CircuitMess: Crazy ideas that NASA loves

The noise of production machines overpowered by rock music is one of the first sensations when you step into the new production facility of CircuitMess, the toy factory of Albert Gajšak, which spans 1,200 square meters in Botinec, Zagreb, and is also the largest production facility of the company. We entered it during the ‘worst’ time of the year for toy manufacturers – pre-Christmas.

Although we had to jump over boxes ready for delivery to end customers to tour the entire facility, Gajšak tells us that the fourth quarter of this year is their best yet, considering that their sales have increased by about 300 percent, especially during Black Week, which is marked worldwide, and most notably in the U.S., CircuitMess’s largest sales market, as the biggest shopping event of the year.

– In the fourth quarter, our sales generally increase, so we sell most of our products then, but of course, it all depends on the channel. We have direct sales, that is, online, then we have B2B sales where we sell to stores, and that works in such a way that they buy our products in the summer to prepare for the back-to-school and Christmas season. Finally, in the fourth quarter, our strongest channel is our online store – Gajšak tells us, noting that interest in CircuitMess products also rises when they launch a new product, as was the case this year with the Butter Bot.

Demand exceeds supply

Let us remind you that at the beginning of November, CircuitMess and Geek Club launched the Rick and Morty Butter Bot, an adult toy with artificial intelligence officially licensed by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products. This is a character from the animated series ‘Rick and Morty’, one of the most profitable franchises of the Warner Bros. giant, and products related to this cartoon have been extremely sought after in recent years.

– The Rick and Morty products bring in more revenue than, for example, some DC superheroes – Gajšak tells us, adding that they have so far collected orders worth 441 thousand dollars in the Kickstarter campaign for Butter Bot, showing us on his computer the page through which the campaign was launched.

This is the sixth campaign on Kickstarter for this company, which functions as a significant injection of revenue. And speaking of revenue, it is worth noting that the company, according to data from Poslovna Hrvatska, generated 1.59 million euros last year. However, Gajšak noted that the data presented on domestic services is not accurate as it only pertains to the company in Croatia, while CircuitMess operates not only in Croatia but also has a company registered in the U.S., so the total revenue of the entire group amounted to about 2.5 million dollars.

– This year, when everything is summed up, we will exceed that number, but it is still too early for precise expectations as we need to see how many products we will deliver by the end of the year – notes the young innovator from Karlovac.

That the demand in this toy factory significantly exceeds supply, at least during this pre-holiday period, is also evidenced by the fact that CircuitMess usually has about thirty employees, and in the fourth quarter, they hire additional staff to cope with the demand.

Hanging out with Excel

Although we entered the factory during the busiest time of the year, Gajšak claims that regardless of the time of year, there is no typical day at CircuitMess for him as he is involved in all business processes, thus determining future plans for the company, marketing activities, participating in hiring (which is why it is not surprising that he addressed everyone who passed by him during our tour of the production facility directly by name), management, and ensuring employee satisfaction, and as he claims, he often hangs out with Excel.

– I still participate in product development, but I only help in deciding what to produce. There are people who primarily deal with that, but I mostly come up with some crazy ideas about what we should make – Gajšak says.

As we walked through the facility to his office, looking at various awards for those crazy ideas, we also examined some of his most famous products, such as the Batmobile. Although it is the most famous toy that has come out of this innovator’s idea factory, Gajšak tells us that the best-selling product recently has been the space rover, or the entire line of licensed products created in collaboration with the American space agency NASA.

– An interesting thing happened here: we sold more NASA-licensed watches than that specific space rover. The reason is that the watch is aimed at a broader audience, while the rover is for geeks, that is, for a specific audience interested in such products – Gajšak explains.

However, the interesting aspect and innovation of these toys is that they can be connected, so the aforementioned NASA-licensed watch can connect to the rover and control it. In other words, there are reasons to buy such toys as a set.

Read the entire report from Albert Gajšak’s toy factory in the printed and digital edition of Lider.