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In full flight
For the best part of a century, Unicorn has remained at the epicentre of the sport of darts. It was the company's founder, Frank Lowy (see panel), who initiated the evolution of the crudely constructed pub dart into the aerodynamic, highly technological variety of precision missiles that sell in their millions today. It was Unicorn that dragged professional darts out of the smoke-filled, beer-sodden clubs and transformed the game into a glamorous and exciting spectacle fit for national television in the 1970s, and today, Unicorn remains central to the game at all levels, as is vividly illustrated by the release of its 2010 Book of Darts on July 14.
Unicorn has published its Book of Darts since 1950, and even 59 years ago the inaugural Book of Darts was a volume of considerable dimensions, boasting 56 pages that detailed not only an extensive product range, but also a brief history of the dart and even some playing tips. The 2010 edition is the biggest yet, running to 88 pages and featuring no less than 300 brand new product variations.
"Our product portfolio is expanding because more people are watching darts on TV and players like to experiment with different materials, weight of barrels, and with shafts and flights," says Edward Lowy, managing director of Unicorn Products Ltd, and grandson of the company's founder. "It is our job to provide innovative, good quality, well priced merchandise.
"This year we are introducing some new surface finishes, but they are adding to the existing products, not replacing them. We have had concepts in the past that we thought no-one would buy, but we have taken the attitude that we must give them a go, and in many cases we have been astonished by their success."
An experimental design that flourished far beyond Unicorn's expectations was the Phase 2 Purist dart created specifically for 14-time World Champion Phil ‘The Power' Taylor 10 years ago. Taylor had joined Team Unicorn in 1996 and the company designed the Phase 1 World Champion dart to his exact specifications. After three years, Taylor asked Unicorn if they could modify the design by carving an extra few rings of grip at the back of the barrel, as he liked to hold his darts towards the back.
"Once people had seen Phil playing with these new darts on TV they started asking for them," says Lowy, "but we were a bit sceptical that they would sell at first. We decided to make just 200 sets of the barrels - which wasn't even economic - but today, we have sold over 60,000 sets of that Phase 2 model. We could not believe the demand."
Almost certainly the best darts player the world has ever seen, Taylor is the figurehead of Team Unicorn, a group of players that includes no less than six World Champions with 27 world titles between them: Taylor; John Lowe; Bob Anderson; John Part; Raymond van Barneveld and Russia's Anastasia Dobromyslova.
Taylor has gradually progressed to the 26-gram Phase 5 dart that he is using in competition this year, and which - unsurprisingly - has become Unicorn's best-seller. Made from 95% tungsten nickel alloy and with steel tips, until now the Phase 5 barrel came with a Golden Unicorn Titanium or Natural Tungsten finish, with matching shafts. For 2010 though, Unicorn has added a striking Black Titanium finish to the collection. Positioned at the very top of Unicorn's 2009 range, a set of three darts comes with ‘The Power' flights (in three colour options) and a premium Midi wallet, and retails between £50-70.
In fact, for 2010 Unicorn is introducing the Black Titanium finish to all of the darts in its World Champion series, which features the darts Unicorn has designed specifically for each of its Team Unicorn world champs. The darts have the new Black Titanium finish on the barrels and shafts, and Unicorn says that ‘Physical Vapour Deposition' gives the darts an ultra-hard surface and superb grip, feel and durability. The sets are finished with matching black flights that are decorated with a new, all white adaptation of the Unicorn logo.
Lowy estimates that due in large part to offering such a comprehensive catalogue that covers a broad range of price points, Unicorn enjoys a UK market share of around 40%.
"We are dominant," adds Lowy. "In truth we are dominant around the world, but we have localised pockets of competition.
"Many darts companies I know are lazy, under-resourced and they don't support their staff, players or customers like they should, and that is why they are struggling. It's a real malaise. They have not invested in innovation or in players, they are not on TV and so they have not got anything to say for themselves. They've got no story to sell."
A visit to Unicorn's recently renovated and impressively interactive website clearly illustrates how the evolution of Unicorn is entwined with the evolution of darts as a sport, as a whole. Not having a story to sell is an accusation that could never be targeted at Unicorn with anything like The Power's accuracy.
