Jigsaw puzzles have long been one of the world’s favorite pastimes, but during the last couple of years it was taken to a whole new level. Thank Covid-19 for that.
A market report stated that the jigsaw puzzle industry worldwide was worth 670 million USD in 2018 and would reach 750 million USD by 2025 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.5%. (Source: Marketwatch)
These numbers have now changed to the upside. A new 95 page report shows that the Jigsaw Puzzle market revenue was 706 Million USD in 2019, and will reach 884 Million USD in 2025, with a CAGR of 3.79% during 2020-2025. (Source)
The jigsaw puzzle industry is not a laughing matter anymore. Up to now, it’s been sidelined and considered part of the toys and board game venues. It never got its place in the sun.
To that effect, specialized jigsaw puzzle companies ended up at conventions such as the Spiel Messe. This German gathering is the biggest board game convention in the world and was probably the best way for jigsaw puzzle companies to get noticed, sell their art, attract new interest and conduct business… up to now.
The Spiel is a great venue that can gather up to 200.000 board game competitors during the 4-day event. And to me, that’s the whole problem; I have never met a board game fanatic who happens to also pass time puzzling. When they have a free minute, they spend it playing board games and nothing else. It’s their perfectly legitimate way of relaxing and having a great time.
Besides the toys and board game conventions, one of the only other options jigsaw companies have to get noticed is to sponsor a competition. The average number of participants in the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship is 400. For their part, local small town competitions gather around 200 participants under great conditions.
These events are usually sponsored by the major brands (and we greatly appreciate it) but gives no visibility to smaller jigsaw puzzle companies.A new opportunity had to come along to solve this problem, but more on that later…
Rise in Sales
Since the start of the pandemic, companies across the US are scrambling to meet rising demand for jigsaw puzzles.
Ravensburger has seen U.S. puzzle sales soar 370% year over year according to the company’s North American CEO Filip Francke, and the surge in demand is comparable to demand during the Great Depression, according to author Anne Williams.
In 2019, Ravensburger sold a total of 21 million puzzles globally, and recorded an average sales rate of seven puzzles per minute in North America alone. Factoring in the Covid surge, the company was averaging 20 puzzles a minute in 2020.
Puzzle Warehouse, for its part, hired 30 people to deal with a 10x order increase, according to CEO Brian Way.
As for Springbok, they are shipping around the clock according to the company, but like all others, they have to deal with delays caused by the supply chain issues affecting the whole planet.
Another icon, Liberty Puzzles, a wooden puzzle manufacturer based in Boulder, Colorado, has seen a huge uptick in orders as well.
This all goes to show that the dragon has finally awaken. It’s coming out of the lair, spreading its wings and breathing fire!
The opportunity is finally here
So all in all, the jigsaw puzzle industry has seen explosive growth but remains nonetheless out of the spotlight while nobody addressed the situation.That’s where the Jigsaw Puzzle International Convention stepped in.
This new venture is out to take the lead, become the rallying point for all jigsaw puzzle lovers around the world, and finally give jigsaw puzzle companies their deserved place in the sun.
It all starts with the first edition of “JPiC” taking place in Las Vegas, next summer.On July 8, 9 and 10, 2022, the Jigsaw Puzzle International Convention will gather hundreds of companies specialized in jigsaw puzzles only and hope to attract over 100.000 visitors to the Las Vegas Convention Center to what is set to become an annual event and a major happening.
The convention, concentrating exclusively on jigsaw puzzles, will have something for everyone. “This will be the greatest B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer) and H2H (Human to Human) opportunity the jigsaw puzzle industry has ever seen” commented Karine Dery, Co-founder & CEO of JPiC.
The company website mentions the possibility to meet the manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, artists & authors but also participate in competitions, join in the creation of an Arts & Crafts Collaborative Mural, listen to panelists and much more.
Alexandre Ouaknine, Co-founder & CTO of the Jigsaw Puzzle International Convention is particularly proud of the Awards Ceremony Gala and dinner taking place on Saturday July 9th, 2022.
Alexandre commented; “So many talented, hard working people in the jigsaw puzzle industry deserve recognition and they will finally get it. This will be the Oscars of the Jigsaw Puzzle industry.”
Awards will be handed out based on the public’s vote collected on the jpic.club website and other polls conducted online on jigsaw puzzle social media groups. Categories will include; favorite brand, best quality, best photographer, best packaging, most original artist and so on. The trophies will be custom made in Malta, where the head office of JPiC is located, by renowned glassware artists.
Rumor has it that the Awards Ceremony might be taking place at the Bellagio Ballroom and is limited to 1000 guests. Apparently, the only way to assist is by invitation. Nonetheless, 100 VIP tickets granting access to the dinner have been put on sale on the JPiC website and are available to the general public at the hefty price tag of 349 US dollars.
JPiC also announced a partnership with the Renaissance Hotel across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center. You can get a room at the special rate of $139 per night.
JPiC enters the NFT craze
As if all that wasn’t enough, the Jigsaw Puzzle International Convention just launched a NFT Token on OpenSea; Puzzle Coin (ticker: PUZL).
The intention is clear, PUZL is meant to become the official Token of the jigsaw puzzle industry.
PUZL coin is a ERC-20 (Etherium) Token created on the Polygon (Ticker: MATIC) Blockchain. The JPiC Marketplace intends to become the world leading platform to buy, sell, distribute and exchange jigsaw puzzles and related articles around the globe, and use Puzzle Coin as its official currency.
Alexandre Ouaknine stated; “Puzzle Coin creates a store of value when it comes to your spending budget on jigsaws. As the value of the coin increases over time, so does your buying power to spend on jigsaw puzzles. You can hold puzzle coin as a currency to buy jigsaw puzzles, or as an investment.”
JPiC intends to burn 2.5% of the amount of each sale to reduce the number of coins in circulation. Only 1 million Puzzle Coin tokens have been minted.
Alexandre further commented; “This is a relatively low number considering that the jigsaw puzzle industry is worth $750 million dollars annually. The demand will outpace the offer rapidly and along with the burn, will make the value of the token multiply exponentially.”
When asked about the benefits for jigsaw puzzle companies, the company states that this will resolve payment issues with international clients. No more barriers to selling to Africa, China, or Russia because they cannot use credit cards. Everybody can do their business with Puzzle Coin and companies get access to previously untapped markets.
Another benefit of the PUZL Token is that companies can decide to hold on to them (cash flow permitting) until the value increases, thus making increased profits.
This completely changes the parameters when it comes to the known fact that profit margins on jigsaw puzzles are relatively low. The JPiC website mentions that “With Puzzle Coin, increasing your sales and volume to make a decent living is not the only way to generate more wealth anymore.”
You can visit the jpic.club website where they have the Pitch Deck and Q&A answering all the common questions.
The ICO, or initial coin offering, gives you the opportunity to buy PUZL Token at the cost of 0.0005 Etherium ($2.00). You can buy as little as you want or up to 50.000 Tokens which is the maximum number of Tokens offered at this price.
The Private sale price will be of $4.00 each and limited to 150.000 Tokens. The public sale will start at $10.00 per coin so don’t miss this opportunity to grab some at seed price.
Conclusion
We are happy that somebody finally decided to stand up for the jigsaw puzzle industry and defend its interests.
Dissectologists, as they are called by professionals, can only rejoice in the emergence of this soon-to-be jigsaw powerhouse and defender of the jigsaw puzzle faith. Because yes indeed, when it comes to puzzling, it’s a real religion to some.