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| GB Eye Signs Smyths Exclusive
| GB Eye has signed a deal with Ireland-based toy store Smyths to be exclusive supplier of posters to the chain. | | | DSW Licensing Grows Licensee List
| | Over a dozen new manufacturers recently signed on with several DSW Licensing artists. | | | The Potter’s Shed Line Joins Enesco
| | Artist Michael Macone’s new ceramic line, The Potter’s Shed, will be mass distributed in January through a new license agreement with Enesco. | | | Art of Licensing
| | Sandra Magsamen started her career as an art therapist helping Alzheimer's patients, troubled children and the criminally insane. In the late '80s she began creating her own art from her home, inspired by the birth of her daughter. | | | Art and Design Properties Get New Focus at BLE
| | Some 45 companies have signed up for the art, design and image licensing zone at October’s Brand Licensing Europe, which takes place at Olympia in London on Oct. 1 and 2. | | | Heidi Sturgess Launches at BLE 2008
| | English designer Heidi Sturgess is launching her first range of artwork at The Brand Licensing Show. | | | Martha Stewart Craft Lines Hit Wal-Mart
| | Martha Stewart has expanded her Create and Celebrate lines into Wal-Mart stores in Canada and the United States. | | | Artistic Licensing
| | The area devoted to art licensing on the show floor of the Licensing Expo almost has the feel of a close-knit neighborhood. Of course everyone is there to do business and expand their brands with licensing deals but there is a strong sense of community amongst this group that stems from the fact that what is being promoted was created from a personal place and by the artist's own hand. | | | iota Purchased by C.R. Gibson
| | Design company iota and C.R. Gibson LLC announced that iota's business and assets have been acquired by C.R. Gibson, an affiliated company of CSS Industries Inc. | |  MORE ARTICLES
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| Ch-ch-ch-Chia Pet and The Clapper Are Back
| | The Dimensional Branding Group has scooped up an exclusive representation deal with Joseph Enterprises, owner of the Chia Pet and The Clapper brands.
| | | Goodyear Brand to Expand Outside North America
| | The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has chosen IMG Licensing to further its brand on a bigger international scale. | | | Hanes to Cut 8,100 Jobs, Up Asia Production
| | Consolidation and global cost-cutting strategies at Hanesbrands will result in a total of 8,100 employees in five countries in the Western Hemisphere losing their jobs. | | | BBC Worldwide Restructures Kids' Business
| | BBC Worldwide has restructured its children's business with a new name, a brand focus, an expansion of its U.S. operation and an extended relationship with Ragdoll in the U.S. | | | Gap Adds Athleta To Online Store, Universality
| | Women's sports and active apparel company, Athleta was recently acquired by Gap for approximately $150 million. | | | Jenny McCarthy To Create Holistic Lifestyle Brand, Too Good
| | Comedian and author Jenny McCarthy has recently teamed up with Brand Sense Partners to create her own line of safe children’s products, called Too Good. | | | Jenny McCarthy To Create Holistic Lifestyle Brand, Too Good
| | Comedian and author Jenny McCarthy has recently teamed up with Brand Sense Partners to create her own line of safe children's products, called Too Good. | | | Global Rebranding for CPLG
| | European licensing agency CPLG, part of Cookie Jar, has rebranded the business with a new look to be used across it seven territories–U.K., Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. | | | Global Icons Roll Out U.S. Deals
| | Global Icons has several U.S. merchandise deals for American Honda Motor, Coldstone and Harriett Brown and Company. | | | MORE ARTICLES
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| GB Eye Signs Smyths Exclusive
| | GB Eye has signed a deal with Ireland-based toy store Smyths to be exclusive supplier of posters to the chain.
