Tag Archives: Features

China Shipping Crisis | Toy retailer The Entertainer is urging consumers to get their Christmas shopping early

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With shipping from China reaching a crisis point that has seen costs skyrocket to all time highs amid a shortage of containers within the global supply chain, the UK’s independent toy retailer, The Entertainer is making its message to the consumer clear.

Costs, shortages, and delays have hamstrung companies across the industries worldwide in recent months, and analysts suggest that the crisis is likely to continue into 2023, with rumbles of legal redress against shipping companies, and allegations of ‘cartel action regarding freight rates’ thrown in.

And while the world reels from the activity – brought on by a pandemic that saw shipping ports operating at reduced staff levels, causing delays on shipments, coupled with a buying boom from consumers spending online – the high street toy retailer The Entertainer is urging its customers to complete their Christmas shopping early once again this year, in order to avoid disappointment.

The call echoes those made by the retailer at the mid point of 2020, when online shopping surged in the midst of lockdowns and restrictions. Now, however, with all remaining restrictions due to be lifted across England by next week and as The Entertainer encourages families to make Christmas 2021 ‘better than ever’, it issues the warning to get those orders in early, as the toy industry navigates its latest logistical headache.

Gary Grant, founder and executive chairman of The Entertainment issued the call out to shoppers this week.

“There are lots of brands that we’re excited about for Christmas 2021, including PAW Patrol, following the movie this summer, and CoComelon, Super Mario, LOL Surprise, Barbie, and Bluey,” he said.

“But the shipping crisis in China is causing uncertainty as to what will be available and when. So above all, we urge our customers to shop early for Christmas this year to avoid disappointment.”

Earlier this month, the vice president of the Taiwanese branch of DB Schenker, a major player in supply chain management and logistics solutions said that global shipping reliability was at an ‘historic low.’

Antoine Bouin of Schenker Taiwan, said: “Empty container shortages are worsened by port congestion in Europe and the US, and recently, by China’s Yantian port backlog. Port congestion, berthing delays, flow imbalances and the slow return of empty containers have caused shipping lines to skip some of their regular trips and pushed global shipping reliability to an historic low.”

Phat Kandi joins curated Japan-inspired line up as HMV marks 100 years with pop culture store launches

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The British alternative fashion brand, Phat Kandi, has been selected as one of the chosen few independent labels to supply HMV as it marks its 100th year in retail with the launch of ten new pop culture stores across the UK.

The initiative will see HMV launch a raft of specially curated stores offering the latest in kawaii or Japanese pop culture inspired products, all of which will be supplied by independent and up and coming brands. Product collections will range from fashion and accessories to imported Japanese foods and more.

The running theme throughout the curated collection housed within these ten new locations will be the essence of pop culture today.

Established in 2019 by its creative director, Mel Williams, Phat Kandi has been developed a brand aimed at ‘bitter sweet misfits,’ an audience she describes as ‘the dreamers, the rule breakers, and the overlooked,’ as a place where they can ‘feel at home.’ With a love of  all things Japanese, and inspired by the fashion tribes of Harajuku, Mel created a brand combining her distinctive hand writing, illustrations and her fashion design experience.

“I’m super happy to be part of HMVs exciting new pop culture concept stores. We’re a perfect fit for their customers who want something alternative to the norm. Concept stores like this are well over due for the UK high street, consumers are screaming out for freshness, new offerings and up and coming brands which is what HMV are delivering,” said Mel.

“I’m looking forward to growing with the HMV tribe, as well as adding new categories to our fashion range.”

Phat Kandi have also landed two US stockists: Hot Topic, Dolls Kill, EMP ( Europe) as well as a licensee partnership across sportswear during what Williams has described as a “very exciting time for Phat Kandi.”

“Even through a pandemic we’ve managed to survive and grow, and we’re only just warming up. My vision for Phat Kandi is to become a global brand, the go to place for alternative products, then open our own concept stores in London, Japan and LA,” she continued. “I totally believe the vision will become a reality one day.”

The first HMV store under the new initiative is now open in Solihull offering Phat Kandi limited edition fashion pieces such as tees and bucket hats. Nine more concept stores will be opening across the UK each month from September.

Phat Kandi joins curated Japan-inspired line up as HMV marks 100 years with pop culture store launches

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The British alternative fashion brand, Phat Kandi, has been selected as one of the chosen few independent labels to supply HMV as it marks its 100th year in retail with the launch of ten new pop culture stores across the UK.

The initiative will see HMV launch a raft of specially curated stores offering the latest in kawaii or Japanese pop culture inspired products, all of which will be supplied by independent and up and coming brands. Product collections will range from fashion and accessories to imported Japanese foods and more.

The running theme throughout the curated collection housed within these ten new locations will be the essence of pop culture today.

Established in 2019 by its creative director, Mel Williams, Phat Kandi has been developed a brand aimed at ‘bitter sweet misfits,’ an audience she describes as ‘the dreamers, the rule breakers, and the overlooked,’ as a place where they can ‘feel at home.’ With a love of  all things Japanese, and inspired by the fashion tribes of Harajuku, Mel created a brand combining her distinctive hand writing, illustrations and her fashion design experience.

