ABOUT  ENCHANTICA

Part Three
The Present and Future - Xystos

In 2005 it emerged that the Enchantica name and all stock had been purchased from Royal Doulton by a company called Xystos.

Collectors eagerly awaited information about new pieces and hoped for a big fanfare type re-launch with loads of new pieces to get the name noticed again but what we actually got was an A4 bit of paper with badly printed pictures of old stock and a few new pieces that were actually old pieces from 2003 that had never been released but at least we were getting new pieces that had been sculpted by Rob Simpson and John J. Woodward, collectors were happy but also worried about the way the relaunch had been handled.

We also saw the start of a very worrying trend, the pieces "Designed by" Rob & John but not "Sculpted by" them, we now have pieces sculpted in China by un-named sculptors, something collectors never like, we like to have a sculptors name and not be misled into thinking that a piece is sculpted by a certain person because it has their signature sculpted into the piece (something Rob & John don't like on the pieces), even reps have been telling dealers that the pieces are sculpted by Rob & John when it's not the case! most of the time now, a drawing is done by one of them and that is their input finished, Xystos need to omit the signature on the base of pieces not actually sculpted by them and just have a note on the certificate stating that the piece is based on original 2D artwork by them

We were promised a new collectors club launched Mid 2006 with a new website, these came but with many glitches which should have been sorted out before release because they had plenty of time, at this moment, the club is only open to the U.K. this needs to be sorted out so that it's worldwide and some thing needs to be sorted out regards people outside of the UK getting special event pieces without traveling overseas to get one but at the same time keeping it special. We were hoping that Xystos had a better grip on what a "Prestige" dragon range really should be about (better than RD had!) what the collector wants is high quality pieces designed and sculpted by UK sculptors and no toy like gimmicks like flashing lights and roaring sounds but unfortunately that's what we got! it's the last thing the market needs, the market is flooded with cheap tacky dragons with far too much glitter and flashing lights, there is a gap for high quality sculptures which is what Enchantica was originally known for, lets hope that Xystos rectify this and let us put the sounds and lights behind us as early learning mistakes, otherwise we are going to see another RD like travasty with a company that doesn't know how to handle the range!

In 2007 Xystos showed promise by releasing an 'Event Piece' and promised us shows where this piece would only be available from, this gave collectors hope that things were going to change for the better at last, unfortunately 2 days after the first event they sent them out to dealers who sold them in the shops and on eBay, this annoyed collectors who had travelled long distances to get to the show (in some cases 6 hours) only to find that they may as well have sat at home, saved their fuel bill and ordered it online! This was a repeat of what they had done with the Collectors club membership piece and the Collectors club redemption piece and i was promised wouldn't happen again... it made you wonder if the collectors club was just a name to Xystos and not an exclusive club where members are the only ones able to buy club pieces and people who attend events are the only ones able to buy event pieces. Then in 2008 Xystos had the unwise idea of closing the club and making the club pieces and show piece all general release pieces.

It proved that they weren't commited to the range at all, every time they thought of something they gave up if it didn't go to plan the first time around, they just never followed through with good ideas  like the Collectors Club or Events where they promised the dealers things they could not provide (promising that people like Andrew Bill, Rob Simpson & John Woodward etc... would attend without actually asking them first so no one would turn up making the dealers look like fools).

Eventually I persuaded someone from Xystos to come and join in the chat on the forum and answer questions, and after a short time we began to feel that there was life in Enchantica yet because of feedback from Craig at Xystos who even made the effort to come and visit the collectors at the Dragonsite show in October 2008 and things looked good.

All this was to no avail though, because on the 25th of November 2008 Craig announced via my forum of Xystos' plans for the range... it wasn't good, they had decided to sell it off with adverts in the trade press in December stating the following:

'It may sound like fantasy, but Xystos, the acquisitive gifts, collectables and lifestyle company, may actually be prepared to part with one of its brands.

Chairman David Lewis explains: “Forward-thinking, successful businesses such as Xystos are continually evolving and reviewing their portfolios. It’s inevitable that while some ranges endure, others quietly disappear. And then there are those that, like footballers, sometimes do better under a new manager.

“We believe there is still a lot of life left in Enchantica, one of our fantasy brands, but it may be time for someone else to look at the range from a new perspective to realise its potential.

“Enchantica has an extremely loyal customer base and I am very keen that the appetite of its collectors is catered for in the future. I would like to hear from anyone who thinks they might be able to take this famous brand onward and upward.”

So, that's the end of another chapter in Enchanticas history, a pretty dark chapter really! A chapter proving that Royal Doulton may have killed off the range but someone else could make it even worse and that if you ignore what the collectors ask for and try to give them what you "Think" they should really want, it's going to fail! So perhaps if a new buyer is found, they will actually listen to the collectors this time...

Or, perhaps this should really be the final chapter and the range be left to rest in peace?

To be continued... Maybe???

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