| | | Rainbow Brite To Turn 25, New Doll Line for Holiday 2009
| | Hallmark Cards' Rainbow Brite franchise has signed United Media as its exclusive merchandising licensing agent for the brand's upcoming 25th anniversary program. | | | Where's Waldo Celebrates 21 Years, Lands Let's Go Student Travel Guide
| | "Where's Waldo," celebrated 21 years on Sept. 21 and has partnered with student-created travel guide publisher Let's Go for a global content and marketing deal, reports Entertainment Rights. | | | The Scrap Kins Go Back To School
| | The Scrap Kins characters and artwork head to class on stationery, flash cards, stickers and more through several deals, reports Brian Yanish Designs. | | | Gogo’s Crazy Bones Adds Licensees
| | Bulldog Licensing has signed Roy Lowe and Sons for socks, Infocado for calendars and Poetic Gem for apparel for Gogo’s Crazy Bones, the collectable figures produced by Magic Box International and Promociones Premier International. | | | First Hello Kitty Album To Release, Hello World
| | Hello Kitty's first album, Hello World, will be sold exclusively at Walmart on Oct. 7. | | | Nick's "iCarly" and More To Get Décor and Fleece Kits
| | Springs Creative Products Group has signed on to create fabric and craft kits for a variety of Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows. | | | PixFusion Brings Kideo Characters to The Netherlands
| | PixFusion, creator of photo and audio-personalized video products and services, has signed a multi-year deal with PersonalGifts covering The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg for its Kideo “Dora the Explorer” and “Spider-Man” titles. | | | Back of the Net for Character World
| | Character World has signed a deal with sports, Pineapple Aroundshot, to produce canvas art featuring U.K. football clubs. | | | MORE ARTICLES
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| MTVNI Goes to MIPCOM with Multiple Deals
| | MTV Networks International has secured a raft of new deals and expanded its catalog to more than 4,000 hours of multi-platform content across all brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, Comedy Central, BET, CMT and Spike TV. | | | Elastic Rights Expands with New Appointment
| | Elastic Rights has appointed Elena Picco as general manager of Elastic Rights Italy based in Milan. Picco was formerly at Mediaset where she was responsible for the home video and merchandising and licensing division for over 12 years. | | | Toy Deals Align for Nelvana's "Grossology" and "Max & Ruby"
| | Nelvana Entertainment has scored toy lines for its two children's properties?"Grossology" and "Max & Ruby," following fall's Dallas Toy Fair. | | | Toys To Debut for Spanish Kids Series "El Chavo"
| | Plush, DVDs and more based on Grupo Televisa and United Media's Spanish-speaking children's property "El Chavo" are on track for December. | | | Marvel To Produce "The Avengers" Animated Series
| | Twenty-six half-hour episodes are in development through Marvel Animation for a new animated series, "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes." | | | BLE Pulls in the Punters and Sets Up for 2009
| | Brand Licensing Europe 2008, owned by Advanstar and celebrating 10 years, is likely to meet its record-breaking 2007 attendance figures. Official figures are not yet available, but last week's London event is in line to equal last year, which pulled in over 4,000 visitors. | | | Entertainment One Buys DHX Media
| | Entertainment group Entertainment One has acquired children’s producer and distributors DHX Media for an agreed share and cash deal that values DHX at Canadian $68 million. | | | "Big Barn Farm" Signs Ladybird for Tie-In Books
| | RDF has signed a publishing deal with Penguin's Ladybird imprint for "Big Barn Farm" tie-in books. | | | Target Entertainment Group Gets Tied Up with “Emu”
| | Target Entertainment Group has signed the worldwide licensing rights to the new “Emu” live-action comedy series, which returned to CITV last year and stars Toby Hull, son of the late Rod Hull who was Emu’s original owner. | | | MORE ARTICLES
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| Brand Licensing 2006: Bigger and better than ever
| | Visitor numbers were up and it has been saluted as the best ever. With a new venue and a new date, Brand Licensing 2006 pulled out all the stops to reflect the demands of an evolving, maturing industry that demands the best from its premier European show. | | | Licensing online communities: mission impossible?
| | The internet is spawning lots of online communities, social networks and other virtual spaces. They are already powerful brand names with a huge a loyal user base but usually spread by word-of-mouth. So how will the licensing industry, built around traditional entertainment brands and bricks-and-mortar retailing, embrace them? Sam Phillips reports. | | | Rebuilding LEGO
| | When speaking with Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, it's worth bearing in mind how, only recently, LEGO was in crisis. In 2003, the company was falling apart, brick by brick. Sales had dropped by 30% and the company suffered its third loss in five years, despite its fiercely loyal fan base. Fast-forward three years and LEGO has turned its fortunes round. Jorgen became CEO in 2004 and the company hasn't looked back. His is a back-to-basics strategy focussed on the company's core product — the humble, ubiquitous, small and colourful plastic building block. So ubiquitous, in fact, that on average every person on earth has 52 of them. | | | Direct-to-retail: The new licensing model?
