Dress up specialist Disguise Inc expands EMEA presence with UK senior leadership appointments

Disguise Inc, the costume division of the global toy company, JAKKS Pacific, has tapped industry veterans Tony Lewis and Lynda Morris to head up its expansion and recruitment efforts across EMEA, as it looks to build a team of costume experts across sales, design, and marketing within the region.

David Carscadden, currently managing director of JAKKS EMEA and a 12-year executive at JAKKS, will now lead both Disguise and JAKKS teams across the market. He will focus on leading both divisions and strengthening distribution channels and retail partnerships for the firm’s range of costumes.

Carscadden’s UK-based teams will be led by Tony Lewis for sales and marketng, and Lynda Morris for design and development.

A costume industry veteran with 30 years of experience with companies like Christy’s, Amscan and Character World, Lewis will bring extensive expertise to the Disguise division. He will be working closely with JAKKS to build and develop retailer and buyer relationships across the whole of Europe, while growing the list of dress up clients for both Disguise and the JAKKS team.

Lewis heads up all forecasting, planning and joint ventures as well regional and local sales teams, building and developing the customer and wider distribution base. He is currently recruiting an experienced costume sales and business development team for the UK and EMEA.

Meanwhile, Morris will be bringing decades of design and management experience within the children and adult apparel space as well as seven years experience in Halloween with Rubie’s to her new role as Design Lead for UK and EMEA.

She will work in tandem with Lewis and JAKKS teams on forecasting, safety testing and presenting concepts and styles to licensors and customers. She will also build out a creative and development team in the UK to ramp up for design this year and production in 2022. Her new team will take on the task of creating hundreds of innovative styles for Disguise’s existing and new licenses.

“We are excited to continue to expand our presence in EMEA. An enhanced dress up and role play line is a natural complement to our strong toy portfolio,” said Dan Cooney, EVP JAKKS Pacific.

Tara Hefter, president and GM, Disguise Inc, said: “This year we have been focused on maximizing our existing licenses and building structure for new brand acquisitions to be announced soon. With the recent awards of some large licenses with a global scope, it made sense to hire in industry talent and start growing our team now.

“With Tony and Lynda leading the business, we have the ground work ready to develop and expand into new regions and countries quickly. We can activate faster on new licenses and brands and bring these incredible new costumes and accessories to retail for all major dress up holidays in EMEA.”

Bluey billed “most important preschool IP since Frozen” as Stor SL readies merch portfolio for UK, Ireland, and EMEA

Bosses at the global product manufacturer, Stor SL have hailed BBC Studios’ preschool property, Bluey “the most important property since Disney’s Frozen” as it prepares to launch a portfolio of more than 50 licensed items to the UK, Ireland, and EMEA markets in the coming months.

The range, spanning drinkware, lunch bags, plates and bowls, cutlery, bottles, and more will be made from sustainable and eco-friendly materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, and porcelain and will add natural fibres to traditional plastics to reduce the percentage of plastics by up to 30 per cent.

Stor will also be offering tailor-made options to retailers who request an exclusive line.

Valentin Ortiz, CEO of Stor SL, said: “In my view, Bluey is without a doubt the most important pre-school property since Frozen. It has been a real phenomenon in Australia and the USA and is becoming a huge global hit. Our retailers, customers and Stor local office directors have been asking about this opportunity and we are proud to work together with them to develop our Bluey range.”

Anita Majhu, senior licensing manager, BBC Studios, added: “We are delighted that Stor is joining our raft of world-class partners for Bluey. This partnership offers a fantastic opportunity to reach fans across the UK and Ireland and EMEA markets.

“Stor’s commitment to sustainability also complements BBC Studios’ work in this area and we welcome bringing Bluey products to market that are responsibly sourced.”

The Bluey line of product from Stor will complement extensive launch plans for Bluey licensed product across UK and EMEA driven by ‘exceptional TV ratings’ and led by a comprehensive toy programme.

