This week, in the UK, retailers were notified of their Shining Fates allocation for products. An allocation was expected as Pokémon has struggled to meet demand since Autumn 2020. However, few people expected that the February allocation would only be in the region of 5% or stock ordered.
Why is there a Shining Fates allocation?
Demand for Shining Fates products has been unprecedented, selling out way ahead of the 19th February launch date.
Production of Pokémon TCG products has been hampered by the global Covid-19 pandemic. But yet demand has risen. Interest rates are at an all time low and many people viewed Pokémon as an ideal investment opportunity. Others, at home due to lockdowns or furlough saw buying and selling cards as a way to supplement income. Additionally, this year is the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon trading card game which was always going to generate additional interest.
If Pokémon had continued production to meet demand then this would have pushed back reprints and the new Battle Styles expansion. Allocation was the only solution. It has been done before but not to this extent.
Have stores oversold?
It seems highly likely that many retailers will have oversold their allocation. Pokémon have announced that Shining Fates will be released in 4 waves throughout the year, so it may be that orders will be fulfilled across those waves.
Some stores have reduced the orders of all their presales with customers getting a small percentage of their orders. Others will allocate orders on a first come first served basis.
Will future products be allocated?
It was interesting to note that on the day that the Shining Fates allocation was revealed a lot of retailers marked Battle Styles Booster boxes as sold out for presale. It certainly seems likely that new products and reprints will be allocated until Pokémon supply exceeds demand.
