Licensing Industry

When you hear of destinations like Barcelona, Madrid and Portugal your mind immediately switches into holiday mode; it envisages the sun, crystal blue waters and historic architecture; the tastes of tapas and sangria tantalise your taste buds.

For a child who loves dressing up, Rainbow's wardrobe would be heaven. With life-size costumes of more than 90 children’s characters, the firm prides itself on bringing licensed properties to life, as it has been doing for the last 25 years.

Everyone loves a nice surprise, regardless of age. That sense of anticipation building up like butterflies in your stomach as you try to guess what it is; the explosion of excitement (hopefully) as the secret is revealed.

A poster company with an eye (heh, get it) for business, GB Eye has steadily developed its presence within the pop culture market since its inception 22 years ago.

Wesco celebrates its 21st birthday this year. Looking over some of the manufacturer’s memorable moments, it’s clear how it has managed to thrive over the years – its products have a broad family appeal.

Ask Andrew Carley, head of Contender Merchandising, to name CEG's most successful brand and he laughs. "It begins with P and ends with A" he chuckles.

Born from the desire to create a fashion-inspired brand two and a half years ago, Brand Champions has grown to now operate as a brand owner, product developer and licensor.

From a humble beginning on a stall at Leicester Market, Ally Mayer has built a small empire based on popular culture.

RDF Kids is in the thrust of expansion, with the likes of Mister Maker and Yo Gabba Gabba already under its belt and a new brand on the way.

Bon Bon Buddies was established in 1993 by Chris and Pauline Howarth at their kitchen table.

For a company still in its infancy, Inno-Wear has certainly packed a lot in since it was formed in November 2006. Its philosophy is to ‘take an active part in the development of the video games industry’ and it has already carved a niche in the branded apparel sector, with over 50 video games licences in its catalogue.

The Thomas Kinkade licensing program began in 1989 with the formation of Lightpost Publishing. There are now over 70 domestic and international licensees.

Different generations have differing views of the smiley icon. To the pre-punk hippies of the ‘70s it was the flower-powered face of peace and love. To the rave kids of the ‘80s it was reborn as the day glo icon of acid house.

Blues Clothing already has a solid 30-year+ history in the licensed apparel sector, however a management buy out last year (backed by Penta Capital and Allied Irish Bank) means that it now has the extra clout to push even further into the market.

Character World started off with the signing of a single deal with Lucas Entertainment to design, manufacture and sell official Star Wars Episode 1 bedding and other textile goods in 1998.

Though its roots can be (and often are) disputed, it’s commonly accepted that video gaming as we know it originated from America...

This year has seen Taffy sign several new deals and debut a number of shows – all to critical acclaim. However, the firm’s president of worldwide consumer products and marketing, Cynthia Money, believes its biggest achievement to be the successful integration of the European and US-based consumer products teams into a stronger global organisation. And she has big plans going forward, too.

It seems the team at Aardman doesn’t believe in taking things easy. Over the past 12 months, not only has it been working very hard to establish Shaun the Sheep around the world, it has also started pre-production of pre-school spin off Timmy, is planning a Wallace & Gromit TV special and has signed up with Cartoon Network and Jamie Oliver for Chop Socky Chooks and Little J respectively.

It was while she was working at the BBC, that Claire Potter realised the power and untapped potential in television brands: “At the time, all of the licensing focus was on pre-school and many great family or grown up series were being overlooked,” she explains.

Rubie’s Masquerade is celebrating. In September, it walked away from the second Licensing Awards with the accolade for Best Licensed Children’s Apparel Range, beating off some stiff competition.