| | With a reworking of the traditional licensor-licensee-retailer relationship, under the right circumstances, direct-to-retail deals are proving successful on a difficult high street. Here we take a look at what direct-to-retail is, who is doing it and, most importantly, what the benefits are. Graham Pomphrey reports. | | | Live events: Promoting and profiting
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| You may have seen them trudging around Brand Licensing. Maybe you've met one at a charity event. Or, perhaps you've seen them performing in a theatrical environment. Costume characters add fun, colour and entertainment to any event. But, as Graham Pomphrey investigates, they are also a very powerful marketing tool. | | | Cards Inc: Potty about Potter license
| | In the last issue of License Europe, we talked with Warner Bros' Jay Young and Bruno Schwabthaler about the innovative new style guide for the Harry Potter franchise. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. named Cards Inc. as the official European master toy licensee for the Harry Potter series. With Toy Fair looming, we talked to Card Inc.'s head of marketing Mark Hillier to find out what we can expect for 2007. | | | Disney Home
| | Disney Consumer Products' commitment to the homewares was highlighted at a two day licensee summit it held in Paris in July. License Europe was invited and we found Disney feeling confident about the sector. Graham Pomphrey reflects on whether this is part of a wider trend, or just Disney getting things right again. | | | Ladybird gets stand alone stores
| | Woolworths intends to open its first stand-alone Ladybird shop in the UK before the end of this year and will invest in 92 dedicated Ladybird areas in its larger shops. | | | Insight - Pre-School
| | It's nearly ten years since the Teletubbies were first seen on UK television. They, and other properties like Bob the Builder, had a profound effect on the consumer products market for the under fives. A decade on, the market is different, and changing rapidly to throw up new challenges and respond to new conditions. Here we take a detailed look at where things are at and where they're going in this important European market segment. | |
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| Furstenberg and DC Comics To Publish Limited Edition Wonder Woman | | A limited edition comic book, Be The Wonder Woman You Can Be: The Adventure of Diva, Viva and Fifa, written by Diane von Furstenberg and published by DC Comics is in the works to benefit the non-profit, Vital Voices. | | | Vespa and Adidas Originals Take a Ride
| | The Beanstalk Group client Vespa has signed collaboration with Adidas Originals for spring/summer 2009. | | | Cary-Williams Gets Sassy with Scarlett & Crimson
| | British catwalk designer Robert Cary-Williams is designing a four-piece vest collection for Coolabi’s Scarlett & Crimson. | | | Sainsbury's Tu Gets Musical with EMI Lyrics
| | EMI Music Publishing and U.K. retailer Sainsbury's Tu Clothing division signed a deal to feature song lyrics on a fashion range. | |
| | Rawhide Takes Marvel
| | Rawhide Accessories has won a licensing dealt with Marvel for a range of accessories for Wolverine, X-Men, Incredible Hulk Classic and the new Superhero Squad brands. | | | Urban Smalls Baby Apparel Lands Famous Dirty Dancing Quote
| | The famous, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" quote from the film, Dirty Dancing is set to appear on a line of baby apparel from Urban Smalls. | | | Canterbury of New Zealand Pens Deal with Guinness
| | Rugby heritage fashion brand Canterbury of New Zealand has penned a three-year licensing deal with drinks company Diageo for the Guinness brand. | | | Cherokee Brand Debuts in Israel
| | Van Nuys, Calif.-based apparel line Cherokee recently expanded its reach into Israel through one of the country’s largest retail chains, Shufersal. | | | Li & Fung Add on Temasek as Strategic Investor
| | Temasek Holdings recently agreed to buy a 4.6% stake in consumer goods exporter Li & Fung Limited for $497 million. | | | MORE ARTICLES
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| In United Kingdom CBI sales figures slow for third month
| | The United Kingdom’s Confederation of British Industry’ latest Distributive Trades Survey reports mixed views from retailers, with 39% reporting sales in the first half of June were worse than the same time last year and 30% reporting that they were better. | |
| | Sanrio to Create New Global Consumer Products Division
| | Sanrio Inc., the international product company best known for Hello Kitty, has announced the formation of its Global Consumer Products division. | | | ‘License! Global’ Names New Executive Editor
| | Bernadette Casey has been named executive editor of License! Global, The Source for Retail and Licensing Intelligence, published by Advanstar Communications. | | | PopCo Continues With Licensing Business
| | Following the acquisition by Hornby of the brand name Corgi, the tooling and the inventory for the Corgi die-cast range, the remaining parts of the business—PopCo and Master Replicas—will continue to produce their existing licenses for toys, collectible and prop replicas. | | | The Licensing Machine and SIC Join Forces
