Carl Brière Named Head of Publishing

Belding, MI | September 20, 2023

Flat River Group, a leading distributor of hobby products, ecommerce strategy, and tabletop game publishing, has the honor of announcing the promotion of Carl Brière to Head of Publishing. In this role, Brière will oversee the development of products published by studios owned by Flat River Group, providing direction on creative and production choices.

Jules Vautour, Vice President of Hobby Distribution, celebrates Brière’s promotion, “This is a continuation of the growth Flat River Group has seen over the last year and a half. Carl has a wealth of knowledge about the international hobby markets and will guide us in those channels in a more streamlined way. He will help consolidate our teams’ efforts and ensure we’re all headed in the same direction.”

Brière will continue to hold the position of President of Synapses Games (Yokohama: Second Edition, Pyramido, Cóatl) and lean on his extensive professional experience within the industry to elevate existing and upcoming titles to new heights, raising the bar for the standard within Flat River Group and even the hobby gaming industry.

Since 2009, Brière has held influential positions throughout the industry, such as Sales Director at Scorpion Masqué, CMON, and Asmodee, which fortified his expertise in publishing, distribution, and production across international markets. His experience and passion is reflected throughout the Synapses Games catalog, with games that boast incredible table presence and have received success in dozens of languages and countries.

“I would like to thank Flat River for trusting me to manage the group’s various publishing studios. This will be an amazing opportunity for me to combine the talents of each different team to benefit the entire gaming community,” says Brière about his promotion.

This promotion takes effect immediately and pushes Flat River Group forward in their commitment to provide the highest quality products to retailers and distributors and exceptional service to their publishing partners.

For more information:

Jules Vautour, VP of Hobby Distribution – jules@flatrivergroup.com 

About Flat River Group:

Established in 2011, Flat River Group has 12 years of experience as a leading 1st party ecommerce partner. They take their vendors’ businesses to the next level by owning their inventory and accelerating rapid sales growth, all while maintaining vendors’ brand integrity and elevating reputation. Flat River Group buys inventory, warehouses it, sells it to 20+ major ecommerce retailers, manages product listings and inventory, and fulfills dropship and distribution center orders. They are truly a unique partner, with 1st Party Seller (1P) status and best-in-class dropship capability. They specialize in partnering with consumer goods manufacturers including Toys & Games, Sports & Outdoors, Pet, Home and Patio, Lawn & Garden. The company is based in Belding, Michigan, US and has three other locations in Michigan, Illinois and Missouri. Flat River Group has earned the honor of being listed as one of Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 fastest growing private companies in America four times, in 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022. For more information, visit www.flatrivergroup.com.

Letter from the CEO

I hope everyone is as excited about Q4 as we are at Flat River Group! Signals from all our customers indicate that they will continue to order conservatively and really lean into our ability to support their assortments with our same-day dropship capabilities from all four of our DCs. We are building out our seasonal staff and increasing hours of operation in anticipation of this.

As I think about the changes since the beginning of 2023, it’s refreshing to see the spike in freight charges and supply chain hiccups are finally in the rearview mirror, and it feels like the consumer demand is normalizing.  We’ve spent most of this year working on solving excess inventory issues, refining and improving our marketing efforts, and expanding and improving our forecasting process. 

As we head into Toy Fair, we expect to strengthen our existing supplier relationships as well as add new ones.  If you don’t already have an appointment with any of our purchasing team at upcoming shows, please reach out to your Flat River Group contact and make sure we connect in person. 

Thanks to all our valued vendors for choosing Flat River Group as your ecommerce partner!

Matt Stahlin