“I’m super happy to be part of HMVs exciting new pop culture concept stores. We’re a perfect fit for their customers who want something alternative to the norm. Concept stores like this are well over due for the UK high street, consumers are screaming out for freshness, new offerings and up and coming brands which is what HMV are delivering,” said Mel.

“I’m looking forward to growing with the HMV tribe, as well as adding new categories to our fashion range.”

Phat Kandi have also landed two US stockists: Hot Topic, Dolls Kill, EMP ( Europe) as well as a licensee partnership across sportswear during what Williams has described as a “very exciting time for Phat Kandi.”

“Even through a pandemic we’ve managed to survive and grow, and we’re only just warming up. My vision for Phat Kandi is to become a global brand, the go to place for alternative products, then open our own concept stores in London, Japan and LA,” she continued. “I totally believe the vision will become a reality one day.”

The first HMV store under the new initiative is now open in Solihull offering Phat Kandi limited edition fashion pieces such as tees and bucket hats. Nine more concept stores will be opening across the UK each month from September.

Indie Uncovered | UK artist Meg Hawkins strikes staycation success in SDL Imports gifting partnership

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The UK artist and talent behind her self-titled design brand, Meg Hawkins has secured her latest licensing partnership in the gifts and lifestyle sector, teaming with SDL Imports to launch a selection of wooden homeware items.

The deal sees a collection of some of Hawkins’ most popular artworks feature across a portfolio of SDL wooden items, spanning coat hooks, boxes, and key boxes, joining a line up of already established footstools and further household and lifestyle items.

The SDL Imports Natural World by Meg Hawkins collection has been the focus of a long process of product development and a partnership that originally kicked off in January 2020, when the SDL Imports team first discovered Meg Hawkins’ art brand at Exeter’s Giving & Living Trade Show. 

While partnerships were quickly formed and contracts swiftly signed, the pandemic – and knock-on effects from the Suez Canal blockage and subsequent issues around shipping – hampered plans to launch product to consumers until only recently. However, the team have since been encouraged by a strong positive reception from customers and the public alike, with repeat orders across the range already being placed.

“We are absolutely delighted with our new Natural World by Meg Hawkins range. Meg’s designs look wonderful on our products,” said Diana Leadbetter of SDL Imports. 

“We have had a very positive response to this new range. We only received the stock three weeks ago and one line is already 50 per cent sold and many others over 25 per cent sold. Given that our customers have largely been unable to see and touch the products before buying them, that is very encouraging.”

SDL Importants has been supplying the tourist industry with giftware since the 1950s. Its partnership with Meg Hawkins focuses on the artist’s UK wildlife and animals collection, tapping into UK tourist attractions with a range that has proved particularly popular with buyers and retailers based in seaside towns and UK coastal holiday destinations.

The SDL Imports team has found that, while the pandemic hampered plans for the range initially, the resultant influx of holiday makers staying within the UK this year, and heading to coastal holiday hotspots, has helped boost sales.

“The increase in staycations has resulted in an extension to the normal UK coastal holidays into late autumn,” continued Leadbetter. “Last year, it was all going well until the November lockdown was announced. This year, as soon as holiday accommodation and restaurants were able to open, everywhere became busy quickly.

“The resultant influx into the traditional tourist towns of people tired of months of lockdown and not being able to visit shops has resulted in increased sales, with some of our customers advising having experienced their best weeks trading ever over the May half term.”

A brand centered around watercolour artwork and photography, the Meg Hawkins brand has been featured on a vast portfolio of products, from greetings cards to footstools, and within five years the brand has advanced form the kitchen table to being sold worldwide.

Hawkins has previously secured licensing agreements with the likes of Widdop and Bingham, Card.com, a fudge range from Gardeniers of Scotland, and 2022 notes cards with the RNLI.

“From the minute I met Diana and Mike Leadbetter at SDL Imports, we hit it off straight away,” said Hawkins. “Communication is key and we seem to be able to go with the flow. I am really pleased the collection has been selling well for them.

“We are a young company and extending our ranges through licensing enables us to gather a larger product range and most importantly, brand awareness. Our goal to be a recognised household brand is showing a glimmer of light, and hopefully all the hard work will pay off.”

Hawkins now plans to see the brand extend across other categories including stationery, as well as further homeware offerings such as bedding and soft furnishings.

“We have just launched a children’s range under Little Joe & Co which has proven really popular. We’re looking for someone to license the images for toys and baby clothes and other children’s products.”

Immersive play | Fanattik on why creativity is running wild in video game licensing

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It’s odd to think of the video game licensing sector as one that is still in its relative infancy. There’s a maturity to many of the partnerships that circle the market and its audiences that would suggest the experience and wisdom of one established decades ago, when Pong’s first pixels flickered to life and into the homes of 1970s America.

Perhaps it’s a manifestation of an industry’s self-assurance? The video games sector has the charisma of an entertainment sector that not only knows its worth, but enjoys the fact that you know it, too. And it’s one fuelled by a fandom so immersed in its narratives, that when it comes to licensing, the consumer products space is a playground in which it can have a lot of fun.

