Random Gunpla facts & figures
Nikkei Business Online has been posting a series of discussions
with Bandai Hobby Division's Deputy General Manager & Bandai
Hobby Center chief Katsuhiko Sasaki. The second one focuses on his work as a manager and the
people who support the Gunpla market.
- Development of a plamodel takes 120-150 days from design to
shipping out. They plan on optimizing this to 100 days.
- The plamodel market exceeds 50 billion yen in value.
- Said market is such that even 10-year-old products can be
manufactured and sold with repeated demand. The ratio of sales for
new products vs. old products is roughly 50-50.
- The people who buy Gunpla can be largely divided into two groups:
14-year-olds who purchase them because of their interest in the
newest Gundam on TV and 35-year-olds who've been fans since First
Gundam. Gunpla has been particularly sustained by the latter.
frm gunota