Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-11-02)

JacksonRobinsonwas2 yearsoldwhenhewasdealta bad
hand.“Ichokedona corndog,”hesays,a commonaccident
thatuncommonlycascadedintopneumonia,a removedlung,
andninemonthsinthehospital.
Tokeephimbusyduringhisconvalescence,Robinson’s
mothergothimintodrawing,a hobbythateventuallyledto
artschoolinhishomestateofTexas,thena gigcreatingillus-
trationsforStarWarstoypackagesandCoca-Colacans,and,
afterthat,a stintasa videogameartist.
Since2013,Robinson,now38,hasbeenbuildinga busi-
nessthatmakessomethingasubiquitousandordinaryas
a canofCoke:playingcards.Henoticedthata Kickstarter
campaignfora collectiblepackhadraisedalmost$150,000,
sohedecidedtomakehisown.Whenhisprojectraiseda
similaramountwith2,800backers,anda secondoneeven
more,hegavethevideogamecompanyhistwoweeks’notice
andmovedbacktoTexastof b ildi Ki Wild
ProjectInc.,nowa 20-person e
Hisdecksarefarwilder,asth
thanthestandardBicyclecards
beenaroundforwellovera cen
first,calledFederal52,is inspi
bytheengraveddesignsfound
U.S.currency.A morerecentp
replicatesa VHScassettetapefr
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Another looks like a fat m
urowrappedwitha goldenci
CARDS:band,anda newBacktoSch

COURTESY

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OU mberg Pursuits November 2, 2020

deck could be mistaken for a box of classic Crayola crayons.

Compared with a $3 Bicycle pack, Robinson’s decks aren’t

cheap: $15 for most editions and as much as $50 for cards with

red-gilded edges, dedicated to one of his daughters, Scarlett.

Andyet,morethan1,000playing-cardcollectorshavesigned

upforKingsWild’smonthlydeck,upfrom 144 whenthesub-

scriptionservicestartedtwoyearsago.

SubscriberstotheKingsWildShortsStandardEdition

geta newdeckdesignedbyRobinsoneachmonthfor$12.A

separate,bimonthlyoption—theTablePlayersSeries alsoat$12

a deck—isaimedatcollectorswho

forpokerorothercardgamestha

box.Moreplaying-cardsubscripti

canbefoundonline,buttheKi

Wilddecksstandout,comingfr

a singleartist.

Thecompanyisintheproc

ofmovingfromAustintoouts

Chattanoogaandontrackforgr

salesof$1.5millionin2020,tri

2019’sfigureandmorethan 10 tim

whatitbroughtintwoyearsa

Businesshasbeenbuoyedbyonl

shoppingduringCovid-19—KingsW

sellsmostlythroughitswebsite—a

theconsumertrendtowardent

levelluxuryfavoringeverydaygo

thathavea maker’spersonaltouc

“Thepandemichasreallykind

forcedmeandprobablyotherp

pletoreevaluatethethingsthatw

takingupthehoursoftheirlives,

reflectsonpeople’sbuyinghab

Robinsonsays.“Peoplearewanti

justcookie-cutterstuff.”

Fornow,KingsWildisa sm

collector-cardcompaniesArtof

sellsitsdecksatTargetandWalgreens.Andit’sdwarfedby

theindustry’s800-poundgorilla,theU.S.PlayingCardCo.,

makerofBicycle,Bee,andHoylecards.U.S.PlayingCardhad

salesof$112millionin2018,theyearbeforebeingacquiredby

Belgium’scloselyheldCartamundi.(TheErlanger,Ky.-based

f t l i ts cardsforothercompanies,includ-

g KingsWild.)

“It’sstillkindofintherealmofan

mpulsebuyfora lotofpeople,and

e usuallyfindthatourfirst-timecus-

merswillbuyonedeckofcards,”

obinsonsays.“Theyreceiveit,and

enthey’relike,‘Wow,thisisawe-

me,I didn’tknowthatplayingcards

uldbethis.I didn’tknowthatthis

orldexisted.’Andthenabouttwo

eekslater,they’llcomeback,and

ey’llbuysixdecks.”

Anteupwithwildlydesigned

cardsatyournextgameofpoker—

orsolitaire.ByDanielTaub

A Cut Above

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