That’s precisely what Anthony Marks, managing director of the pop culture specialist, Fanattik is doing right now. Having a lot of fun. Because gone are the days when games publishers would lean into the ‘bare minimum assets and a logo’ kind licensing, and here to stay is an era in which licensing is being given the chance to explore a game’s terrain, reach into its DNA and pull from it elements that reverberate with fans around the world.

And if you’re not buying that, then there’s at least some cool collectables being made.

Here, Licensing.biz catches up with Fanattik’s Anthony Marks to talk about the health of the video game licensing sector, the creativity that surrounds it, and why he’ll be shipping the entire development team off to the states come next year…

Hello Anthony, and thanks for taking the time to talk video games with us this week. Fanattik’s video game IP portfolio is continuing to grow, with some exciting titles added recently in Sea of Thieves. What do you and the team make of the health of the video games licensing space today?

Video games are the healthiest part of the licensing world in my opinion. It’s no secret that when Covid hit, it super charged what was already a fast growing sector. This is a huge market which a lot of retailers haven’t picked up on yet and that is why there is still so much opportunity for growth in this sector.

How do you think video games licensing has changed in the last few years? What are consumers and fans demanding from the video games merchandise they buy today?

When we first started signing up video game properties, merchandise was the last thing on the brand owners’ mind and you were lucky to get just a handful of assets along with the logo. Now it’s a very different picture as it’s not just about generating income for the brands anymore. The merchandise is an extension of their marketing activities and a way to further increase brand loyalty.

What is it about the sector that excites Fanattik? What level of creativity with licensing does today’s fandom around video games lend you guys when it comes to developing concepts?

The possibilities feel endless with gaming, whether it’s an upcoming big budget game or an evergreen title, the developers create such an immense backstory to each title it really does give us the opportunity to dig deep and create some really interesting pieces.

The creators know every nook and cranny so we work hand in hand with the studios. Next year we are sending a team to the USA to sit with one studio and immerse themselves in just one particular title. Whilst it could have been done over video, I believe you need to commit 100 per cent to develop concepts the fandom will truly appreciate, so we need to be face to face with their creative team.

Looking at the Sea of Thieves collection – from Doubloons to limited edition art prints – it appears to draw directly from game play or intricate components from within the IP. Why does video game licensing lend itself better to this level of immersion than other entertainment medium?

Unlike a film, where a fan walks out of the cinema and a few days later possibly only remembers the ending or the big action scenes, with games the fan can be playing the same part of the game over and over again for days to get to that next stage. They have to pay attention to every aspect of each part of the game they are in to learn how to progress and that, for example, is why the in-game replica’s we create for video game properties are working so well for retailers.

What are Fanattik’s plans in the video game licensing space? How will you continue to innovate and push the boundaries when it comes to immersion and linking IP with the merchandising?

Now is a great time to ask that question, we are in the final stages of renewing and expanding our licenses with two of the world’s biggest video game studios. We will be further focusing on in-game replica’s, luckily where I am a fan of the retro titles we have a great team of designers who are all avid gamers and you need that when you are trying to create something special, video game fans will pick up straight away if you are trying to wing it.

What do you think the future holds for video game licensing? What is exciting you about the scene right now?

What has always excited us is that this is still a relatively young industry, one where the consumers are happy to pay for an item with a retailer and wait three to four months until they receive the product without batting an eyelid. It’s also an industry where the brand owners encourage you to be as quirky as possible and create products that will stand out which suits Fanattik.

What would you like to see the licensing industry do with video game IP? Where do you think video game licensing should be heading?

I think it’s already happening and that is the studios putting more resources into promoting their retro titles and not just the latest release.

So, what’s the next step for you guys? 

Export, export,and export. In all license negotiations now we are aiming for, if not a global license then, as much territory as possible. The team put so much effort into each and every product it makes sense to get that product to as wide a range of fans as possible. So in 2022 we will have a presence at Nuremberg Toy Fair, New York Toy Fair as well as the Las Vegas Licensing show.

Thank you Anthony. Before we let you go, is there anything you’d like to add?

Only that we know it can be tricky for gift retailers who are new to this sector. They have to work out which gaming property to support and don’t want to risk shelf space on the latest game release if it may not be as well received by the fans as they had hoped.

On the other hand I can imagine a buyer trying to explain to their senior team that they want to allocate shelf space to merchandise from a 20 year old game. We are on hand to sit with buyers, show them our case studies and help them select a range that is going to work for them, after all it’s in our interests for them to sell as many pieces as possible!

Ripping up the rule book | NFTs could just change video gaming forever – but will the big players allow it?

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This month, Licensing.biz is taking a look at the video games market to uncover and discuss the latest developments and opportunities in licensing around the world’s largest entertainment sector. Here, and in the first of a series of articles exploring the emerging NFTs sector, we explore the potential for non fungible tokens in the video game space.

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It started out by breeding kittens. Like these things often do, it snowballed from there, and today, NFT video gaming is becoming a strand of the global gaming market that’s really worth paying attention to.

