The division will be responsible for growing card game based kids business, merchandise, and initially launching the UFO Catcher crane into Europe. Smith, with a background in the toy and licensing industry, will also be looking to acquire new licences for Sega to capitalise on. The expansion comes as part of Sega’s much publicized aggressive five-year expansion policy. The first sign of the policy having effect was an internal restructure followed by the manufacturer taking the spares business back in house. A well known figure in the toy industry Smith has had an extensive career covering sales, promotion and licensing roles and worked for big names such as Tomy, Hasbro and Coca~Cola. Household name such as Turtles and the re-emergence of Spiderman in 1994 were down to Alan. On his appointment he commented, “I will be looking to bring my expertise and knowledge of the toy world to Sega and open up new avenues of business and income streams; it is clear the company has massive plans but also that the income forecast cannot all come from traditional amusement sources”.

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