First launched in Australia in October 2018, Bluey is quickly becoming a global hit, achieving ‘outstanding ratings’ and attracting a multitude of best in class partners.

In its home market, Bluey was the number one children’s programme on metro broadcast television in 2020 and is the number one series of all time on ABC iview, with over 480 million views across series one and two. The property also won Pre-School License of the Year for the second year in a row at the Australian Toy Association (ATA) Awards.

Meanwhile in France, Bluey is available on France Télévision’s free-to-air channel France 5 and its catch-up kids’ platform OKOO. Toys from global master toy partner Moose is set to launch at retail in France in 2022.

The series is also available on CBeebies in the UK, where it has become the top programme on the channel since it launched in April. Its episodes constitute the top five most requested CBeebies episodes on BBC iPlayer. Toys from global master toy partner Moose will launch at retail in the UK in July.

BBC Studios has a global broadcast deal with Disney for Bluey and recently announced that the third season will debut on Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney+ in all territories outside of Australia, New Zealand and China.

Mr Men and Little Miss looks to EMEA licensing with industry newcomers Boutique Licensing Agency

The new, EMEA-focused licensing agency, Boutique Licensing Agency, has secured a partnership with Sanrio to represent the licensing rights for the iconic British brand, Mr Men and Little Miss across the region.

Established just this year, Boutique Licensing Agency – or BLA – is a new to the scene agency inspired by ‘a customer-centric approach and new thinking.’ The firm, however, is building on a base of experience and expertise, comprised of major names from across the global toy and entertainment space.

Heading up the BLA outfit is its founders and managing directors, Maria Maranesi and Marie-Noelle Lutte. Maranesi boasts more than 20 years of licensing experience in global organisations, including the role of EMEA regional leader across the full portfolio at Mattel and HIIT brands.

Meanwhile, also a Mattel alumni, Lutte was responsible for driving strategy, market growth, and product innovation in the publishing sector, before going on to lead publishing partnerships for The Walt Disney Company.

The other members of the BLA! team include former senior executives from the toys, publishing, entertainment and licensing sectors, all of whom bring decades of experience to the new venture – along with a network of world-class manufacturing, licensing and retail contacts.

BLA! offers across-the-board brand licensing representation services – from rights management to contract negotiation and retail activation. It also offers licensing and publishing consulting services. Its focus area covers every corner of EMEA – and beyond.

The outfit has also outlined its commitment to being a part of the transformation of licensing to become a more sustainable industry.

Now, as Mr Men and Little Miss celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, BLA will look to bring its experience in toys, publishing, and entertainment to bear on expanding the popular property into new areas beyond its key regional markets of the UK and France.

BLA! will be focusing on the markets of Iberia, GSA, Benelux, Nordic, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Baltics, Russia and the CIS for all product categories. The company will also manage Latin American markets for publishing rights only. 

Maranesi said: “Our aim with BLA! was to combine fresh thinking, recognised expertise and a strong network of contacts with a highly adaptable and personalized service – and we’re thrilled to be able to announce such a well-loved brand as our first representation. We’re looking forward enormously to working with Sanrio during a key year for the Mr. Men and Little Miss brand.”

Lutte added: “We are here to bring solutions that address the needs of all parties: brand owners, licensees, retailers and consumers. Building and nurturing strong relationships as a trusted and values-driven partner reinforces everything we do. In addition, the real magic happens when we transform our business opportunities into mutual win-wins.”

Silvia Figini, chief operating officer, Mr. Men – Worldwide, added: “Sanrio is happy to partner with such an innovative and flexible agency. Their attention to cultural diversity and sustainability will definitely be an important asset for our growth in Europe and is consistent with our corporate identity.

“BLA!’s expertise and strong network of contacts make them a great choice for a dynamic company like Sanrio/Mr. Men and we are sure they will support our business development significantly.”