In fact, experts in the field predict that NFTs will change the shape of the video gaming market for good and in a manner that will turn convention on its head to place players right at the very centre of the multi-billion dollar industry. Which all sounds very noble, if not just a little bit too far fetched, surely?

Well, maybe not. Let’s return to those kittens. You were hoping we would. And let’s remind ourselves that it was way back in 2017 – when Covid-19 was a mere tickle at the back of a young bat’s throat – that collecting and breeding digital cats through the CryptoKitties platform was at the height of its popularity. 

One of the earliest blockchain games in existence, the title made headlines for congesting the Ethereum network upon which its kittens ‘lived’ due to its overwhelming popularity. Believe it or not, the idea of collecting digital kittens – each one ultimately unique to their owner – to trade, sell, or use to breed completely new kittens, was one that caught the imagination of a rather sizeable chunk of the global gaming audience.

Neither just for Christmas or simply commodities for turning a profit (and daily CryptoKitties sales are still hitting over $30,000 a day, by the way) these kitties were also able to be utilised as characters in the KittyVerse, where they would participate in cat fights or solve puzzles. In essence, they were uniquely individual characters, controlled and owned by individual players, that could be inserted into any gaming scenario on the CryptoKitties platform.

Meanwhile, those who weren’t occupying themselves with the gestation period of a digital cat were getting their NFT kicks through Reality Gaming Group’s mobile combat game, Reality Clash and its own USP, a platform that enabled players to purchase ‘tokenised’, limited edition weapons to be downloaded into its game.

Tony Pearce is the co-founder of Reality Gaming Group, pioneers of NFT video gaming

These were, of course, the days of NFT before the term NFT even existed. The mere cave drawings of a concept that has in recent months been subject of an enlightenment and at the centre of an “explosion” that has witnessed brands – whether from the arts and culture (or even museums) sector or the children’s toy industry – move to get a foot in the digital collectables door.

“Back then, the only way we could talk about what we were doing was that we were ‘wrapping’ these items with a bit of code that tokenised them and made them limited edition,” recalls Tony Pearce, co-founder of Reality Gaming Group. 

“For three years I tried to explain this to people who had no idea what I was talking about. But in the last six months, the NFT world has exploded… people are beginning to know what we mean by it.”

While it’s evident that the loudest noises are being made in the collectable art side to the NFT movement, Pearce remains insistent that the greatest cultural impacts are yet to be felt, and they will be felt across the video games industry.

“Every week that goes by, more and more people are realising the potential for NFT games,” he says. “But it is still a very small market, when you compare it to mobile games revenue in general. And it’s tiny in the whole games industry. But I have been in games for over 20 years, and have always come into new platforms.

“This is a platform that is waiting for a tipping point. It will be the moment that a really big gaming IP comes into it, integrates NFTs seamlessly, and makes it super easy for people to understand. And that is happening.”

It wasn’t too long ago that BBC Studios detailed its first partnership in the space, tapping Reality Gaming Group itself to develop a blockchain-based digital trading card game based on its Doctor Who franchise. 

Titled Doctor Who: Worlds Apart, the licensed game enables fans to collect and trade digital versions of the characters from the iconic TV series. Secured on the blockchain, each NFT is a unique asset that cannot be copied, replicated, or even tampered with. They are in essence, one of a kind. A limited edition of absolute singular rarity. Like little digital snowflakes that will remain frozen. For the rest of time.

But for the kind of cultural impact that Pearce envisions, we need to scale up. 

“It’s going to be Call of Duty having tradeable guns, or FiFA having tokenised players to trade with; it’s going to be one of these mass market games that integrates NFT seamlessly, and suddenly people will realise what that means for games.”

And that’s perhaps, precisely why, so far, it hasn’t been done. After all, what publisher will be the first Triple A video game franchise in the queue to relinquish its power over its players? For the companies currently running the show, the NFT pill is a bitter and tough one to swallow right now. And one that could turn the market on its head. 

“The truth is,” admits Pearce, “the big game companies are worried about this. They are very happy to lock people in to their games, and only their games. The last thing Fortnite wants is you buying an in-app skin, taking it out and using it somewhere else. They want you spending money in the game.

“And that’s where the games industry is wrong in my view, and why I am so happy with the way the blockchain is changing that; because you could spend hundreds of pounds in a game, and actually, you don’t own anything.”

And what happens if that game gets pulled? It’s certainly not an uncommon occurrence, and with a majority of games now opting for in-game purchasing, the impact of closures could potential reach far and wide. According to the statistical website, Statista, in-game purchasing overtook game purchases last year, accounting for the biggest share of the video game market and taking around $54 billion from global audiences last year. By 2025, the market value of in-game purchases is expected to pass $74.4 billion.

This is no small amount that gamers are spending on items that, when it comes down to it, do not – in the physical sense –  belong to them.

Doctor Who: Worlds Apart – an AR and NFT digital card game developed by BBC Studios and Reality Gaming Group

“In the real world, I go into TopShop three months ago and buy a t-shirt. TopShop went bust two months ago, so I’m walking down the street and my shirt disappears? That’s the equivalent of in-game purchasing right now,” says Pearce.

