Licensing Industry

Aimed at children from one year old, the toys are based on three characters – Joey JCB, Roxy Robot and Larry Loadall. Each character has special skills and features encompassed in their bold personalities.

Golden Bear has introduced a talking range of the toys, due to retail in autumn and a publishing partner will be announced shortly. Further licences include apparel, gifts and DIY tools.

Sam Johnson, kids brand manager at JCB, explains the company’s decision to exhibit at the show: “We have always viewed Brand Licensing as a great opportunity to flag up our brand as a serious player within the licensing sector - it was a question of timing and this year is the right time for our brand to be seen and talked about in the setting of this influential showcase."

Johnson continues: “We hope to achieve a combination of brand building, contact building and product showcasing. It is important for us to show the breadth of our licensing programme in one setting and re-enforce the power of our brand to retailers and licensees."

The stand will showcase the latest developments and opportunities in toys, clothing and multimedia. Products on show will include new releases of the ‘I Love My JCB’ DVD range, due to launch for Christmas ’08 and spring ’09; the 'My 1st JCB' characters and the latest toys and other consumer products.

A real JCB digger will also feature on the stand to create a bit of theatre and underline the firm connection to JCB’s core brand - real earthmoving machines.

JCB is a well recognised brand and the company hopes that the further launches in the toys category will strengthen its status both at home and abroad.

Halsall has agreed a global three-year deal including bikes and scooters and battery powered ride-ons. Rolly Toys of Germany has been appointed as global licensee for pedal powered ride-ons, while Dickie toys and Siku are also joining the fold with vehicle and die-cast products from autumn/winter this year.

Legoland and Diggerland parks are also supporting the brand with dedicated JCB areas and a newly developed kids website www.jcbexplore.com completes the experience.