After a very successful 2022, we are excited and more motivated than ever to not only build on the success we've had last year but to also tackle the various projects we've set ourselves this upcoming year.
One of the main plans for 2023 is to further increase our brand awareness by extensively targeting a much wider audience and demographic throughout the UK, Europe and the US. With our new marketing strategy set for this year, we hope to reach more prospective consumers and turn them into customers of our products.
After months of planning for Card Con, we're delighted and over the moon with the amount of positive feedback we've received throughout the weekend and after. Although the turnout wasn't what we anticipated, it was definitely an overwhelming feeling with the number of people that showed us support and took their time to travel to attend the show. We take our hats off to all the vendors, sponsors and of course the entire Farnborough staff that kept the show running smoothly.
As it's the first show we've ever put together within such a short timeframe, it's fair to say that it was a massive success but there are definitely areas of improvement that we'll be implementing in the next one. With the venue's practicality, location and opportunity for growth, it will be most likely that we'll be coming back for show number two in 2024. The next show date will be announced soon.
As for our targets this first quarter, one of our main objectives is securing more TCG and entertainment products such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Star Wars and more which we are currently working on. We plan on creating a new branch under Sports Cards Direct for TCG products that caters to a whole new audience that we're hoping to attract. This new addition should bring in entirely new customers that we've not yet explored.
In addition to our first-quarter targets, we are also looking into opening our very own first physical retail store in Plymouth. We've already looked into several storefronts within the city that would be ideal for us and our travelling customers. Our objective is to create a space that is inclusive to everyone and a place where all trading card enthusiasts can feel at home and enjoy the hobby. We plan on opening the store in the next few months which would include a variety of products from sports cards, TCG, memorabilia and many more.
Last but not least, we have partnered up with eBay to put in place a monthly live auction that would have a wide range of raw cards & slabs from low, mid to high-end. The auction would have over 100+ cards available starting from 99p. This would allow everyone to have a chance to pick up cards for a fraction of their original price and a fun way of collecting without the hassle.