“I spent real money on those items, why don’t I own them? Well, the reason I don’t own them is because they are logged into that game in a centralised database. You don’t even have a wallet, you have an account.”

The idea central to NFTs then – whether that is in the video games space or in the digital collectables and art world – is that it allows for ownership to be changed hands. Its story is that it transfers the power back to the consumer or the player, by decentralising the assets bought by the player. Taking them out of the system composed by the games publishers, and into the ‘wallets’ (they are actually called wallets) of their owners. Even if the game they are from does go bust.

“So imagine that scenario, and the game you play has gone bust. You could say, ‘well what do I use my NFT gun for now’? Well, guess what?” says Pearce. “Someone else will make a game that will allow you to use that gun in it, because there is a community of people that have all of these guns that are waiting for the next game to come out.

“You have instantly got a community of hundreds of thousands of people that are desperate to use their items. What a great user acquisition tool that is.

“And if you have a game like Fortnite, that locks you in and won’t allow for NFTs, or a new game similar to Fortnite where you can use your NFTs, well, guess where the players are going to go.”

And that has to be the crux of the argument. The success or failure of the NFT video game market must therefore rest with the players.

“It is the players, the gamers, and the community that is going to force the big games companies to go blockchain, because independents are building for it. The big players have had it too good for too long but the blockchain has the potential to change all of that.

“It’s not going to be before Christmas, but over the next two to three years, we will see a big brand step in. simply because they have to. NFTs have the potential to turn things on its head, all driven by the global audience of gamers.”

You don’t get much more punk rock than that, and who knew it would all begin by breeding kittens.

A Full English | Golden Goose on putting English Heritage in the product and on the packaging

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With over 400 historical and cultural sites across the country as well as a portfolio that spans the ages, from the mysteries of Stonehenge to the art deco interiors of Eltham Palace, the playground of opportunity for the English Heritage brand to explore through consumer products and licensing is vastly exciting.

Couple all of this with the current spike in demand for cultural IP licensing from consumers the world over, each looking to re-engage with the stories and history channeled through the sector, and it’s an enviable position that the UK licensing agency, Golden Goose finds itself in, representing one of the country’s most revered names in historical and cultural conservation.

Here, Licensing.biz catches up with Golden Goose’s Helen Webster to learn more about the licensing specialist’s plans for the English Heritage brand, and why developing consumer products for a name so rich with history means ensuring that ‘English Heritage is in the licensed products, as well as on the packaging.’

Hello Helen, thanks for talking to us this month. To kick us off, could you give us an overview of the English Heritage brand, its role in maintaining, safeguarding and promoting some of the country’s most historical sites, and the values that the brand brings to the licensing space?

The English Heritage brand is one of the UK’s best known and most respected heritage brands. English Heritage wants people to experience the story of England where it actually happened so their sites and properties offer an imaginative, true to the story, carefully curated experience aimed at inspiring people of all ages. Alongside this, English Heritage works to ensure their sites and properties  – which include Stonehenge, Osborne House, Kenwood House and Dover Castle –  and the thousands of historic artefacts in their care are conserved and expertly cared for such that they can also be enjoyed by future generations.

As such, the values inherent in the English Heritage brand are authenticity, quality, inspiration, responsibility and fun; all of which are values that will flow through the English Heritage licensing programme and connect with today’s consumers and the way they want to blend history into their lives.

Looking over the English Heritage website and shop, the brand has already made headway in the licensing space. How is Golden Goose leveraging the rich heritage of the brand itself to build on the licensing portfolio?

Also, where do you even begin with building out a programme for such a revered name as English Heritage?

While it is clear from past activity that the English Heritage brand has enormous potential, this is really the first time that licensing is receiving the level of internal focus that it needs to achieve significant scale. Because we are working directly with Kingston Myles who is the Head of Commercial Development, we can leverage all of the EH brand assets, from the trademark to the collections archive right and on to the multi channel commercial operation which includes over 100 retail outlets, 35 café’s and a portfolio of  holiday cottages.

Having an expert point of contact with Kingston allows us to target the biggest potential categories and opportunities cohesively. To date we have even been able to start scoping out international markets where the brand has impact, such as South Korea.

“Our approach to licensing English Heritage means ensuring that the English Heritage brand is ‘in’ the licensed products as well as ‘on’ the packaging.”

How has ‘heritage licensing’ changed over recent years, what do consumers expect in terms of brand narrative and story telling in ‘heritage licensing’ today, and how will this be reflected in your approach to licensing English Heritage?

With the lockdowns causing a massive shortfall of visitation and thus creating income gaps for most heritage brands, there are certainly more heritage brands keen to penetrate the market and benefit from quicker wins. Our approach to licensing English Heritage, however, will be to ensure we put in place a long-term strategic licensing programme that is well aligned with the brand’s core values and purpose. This means ensuring that the English Heritage brand is ‘in’ the licensed products as well as ‘on’ the packaging.

