: “Invasion”, “Afisha” Picnic, “Jazz Manor”, “Maxidrom” and others. The Mosigra venues were so popular with the participants of the festival that 30 animators were not enough for all the players. And although such visits are costly for the company, the conversion after them has grown significantly. So in “Mosigra” they confirmed one more rule of their own: money is secondary, the audience is more important. The promotion of board games has become an important part of the promotion strategy..
In this direction, which can be called lifestyle marketing, relationships with the buyer are also being built. The company has a very loyal audience, and the customer base is 640 thousand people. The secret is that Mosigra tries to make it convenient for customers. Even if the game did not like after the purchase, it can be returned back.
The client is a friend, but you can’t advise a friend to a bad thing. If the game is not available, the seller in the Mosigry store will tell you where it can be found. Even if it means sending the buyer to a competitor.
A business like a game – you can try anything in it. And so marketing goes along with the creative: instead of template phrases – healthy irony and humor, instead of memorized scripts – live communication with the buyer, instead of advertising – useful information. Everything that differs from what it saw before works.
In publishing their own games, the company follows market laws. Board game – a commercial product. You can not rely on one inspiration and personal interest. Before releasing a new game, Mosigre studies what is in demand. Party games, word guessing, family strategies and card games are popular. Ideally, there should be simple rules, the duration should be no more than half an hour and the cost of components should not exceed a thousand rubles. These principles worked: revenue from the sale of own games in 2017 reached half of Mosigra’s consolidated revenue.
Third-party authors are also attracted to the creation of games. There are many criteria, but the main one is: if after the game you want to play again, then there is every chance of success.
Later they picked up the idea of corporate gifts – companies give branded board games to business partners. It can be either popular mechanics (for example, Monopoly), or a game developed from scratch.
Mosigra He openly talks about his business, not hiding the experience of mistakes, risky experiments and unexpected insights. In 2016, a book was published “Business is like a game. Rake Russian business and unexpected decisions ”, which became a bestseller and received the award “Best Business Book of the Year.” These are honest business stories written in simple language and with self-irony. The company also blogs on Habrahabre, Picabu and Facebook.
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What challenges did Dmitry Kibkalo face while establishing Mosigra in the Russian market? How did he manage to create a successful presence and stand out among local competitors?
Can you provide more insight into Dmitry Kibkalo’s experience with Mosigra in the Russian market? I’m particularly interested in learning about the challenges he faced, strategies he employed, and what lessons can be taken away from his journey.