Tag Archives: Collectables

Waxwork Records lifts lid on Universal’s 1932 classic horror The Mummy Spinature

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Waxwork Records, the cult and pop culture record label and specialist in the collectables space, has lifted the lid on its latest Spinature collectable figure: The Mummy, as played by British actor William Henry Platt (stage name of Boris Karloff) who played the infamous monster in Universal’s 1932 classic fantasy horror film.

The new Spinature features a detailed sculpt of Karloff in his iconic mummy look and stands at around four inches tall. The new release features detailed likeness, bandages, ring, and The Mummy’s classic pose.

This is the latest launch from Waxwork Records who partnered with Universal to release a series of collectable Spinatures figures from across its vault of Monster movies. Earlier this year, the firm launched its Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein figures, while – hitting the Halloween market – it detailed its Halloween II and Halloween III collection on October 30th.

Many more Spinatures are to come this autumn/winter, including Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Wolfman, and The Invisible Man. 

Panini to launch Kid-E-Cats stickers and trading cards across the UK and Europe

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The popular pre-school animated series, Kid-E-Cats is making its way to the collectables space thanks to a new pan-European partnership between the brand’s owner CTC Media and the stickers and trading cards specialist, Panini.

The partnership, facilitated by APC Kids, will cover the UK and Ireland, Benelux, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, the Nordics, Greece, CEE, and Turkey. Across each of the territories, Panini will produce stickers, trading cards, and photocard collectables for the series.

Additionally, in Germany, Spain, and Italy, Panini will create sticker books and magazines, as well as publish a series of children’s books across Spain and Germany.

Lionel Marty, managing director of APC Kids, said: “We are delighted to welcome Panini on board for Kid-E-Cats and are confident in the expertise they will bring to the partnership as we strengthen and support our merchandise offering for the series as it continues to grow in popularity worldwide.”

Lluís Torrent Suñé, managing director of Panini Espana, added: “We have a long history of creating engaging content for kids all over the world and with harnessing the synergies that exist with APC Kids and CTC Media, we are excited to bring the Kid-E-Cats Collectible products to the marketplace.

“We feel privileged to be selected to work on such a cute and funny television series and look forward to working alongside APC Kids to create a complete program of Publishing products in selected countries such as Spain.”

Kid-E-Cats follows the adventures of three kittens, Cookie, Pudding, and Candy, who are always ready to jump into action with enthusiasm and energy. Their imaginations make them capable of some absurd problem-solving suggestions, while through life’s lessons they learn to look before they leap.

A third season is now ready to broadcast, while series one and two are currently available on Nick Jr internationally in over 170 territories following a partnership between APC Kids and Nickelodeon International that was signed in 2017. A further ten special episodes will be broadcast soon.

Ksenia Gordienko, director of animation, CТС media, said: “We have a very successful partnership with Panini in Russia on our Kid-E-Cats brand and we truly hope that this success will be scaled in other European territories. Growing the brand across Europe together with such respected partner like Panini is a great pleasure and honour for us.”

Wow! Stuff sees sell-out success of its character brand collectables Wow! Pods

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Wow! Stuff’s character brand collectable range, Wow! Pods has struck sell-out success in less than four weeks since its UK launch across Amazon and other retailers, making it the company’s ‘fastest-selling toy range to date.’

Manufactured and distributed in the UK by Wow! Stuff, the Wow! Pods range has seen its ranking on Amazon shoot up by 80,000 places at launch. The rise in sales took it to the number one position in its category and a top 500 Best Seller rank across the Amazon Toys and Games category before selling out.

Wow! Pods also sold out at other retailers with new stock arriving this week. It all repeats the sell-out success seen at launch in Australia and New Zealand by appointed sole distributor, Jasnor.

“Sell in is important but sell out is even more so. Wow! Pods are the fastest selling toy we have launched to date,” commented Dawn Lavalette, commercial director at Wow! Stuff. “Our new Wow! Pods TV commercial featuring the Marvel brand and characters has not yet gone live so to sell out before it does is proof that consumers love the product, and is a great precursor to our North America launch next year.”