English Heritage is not only a well established brand itself, but with over 400 sites across the country, has a portfolio of rich cultural history that spans the ages. The licensing and story telling potential it boasts must be incredibly exciting. What level of creativity does the portfolio afford you? 

Thanks to the more than 400 properties that English Heritage manages and maintains there is a rich treasure of design inspiration available; from the art deco interiors of Eltham Palace, the beautiful prints and patterns inside Audley End House and of course the Victorian splendour of Osborne House.

There are many design eras available to inspire licensees however, in addition to being a rich asset bank, English Heritage is very much a living brand so our licensees will not only be able to draw from a wonderful design heritage and use these assets as is for specific product categories but others will also be able to use the asset bank to inform and inspire beautiful, useful products for today’s consumers and today’s preferences for colour, scale and detail.

How can licensing unlock history for new generations?

There is plenty that EH is already doing to appeal to new generations and we see that more as a core attribute of the brand rather than something that could be used purely to create licensed products. However, we are looking into toys, puzzles, dress up and other categories that will bring the brand to life for new generations while also helping them learn about and appreciate the rich seam of history that English Heritage represents.

How has the consumer’s relationship with ‘heritage licensing’ changed in the last 12 months? Has lockdown and the pandemic changed the way in which people want to experience art and culture? How does this influence your licensing strategy?

The market was already seeing a resurgence in the consumer’s interest in all things heritage and the authenticity and quality this can represent but the last year has accelerated this and also positioned “heritage” alongside other accelerating consumer interests in and around sustainability and our environment, where authenticity and quality also play their part. This is very much playing into our licensing strategy.

Further, I think consumers have tuned into online shopping more than ever before which means that they expect the products that they can imagine to be available. This presents opportunities for print/manufacture on-demand licensees, of course, but now that things are opening up again, EH are hoping to see visitors return to sites and their shops.

Hopefully, our English Heritage licensees, where relevant, will be able to tap into any opportunities that arise through the English Heritage stores, too.

“We’re looking into toys, puzzles, and dress up to bring the brand to life for new generations while helping them learn about the rich seam of history that English Heritage represents.”

What categories or licensing partners will be key to you as you build on the English Heritage portfolio? What will the lifestyle, home, and garden licensing spaces span, and how will you look to tell the story of English Heritage through these?

All things home, home décor and garden are key to the English Heritage brand and it’s no surprise that we will shortly be unveiling our first tentpole licensee who will be working across fabrics, wallpapers and home décor internationally.

The rich English Heritage asset bank, the stories behind the patterns and designs in their properties, their fabulous gardens and the credibility of the English Heritage brand itself will be essential ingredients in telling the story of English Heritage through their licensed products.

What can we expect from English Heritage in the licensing space in the coming year and beyond? What’s the next step for you guys in the sector?

You can expect us to deliver high quality, aspirational products that appeal to the discerning consumer who wants a product that delivers on everything heritage stands for in their own homes, whether that be  in furniture, fabrics, bedding, fragrance or other lifestyle products.

In addition, you can expect some surprises because, as an agency, we are always looking for ways to move the needle and gain momentum that opens the doors to new product categories and markets.

SILC21 | The Insights Family: “Kids are becoming leaders in sustainable consumption”

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Children’s consumption habits are changing and a new generation of consumers are looking to become leaders in shopping sustainably, is the message to emerge from day one of two of this week’s Sustainability in Licensing Conference.

An opening presentation given by The Insights Family’s chief product officer, Jonathan Watson, highlighted that today’s children will be the next leaders in sustainability, and that it was the responsibility of the kids’ entertainment industry to “empower them to do so.”

The two day Sustainability in Licensing Conference (SILC21) kicked off on Thursday, June 24th with a line up of representatives and change makers from across industries, including those from The Eden Project, Tesco, and George at Asda among others, each showcasing the latest developments in the nationwide (and global) drive for better sustainability practices within the business of consumer products.

The session was opened with a presentation from the insights and family intelligence specialist, The Insight Family who offered a deep dive into the most recent data from across the global markets on the children’s and family sector’s relationship with the topic of environmentalism and sustainability.

Key to the presentation were findings around children’s growing understanding of the sustainability conversation, highlighting that it was now a global concern for kids aged six to 12, and that this was filtering down to spending habits today.

Currently over 45 per cent of children aged six to 18 in the UK say they would spend more on something that is environmentally friendly or sustainable. At the same time, youngsters are engaging with the topic far more actively across social media platforms such as Twtich and Discord as they seek out like-minded individuals to talk about the topics.

“Far from being passive observers, kids are thinking about their purchases more than ever, and becoming leaders in sustainable consumption,” said Watson. “Many are now willing to pay an increased price, showing how building sustainability into your business can not only result in increased brand advocacy and financial growth, but can save the planet along the way.”

The discussion spanned the topics of food consumption – the environment is now a major consideration for 22 per cent of UK children’s food choices – to the removal of children’s magazines containing plastic throw-away toys from Waitrose.

“Data has shown that 32 per cent of parents who shop at Waitrose say the environment is their biggest concern. That’s twice as many as the average,” explained Watson. “They are more likely to be the parents teaching their kids about their actions and the environment.

