Pandemic puzzle craze doubles sales for Victoria manufacturer
Posted March 10, 2021 12:10 pm.
Last Updated March 10, 2021 2:48 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – Puzzles are making a comeback during the pandemic, with sales doubling last year for a manufacturer in Victoria.
David Manga, president of Cobble Puzzle Company says sales jumped from $1.2 million before the pandemic to more than $2.4 million in 2020.
“It’s been quite a crazy ride actually,” he tells NEWS 1130.
“What we’re seeing now is a new crop of people who haven’t actually really done puzzles before. And they’ve enjoyed it, so now, they’re thinking, ‘Oh I might still do puzzles.’ Maybe not the same bubble during the pandemic, but we’re still seeing the demand for puzzles hold steady.”
He says he could have sold more puzzles, but the manufacturing process is a complicated one.
“It doesn’t look like it, but you’re actually having to cut a lot of material because it’s not like you’re putting one knife through the puzzle, you’re putting a thousand little blades for each piece,” he explains.
“To scale up production would take about a year and a half. So we’re starting to see more puzzle manufacturing coming online now but it caught everybody by surprise.”
Manga expects the puzzle craze will last even after the pandemic is over.
“You know, if you think of all the things you can do at home, most would involve screens if you’re on your own,” he said.
“But puzzles are a great thing you can do on your own or with one other person. You can stop and start whenever you want and you get a sense of accomplishment when you finish one. It’s actually the perfect pandemic pastime.”