Wow! Stuff co-founder and head of licensing, Kenny McAndrew, added: “The combination of tier one key licensed brands such as Marvel, Disney, Pixar, The Wizarding World (Harry Potter) and DC (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman) with Wow! Stuff’s artistry and innovation seems to have hit the Zeitgeist.

“Our ‘Swipe to Light’ feature combined with ‘Collect and Connect in both Physical and Digital’ approach using Augmented Reality has proven a winning recipe. There’s much more to come as we move into 2021 with a raft of special editions and rare Wow! Pods plus we’re adding more of the most sought after brands loved by fans.”

Waxwork Records brings Universal Monsters portfolio to the toys and collectables market

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The US underground and pop culture company Waxwork Records has made its first foray into the toys and collectables market with the launch of Spinatures that kicks off with a partnership with Universal and the studio’s classic horror portfolio.

Aimed at the adult collector market, the new Spinatures launch is a collection of highly detailed turntable-spinner mini busts featuring iconic characters from pop culture, horror movies, and more. Each Spinature is fitted with a hole in their base to easily attach to the spindle of a turntable. They will then spin along with their collector’s favourite vinyl records.

Waxwork Records has grown a cult following of fans from its base on New Orleans, where the record label has made a name for itself specialising in the release of classic cinema, horror, cult, and sci-fi film scores in high quality LP packages. Waxwork revisits the original source master tapes for each release, often times original masters that were thought to have been lost or destroyed for decades.

As such, the firm is a specialist in the cult and underground collectors’ scene, one that it is now tapping into further with the launch of Spinature. The toy and collectables venture will work closely with various studios, rights holders, and family estates to bring officially approved new releases to the line-up.

Spinature is kicking off its venture with its Universal Horror Line developed in partnership with Universal Studios and its Universal Monster portfolio. The first in the line is Frankenstein, designed and produced by Waxwork and featuring the iconic monster from the landmark 1931 horror film. The partnership brings the likeness of actor Boris Karloff to the collectables scene.

More official Universal Monster Spinatures are scheduled to launch this autumn and throughout the Christmas season, including The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Wolfman, and The Invisible Man.

Check out the trailer video below:

Jakks Pacific lands sweet global toy deal with Haribo

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The US toymaker, Jakks Pacific, has entered into a multi-year global toy licensing deal with the Haribo Group to create a new toy line based on its popular, continent-spanning gummy confectionery products. Jakks has secured the North American and EMEA rights to manufacture, market, and distribute the range of collectables and activity sets.

The first wave of products to be developed under the partnership is scheduled to land at retailers from August next year and will mark the first partnership of its kind for the Haribo sweet brand.

Haribo was founded by Hans Riegel in the early 1920s when he established a small confectionery factory and produced the world’s first gummy bears. These would go on to become the iconic Haribo Goldbears, now popular around the world.

“We are thrilled to partner with Haribo in bringing to life a truly sweet line of toys and collectables that will appeal to collectors and Haribo fans of all ages,” said Jill Nordquist, SVP marketing, Jakks Pacific.

“The line features consumers’ favourite product pieces from the signature Goldbears to Twinsnakes, Happy-Cola and more. Just as the tagline says, Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo.”

Haribo is recognised as the world market leader in the segment of gummy candies, distributing the brand name to over 100 countries. The confectioner is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, celebrating its cross-generational appeal that boasts an impressive 97 per cent awareness in its key markets.

“This is our first-ever launch of Haribo licensing in the US and we’re proud to delight our consumers with collectables that inspire the childlike happiness that our brand is all about,” said Rick LaBerge, EVP and COO, Haribo of America. “We’re looking forward to our strategic partnership with JAKKS Pacific and continued collaboration in the future.”

Additional product extensions are already planned for 2022.

Italian motorcycle brand MV Augusta revs up global licensing efforts with IMG

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The Italian motorcycle brand, MV Augusta, has appointed IMG as its exclusive worldwide licensing representative in a move to expand its global presence through a new range of consumer products and partnerships. Its initial focus will be on apparel, motorcycle and fashion accessories, video games, and collectables.