“Likewise, we asked kids why they purchase a magazine. The number that say it’s for the free toy on the front has been reducing over the last few quarters. However, it is still the number one reason for their choice.”

This will be a conflict that many brands in the children’s magazine sector will have to negotiate over the next few years.

Watson concluded: “Making sustainability easier for kids, teens and parents to understand is imperative. It’s important to be empathetic, practical and inclusive of parents so that consumers feel like they are empowered.

“Kids want to make a change, and we need to make it easier for them to do this.”

The Sustainability in Licensing Conference will continue today with speakers from ZURU Toys and LEGO taking to the stage among others.

Rocket Licensing | “There’s real opportunity to make retail an experience and destination again”

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For those of the industry who tuned into the special licensing panel discussion at this year’s London Book Fair, albeit in its digital format, you’d have caught Rocket Licensing’s join managing director, Rob Wijeratna waxing lyrical on the virtues of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a phenomenon of the children’s publishing space and extended licensing market, despite the book itself being only 22 pages long.

At the crux of Wijeratna’s point was that building a brand is ‘about telling a story’ no matter the size (or page length) of the source material. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is today a globally loved franchise that is not only a staple of book shelves and schools across the country – or the planet – but of the preschool and nursery space as a whole.

Central to the storytelling that Rocket Licensing weaves through the wider activity around the title is the experiential licensing, a pocket of licensing that so often acts as ‘an anchor point around which the many facets of a licensing programme can centre. A sector that faced some rather ominous hurdles over the last year, experiential licensing has been forced to adapt and change shape over the course of the past 18 months, working to uncover new spaces within the home via virtual and digital means.

But it’s a space now beginning to open up once again. And as such, Licensing.biz thought it wise to catch up with Rocket Licensing brand manager, Melissa Satterly, to discover what the licensing agency has planned for the return of live experiences for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Beano, and a few others among its core portfolio.

Hello Melissa, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions this week. The most obvious point to address first and foremost is the pandemic and the impact this has had on the experiential licensing space. As we begin to ‘unlock’ and remove social distancing measures, what sort of excitement is there around the return of experiential licensing?

With things opening up again and families increasingly looking for, and getting excited about, staycations and days out nearer to home, now feels like the perfect time to be engaging with experiential licensing and family-focused activities. We’ve seen real enthusiasm and high visitor numbers for the branded events that we have put on so far in 2021 and are excited for the roll out of several more initiatives over the summer.

How do you think experiential licensing has evolved over the course of the pandemic and what lasting impression has it left on the market and consumers? How do you begin to reintroduce experiential licensing to a post-pandemic world?

The pandemic saw Rocket and our partners take a very different approach to experiences, with the transition to online and at-home events. For example, our annual The Very Hungry Caterpillar Giant Wiggle partnership with Action for Children took place online in 2020 as an at-home activity pack for families. In addition to this, Action for Children really responded to how families were spending lockdown by launching a Growing Challenge subscription pack for little gardeners, an experiential product that we are excited to see continue to do well post-pandemic as well.

We also worked closely with License to PR to deliver lockdown-suitable content, creating a social media campaign for The Very Hungry Caterpillar that targeted parenting/foodie influencers who provided fun caterpillar-inspired recipes for people to try at home, while also promoting the Feed the Hungry Caterpillar game from University Games, responding to the rising popularity of games and puzzles while families were at home. This was one of our most successful campaigns to date.

With lockdowns easing, we have been careful and strategic in the experiences that we have put on, for example focusing on fun outdoor activities while restrictions have remained in place indoors. The first major experiential partnership that we have seen in 2021 was the Big Beano Bonanza at Kew Gardens, which adhered to all guidance on social distancing, with Beano-themed Covid safety signs along the trail, hand gel stations, marshalls and pre-booked visitor slots.

The sale of our branded and co-branded Beano product was initially focused online for the earlier stages of the event while the visitor shops remained closed, and advertising took on an online and local focus.

Can you talk us through some of the key partnerships you’ve secured across the experiential licensing space recently?

We are really excited to have a current partnership for The Very Hungry Caterpillar taking place at London Zoo (running until 16th July). Families can enjoy a fun range of activities, including crawling through a giant fruit story trail, crafting and story-telling sessions throughout the day, as well as the opportunity to visit Butterfly Paradise and Bug House.

For 2021, we have also partnered with Gulliver’s Valley (Rotherham) and Gulliver’s Dinosaur and Farm Park (Milton Keynes) for a range of branded activities for both The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Beano. The Very Hungry Caterpillar presence launched on Saturday, May 1st and includes Meet & Greets, birthday parties, crafting activities and even themed accommodation, so that families can spend the night in their very own cocoons.

The Beano characters will be getting up to all sorts of mischief, including a Beano Blasters! laser tag attraction. We are also very excited to have just finalised a partnership with Escape Live for a Horrible Histories Escape Room, opening later this year and giving families the opportunity to be immersed in a mission that transports them through multiple different time periods.

