Gamer Graffix
Innovation Goes "Skin" Deep
Gamer Graffix has innovation under their 'skin'. The Cranston, Rhode Island company produces "Skins"; colorful plastic overlays that decorate game boxes such as Xboxes, Sony PlayStations and other game consoles. But rather than offer their diverse clientele a one size fits all product, Gamer allows buyers to personalize their Skins with images of music stars, action figures or custom designs.
Why all the fuss about customizing game boxes? Because today, gaming isn't just a hobby, it's a lifestyle and social activity shared by millions, says company President and CEO Chris White, who after a string of entrepreneurial successes, founded Gamer Graffix in 2004.
In launching the company, White correctly surmised that as a social activity, gamers who get together to play each other would want their boxes to be a highly visual expression of their personalities. As a die-hard gaming enthusiast himself, he knew that graphically superior and high quality box covers would fulfill a need for personal expression that wasn't being met by current designs. Plus, he knew that his brand of Gamer Skins would be just downright cool.
White credits Gamer's success to the team's ambition to keep the company focused on improving Gamer's approach. "We try to live the culture we serve by not only shopping client's stores, but also involving ourselves in their activities. In essence we try to submerse ourselves their lifestyle," says White. "Gamer Graffix was born on forward thinking, and taking a constant and critical look at ourselves on a world-wide platform is the key to our edge."
Gamer's edge lies in their high level of product differentiation. In contrast to the cheaper single use paper style game box covers that are available, Gamer Skins are comprised of vinyl panels with adhesive backings specifically cut to specific game box shapes. The real beauty of Gamer Skins is that they can be easily removed, washed and interchanged. This allows gamers the flexibility of placing a skin of a rap star on their Xbox today, and then changing it to Spiderman, the Playboy Bunny, or the Hulk tomorrow.
This product differentiation allowed Gamer to single-handedly redefine the industry. If you ask White how he plans to stay innovative, he states, "we will continue to do what we do, which is to change." As we continue to expand both our numbers of customers and our products we will always look for emerging small cracks in the market. If you listen to your customers, I guarantee, if you hear them and fill their needs, you will be innovative by default ".
Since production started, Gamer's sales have increased dramatically. They often sell out of newly released products in days and are now conducting sales in 39 countries. Their most recent coup, says White, is a deal with rapper 50cent, who independently contacted Gamer to express interest in becoming a partner in the business. Now, 50cent is often spotted wearing Gamer t-shirts to major music industry events.
At present, Gamer has 32 employees and manufactures their Skins in China. However, that will change. According to White, his goal is to bring production back to Rhode Island where the resources are readily available to support the change. Says White, "There is so much talent in Rhode Island that isn't being tapped into. We feel like we're not only doing ourselves, but our state, a disservice by not bringing jobs back here. The quality and production time here is second to none. It just makes so much sense to do it here. We are hoping to be the first of many companies to figure out how we can not only survive as manufacturers in Rhode Island but flourish."
If you ask White what the best part of the his business is, he'll tell you that it's the innovative and collaborative process that makes the product not only profitable, but more importantly a lot fun to design and produce. White and his staff are all true gamers at heart and as he puts it, "it's a blast to actually build stuff you dig yourself."