Through the new multi-year partnership, IMG will work with MV Agusta to build a licensing programme focused on brand extensions and lifestyle products that reflect the company’s commitment to performance, quality, innovation and consumer engagement within local communities.

“IMG is the best possible partner for what we have in store for our fans around the world,” said Timur Sardarov, CEO MV Agusta Motor S.p.A.

“This strategic partnership accelerates the execution of our five-year expansion plan. MV Agusta has tremendous brand equity; it’s a truly beloved brand and an icon of design and technology in the motorcycling world. Working with IMG, the most authoritative and experienced specialist in the field, will help take MV Agusta to the next level as a lifestyle brand with a series of thoughtful, high-profile merchandising initiatives.”

Marcelo Cordeiro, associate vice president of licensing, IMG, added: “MV Agusta is an iconic Italian brand with a passionate consumer base who revere the brand for both its performance and design attributes. Amongst true motorcycle fans, its bikes are considered to be nothing less than motorcycle art.

“We intend to deploy IMG’s global reach and specialised licensing expertise in the automotive space to extend the brand into a range of consumer products through selective brand partnerships and collaborations.”

Panini launches its re-branded Official Premier League Adrenalyn XL Trading Card collection

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The trading card and collectable stickers specialist, Panini has launched a completely re-branded and refreshed Adrenalyn XL trading card collection featuring all of the Premier League’s top talent. The new-look Official Premier League Adrenalyn XL Trading Card range follows the recent success of Panini’s first Premier League sticker collection, Football 2020.

Premier League Adrenalyn XL 2020/21 is the only trading card collection to include all 20 Premier League clubs, and is billed as the ‘must-have collection for football fans and collectors alike.’ It features 468 trading cards, as well as 30 limited edition cards across a new-look range of SKUs including multipacks, pocket and classic tins, and a Countdown Calendar.

The collection will hit shelves in the UK and Republic of Ireland from Thursday, August 20th.

Fans can kickstart their collection with a Starter Pack, which includes a high-quality collector’s binder, two-player gameboard and poster, 18 trading cards, an exhaustive magazine game guide plus two guaranteed Limited Edition cards. Starter Packs are priced at £5.99 and packets, which include six trading cards and one QR code leaflet, are £1.00 each.

A multi-channel marketing campaign is lined up, including extending cross-promotional activations with fellow Premier
League partners and delivering a heavyweight TV, radio, VOD and digital campaign. The launch will be supported by the best
football influencers in the category and a new sampling mechanic in place with the UK’s top-selling newspaper.

Panini has also forged new football magazine cover mount partnerships which, alongside Panini’s own football magazine Strike-It!, will facilitate the sampling of millions of packets to football-loving kids across the British Isles.

Mike Riddell, managing director of Panini UK, said: “Panini is taking Premier League trading cards to a new level for the 2020/21 season. Premier League Adrenalyn XL™ 2020/21 is a dynamic new collection which will be refreshed as new players transfer into the world’s most exciting league.”

Will Brass, commercial director, Premier League, added: “We’re excited to kick off our second season with Panini. The new-look Adrenalyn XL™ trading cards are a great way to get the Premier League into the hands of fans across the UK and Republic of Ireland.”

Chris Clover, head of marketing, Sport at Panini UK, concluded: “I cannot wait for collectors to get their hands on these new cards. The design team at Panini UK have created something really special for all Premier League fans to enjoy, switching up and improving every element from last season. There really will be no mistaking which trading card collection for the 2020/21 season is officially Premier League.”

Loot Crate to launch 60th anniversary Sanrio crate as the subscription box specialist details raft of partnerships

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The pop culture subscription box service, Loot Crate, is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the world-famous Sanrio with the launch of a special October Anniversary themed Sanrio Crate. The limited edition crate will feature new and exclusive Hello Kitty and Friends collectables and gear.

To celebrate a successful six decades of the company and its portfolio of globally revered characters, including the likes of Hello Kitty, Mr Men, and more, the October Anniversary crate includes a Loot Crate exclusive Hello Kitty Cake Figure, a Loot Crate exclusive Jewellery Pouch and a host of other items each showcasing 60 years of Hello Kitty and Friends.

