Lionel has shifted its product strategy following the success of younger drivers like Elliottgetty images
Chase Elliott is filling in the void left by Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the top of Lionel Racing’s top diecast sales list so far this season. Replicas of Elliott’s No. 9 rank No. 1 through last week, followed by ’17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champ Martin Truex Jr. The top five is rounded out by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and William Byron. One other notable result has Bubba Wallace in the top 10 in sales. Lionel has been able to weather the loss of Earnhardt, whose various paint schemes took up six of the top 10 spots in the year-end list for ’17, with a shift in product strategy, growth in the mass collectibles space and the rise of younger drivers like Elliott and Byron. Earnhardt typically accounted for about 25% of NASCAR driver merchandise sales before retiring after last year. Lionel President & CEO Howard Hitchcock said that the company has lowered its price points and made certain collectible lines less exclusive. He added that while the company is seeing sales decrease for larger-scale models that are typically more expensive and bought by more serious collectors, it is “super excited” about sales of smaller-scale mass diecasts that retail for $5. Hitchcock: “It’s become a very significant portion of our business in a very short period of time.”
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TOP NASCAR DRIVER DIECAST SALES FOR '18 TO DATE
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RANK
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DRIVER
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1
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Chase Elliott
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2
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Martin Truex Jr.
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3
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Kyle Busch
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4
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Kevin Harvick
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5
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William Byron
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