| | The Licensing Machine, a new division of Panini UK, covering TV, home video, promotional, merchandise, marketing, and licensing services and SIC, the independent commercial TV channel broadcasting in Portugal, have signed a deal on TV animated series “Naruto” and “FullMetal Alchemist.” | | | Hornby Steams Into Corgi
| | The UK’s Hornby hobby toys, which includes Lima, Jouef and Rivarossi model railways, Scalextric slot car racing cars, Airfix models, and Humbrol paints among its brands, has bought the brand, tooling, and intellectual property rights of Corgi International for £7.5 million. | | | LIMA UK’s Spring Fling Breaks Records
| | Nickelodeon UK’s Clare Piggott has joined the panel of speakers at LIMA UK’s annual Licensing Essentials conference and Spring Fling networking event, organized in association with Brand Licensing Europe. | | | Disney Consumer Products Strengthens Organizational Structure for Future Growth
| | Disney Consumer Products will undergo significant organizational changes in order to prepare the company for the future goal of doubling its global licensing business to $50 billion in retail sales. | | | UK Retail Sales Suffer Sharp Drop in April
| | UK year-on-year retail sales fell markedly in April as poor weather and the early Easter dented spending, the Confederation of British Industry’s Distributive Trades Survey reports. | | | MORE ARTICLES
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| Execs on the Move
| | Pokémon USA, Inc., named Caryl Liebmann to the newly created position of director of retail development and promotions. | | | TNA Wrestling Gets in the Ring with New Motion
| | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling signed an exclusive mobile content deal with New Motion, Inc. | | | Execs on the Move
| | VIZ Media, LLC, appointed Linda Espinosa vice president of content management. | | | Mobile Phones: Gold Rush for Licensed Content
| | Mobile demonstrates the most powerful purchasing arrangement; every time you turn your phone on it is costing you money' | | | Editors' Picks
| | License! editors checked their crystal balls to provide a glimpse of 2005 trends and hot properties across all eight categories. | | | Interactive Licensing Grows Up
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| The 'interactive' area of licensing has gone from being an experimental, speculative and mind-boggling one to being profitable, commercial and an important consideration in the acquisition of new content. We talked to Fremantle and Celador, pioneers in this field, about trends, business models and opportunities. | | | Harnessing Hollywood
| | Licensed entertainment properties can be a gold mine for the video game industry, but only if they are properly marketed on a consistent timetable. | | | Jammin'
| | Given the immense promotional power of song placement in video games, I see us as the next MTV," proclaims Doug Scott, music manager, Electronic Arts. | | | E3 Interaction
| | Now in its 10th year, E3 2004 kicks off at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 11 to 14, with around 400 exhibiting companies and representatives from 70 countries set to attend. According to published reports, computer and video game sales rose to $7 billion in 2003, with action accounting for the largest percentage of console game sales and strategy leading the computer games market. Movie- and TV-based video games continue to be hot commodities, and several companies are rolling out new interactive technology. Here, License! looks at some E3 offerings. | | | MORE ARTICLES
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| Furstenberg and DC Comics To Publish Limited Edition Wonder Woman | | A limited edition comic book, Be The Wonder Woman You Can Be: The Adventure of Diva, Viva and Fifa, written by Diane von Furstenberg and published by DC Comics is in the works to benefit the non-profit, Vital Voices. | | | Cary-Williams Gets Sassy with Scarlett & Crimson
| | British catwalk designer Robert Cary-Williams is designing a four-piece vest collection for Coolabi’s Scarlett & Crimson. | | | Tween Book “Zoë Lama” to Get TV Series
| | 9 Story Entertainment has picked up TV rights to young adult book “The Invisible Rules of The Zoë Lama” to develop a live-action series. | | | "Big Barn Farm" Signs Ladybird for Tie-In Books
| | RDF has signed a publishing deal with Penguin's Ladybird imprint for "Big Barn Farm" tie-in books. | | | Where's Waldo Celebrates 21 Years, Lands Let's Go Student Travel Guide
| | "Where's Waldo," celebrated 21 years on Sept. 21 and has partnered with student-created travel guide publisher Let's Go for a global content and marketing deal, reports Entertainment Rights. | |
| | From Books to a New Series, Geronimo Stilton Visits MIPCOM
| | The first trailer of Atlantyca Entertainment’s and MoonScoop Production’s “Geronimo Stilton” is set to debut at MIPCOM later this month. | | | DCD Signs Raft of Publishing Deals
| | DCD Publishing, the newly formed subsidiary of DCD Media set up to exploit book publishing, merchandising, licensing and U.K. DVD rights, has secured a raft of book and DVD deals worth £2 million for TV series “Stephen Fry In America,” “Richard Hammond’s Blast Lab,” “Alan Whicker’s Journey Of A Lifetime,” “Last Chance To See,” “Escape From Baghdad” and “Stairway To Heaven”—all produced by companies within the DCD Media Group. | |
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