Sanrio Crates start at $39.99 plus shipping and handling.

The partnership with Sanrio is the latest in a surge of new and classic properties to extend their relationship with the subscription box specialist. This November will see the firm launch its Elder Scrolls crate, featuring officially licensed collectables, gear, apparel, and more all based on the hit gaming franchise Elder Scrolls.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Loot Crate detailed its latest partnership with Disney to launch a limited edition Pixar crate, featuring wares from the likes of Toy Story, The Incredibles, Up and more. The run of three limited edition crates will enable fans to unbox the new Disney and Pixar goods while celebrating the magic of Pixar’s films and characters.

Funko feels the Covid-19 impact as net sales drop 49 per cent

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Store closures across the US and the rest of the world at the hands of the Covid-19 pandemic have ‘significantly impacted,’ second quarter results for the pop culture collectables specialist Funko. Net sales for the firm decreased 49 per cent to $98.1 million in its Q2 2020 earnings compared to the $191.2 million in the same period last year.

The year-over-year decline has been attributed primarily to impacts from Covid-19 during the quarter, including the prolonged closure of many of the company’s retail partners.

The second quarter of 2020 also saw the number of active properties total 644, decline of five per cent on Q1 2020 numbers, but an increase on the second quarter of 2019. Net sales in the US dropped 36 per cent to $77.9 million, while international net sales plunged 71 per cent to $20.2 million.

The European region was especially challenged in the quarter as Funko made the strategic decision to shift new products slated for the second quarter into the third quarter of 2020. Sales related to Loungefly branded products declined 25 per cent compared to the prior year despite many of its retailers being closed, reflecting resiliency in the Loungefly brand during the quarter.

Despite what makes for pretty grim reading, Funko is optimistic for the second half of the year, boasting what it calls its ‘most diverse product offering in the market,’ ready to land for the holiday season.

Brian Mariotti, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Although our second quarter results were significantly impacted by store closures in both the US and abroad, we were able to accelerate our connection and engagement with our fans through continued innovation and new product introductions as well as the expansion of our direct to consumer business. In Q2, we saw strong performance on our own e-commerce sites which delivered triple-digit sales growth.

“Looking at the second half of the year we are excited to have our most diverse product offering in the market come this holiday season. In the face of the highly dynamic environment, we are staying nimble and remain committed to our key growth strategies.”

Funko feels the Covid-19 impact as net sales drop 49 per cent

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Store closures across the US and the rest of the world at the hands of the Covid-19 pandemic have ‘significantly impacted,’ second quarter results for the pop culture collectables specialist Funko. Net sales for the firm decreased 49 per cent to $98.1 million in its Q2 2020 earnings compared to the $191.2 million in the same period last year.

The year-over-year decline has been attributed primarily to impacts from Covid-19 during the quarter, including the prolonged closure of many of the company’s retail partners.

The second quarter of 2020 also saw the number of active properties total 644, decline of five per cent on Q1 2020 numbers, but an increase on the second quarter of 2019. Net sales in the US dropped 36 per cent to $77.9 million, while international net sales plunged 71 per cent to $20.2 million.

The European region was especially challenged in the quarter as Funko made the strategic decision to shift new products slated for the second quarter into the third quarter of 2020. Sales related to Loungefly branded products declined 25 per cent compared to the prior year despite many of its retailers being closed, reflecting resiliency in the Loungefly brand during the quarter.

Despite what makes for pretty grim reading, Funko is optimistic for the second half of the year, boasting what it calls its ‘most diverse product offering in the market,’ ready to land for the holiday season.

Brian Mariotti, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Although our second quarter results were significantly impacted by store closures in both the US and abroad, we were able to accelerate our connection and engagement with our fans through continued innovation and new product introductions as well as the expansion of our direct to consumer business. In Q2, we saw strong performance on our own e-commerce sites which delivered triple-digit sales growth.

“Looking at the second half of the year we are excited to have our most diverse product offering in the market come this holiday season. In the face of the highly dynamic environment, we are staying nimble and remain committed to our key growth strategies.”