How important will experiential licensing be for retail in enticing consumers away from the online space? What opportunities are there now available to reboot the retail sector through experiential licensing? Are there any examples of this you can give from your own portfolio?

With the shift to ecommerce and online over lockdown, there is a real opportunity now to make retail more of an experience and destination again, as people get excited to get out and about and enjoy a physical browse in store. Another of our The Very Hungry Caterpillar partners is Bluewater shopping centre who has used experiential licensing to enhance the family shopping experience with the addition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar nature trail and in-mall storytelling telling events.

Bluewater is surrounded by 50 acres of landscaped parkland, which was a popular location for local visitors during the lockdown. They opened a new The Very Hungry Caterpillar storytelling trail this May half term to further build on the existing branded nature trail. The new story trail consists of seven signposts, which are designed using imagery from the book and feature cut outs for photos opportunity and QR codes that tell the story through narration by local school children. It’s a lovely way for families to enjoy time together whilst shopping at Bluewater.

From a Rocket Licensing perspective, what makes a successful partnership in the experiential licensing space?

It’s always so important to be able to match up the brand values of the location with the licensed property. For example, with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we have really focused on nature-driven partnerships with the likes of the Royal Horticultural Society, the Eden Project and the nature reserve at Bluewater. In terms of execution, we aim to create multi-dimensional experiences, with not only a variety of activities, but opportunities for co-branded merchandise in location-based retail outlets.

Indeed, experiential licensing offers great opportunities to showcase product for our brands in fantastic cross-category displays and really get our licensees working together in collaboration. It is also important for venues to use digital engagement to drive families to the events through comprehensive marketing, advertising and social media promotion.

What do you enjoy the most about the experiential licensing sector, what level of innovation and creativity does it offer you guys and the brands you work with?

It’s always so wonderful to see children and families engaging and having fun with the brand activities; we get so much traction for the partnerships on social media and absolutely love looking at all of the photos! And yes, the creativity of the activities is always fantastic to work on. For example, our recent Beano trail saw a mile long trail including 3D bespoke comic strip, whoopie cushion stepping stones and water pistols over the lake! It’s always really satisfying to see the collaborative effort that goes into these experiences, bringing together marketing, creative and events team with product offerings from our licensees to create brand-immersive events.

What do you think the future looks like for experiential licensing and what are the key points of change in this sector?

We are confident that this sector will continue to grow, generating strong awareness and revenue for brands. Venues like Escape Rooms are only just beginning to engage with licensed IP so this is surely an area that will continue to expand. It’s also likely that experience and retail will draw increasingly close together, exploring more in-store experiences at retail as well as increasing the focus on co-branded product and retail promotion, in association with events and activity venues.

What’s the next big step for you guys in this space?

We are continuing to look for new appropriate experiential partners for our brands and have already started early conversations for next year. We have had great success with experiential licensing in particular for The Very Hungry Caterpillar over recent years and are now increasingly expanding our focus to some of our other fantastic brands, such as Beano and Horrible Histories, to find the perfect location-based fit.

We also have some fantastic adult brands in our portfolio which we would also like to develop in the experiential area. It’s always exciting sharing brand ideas with new partners to create collaborative, engaging and fun experiences for visitors whilst supporting licensed product, and this is what we will continue to do.

Disney confirms it’s in ‘consultation with group of UK Stores’ over closures

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Disney has confirmed that it is holding consultations with an initial group of stores in the UK about their closure in its first official acknowledgement of speculation that all but its flagship London store was to shut up shop in the UK.

Rumours have been circulating that Disney has been planning to close all but one of its 34 stores in the UK, leaving its London Oxford Street store open to the public as its flagship bricks and mortar destination.

As tracked by the Snopes.com online resource, shutdowns of the Disney’s country-wide fleet of shops appear to be happening on a store-by-store basis. One of the latest to face closure is the company’s Highcross, Leicester unit.

The Disney pop-up in Highcross has, according to the Leicester Mercury, seen significant amount of success since it was welcomed back to the retail space in 2017. However, officials at Disney have since confirmed that it is now one of a number of stores part of a consultation period, with the possibility of closure.

A statement from a Disney Store spokesperson, said: “We are currently in consultation with an initial group of Stores in the UK, including our Leicester Store.”

Benzinga has been following the developments of the Disney Store in the US, reporting that in March this year, the retail operation of the global corporation detailed its efforts to pivot from brick and mortar stores to e-commerce, beginning with the closure of at least 60 of its North American stores.

“While consumer behaviour has shifted toward online shopping, the global pandemic has changed what consumers expect from a retailer,” said Stephanie Young, president of consumer products, games, and publishing.

“Over the past few years, we have been focusing on meeting consumers where they are already spending their time, such as the expansion of Disney Store shops-in-shops around the world.

“We now plan to create a more flexible, interconnected e-commerce experience that gives consumers easy access to unique, high quality products across all of our franchises.”

The strategy appears to be implemented in other European countries, including in Ireland where a single Disney Stores is expected to remain in Dublin, and in France where stores will remain operational at Disneyland Paris and on the Champs-Elysees.