Chronicle Books has acquired three toy and game brands from Wild + Wolf, a Bath, England–based gift specialist and a division of Scottish media company DC Thomson. Chronicle will establish a Bath-based subsidiary, Chronicle Books Ltd., to lead the business in partnership with staff in the company’s San Francisco headquarters. The new office will include a number of Wild + Wolf creative staffers.
The purchase, which extends Chronicle’s existing presence in the gift and games market, encompasses 350 products sold through more than 10,000 retail partners in 60 countries. Brands include Petit Collage, a range of eco-friendly toys and gifts for infants and young children; Ridley’s Games, known for its board games for all ages, including Avocado Smash, Selfish, and Drawsome; and Games Room, a brand of trivia decks and games. New introductions will continue to be developed for all three brands under the new ownership.
Chronicle said that with the increase in demand for games and other activities that has built since the pandemic the purchase fits well with its plans for growth. “The Ridley’s, Petit Collage, and Games Room brands align seamlessly with our mission to spark the passions of adults and children worldwide and will complement Chronicle’s distinctive publishing program, as well as those of our distribution clients,” Tyrrell Mahoney, president of Chronicle, said in a statement.
Distribution of the three product lines will move to Chronicle Books in the U.S., Abrams & Chronicle Books in the U.K., and Raincoast Books in Canada as of January 2021.
