Tag Archives: lead

Licensed toy sales grow 45 per cent across China as NPD reports ‘sales surge’ across the region

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Sales of licensed toys in China have grown 45 per cent in the first quarter of the year, amid a solid growth of 16 per cent of the overall Chinese toy market to hit $1.2 billion (USD) in the first four months of the year.

Top gaining toy licenses in the region include the likes of Ultraman, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, and Disney’s Frozen as licensed toy sales take the lead on sales of non-licensed toy for the same period, that witnessed a more modest growth of 13 per cent in Q1.

The country posted the highest growth rate for the quarter in January this year when it saw sales increase 34 per cent, driven primarily by purchases made for the February 12th Chinese New Year celebration.

It’s according to a new report from The NPD Group that all toy super categories posted growth in Q1 2021, led by infant, toddler, and preschool toys which increased three per cent. Other top performing super categories in the region included Building Sets, Outdoor and Sports Toys, Action Figures and Accessories, and Explorative and Other Toys.

The Outdoor and Sports Toys posted the highest gains in value sales with an 18 per cent increase over Q1 2020, reaching $192 million.

Sales in China’s toy market was dominated by Chinese manufacturers, with only four out of top 10 manufacturers being global.

“China is the world’s second largest toy market and the world’s largest toy production base,” said Frédérique Tutt, global toys industry analyst at The NPD Group. “It’s a country that is primed for savvy international brands seeking opportunities in new markets. Even if the rate of growth slowed in 2020 due to the global pandemic, China over-performed other countries in the region and is already bouncing back.

“With the latest relaxation of the two-child policy and an ever-increasing middle-class population, we expect the Chinese toy market’s healthy growth to continue.”

According to NPD’s 2021 Chinese New Year Gift Study, Toys and Games were the holiday’s most requested gift categories for Chinese children. When making their holiday gift wish lists, 46 per cent of children requested toys that featured their favorite cartoons, television programs, and movies.

Social media had a significant impact on children’s wish lists as well with 45 per cent of children asking for toys they saw on short video platforms like TikTok and WeChat.

Chinese consumers spent an average of $91 on Chinese New Year gifts in 2021, a 39 per cent increase when compared to Q1 2020. Online shoppers spent an average of $12 more than consumers who purchased toys at brick and mortar stores.

Coastal and historic towns thrive amid “strongest sales growth of the pandemic” for UK high streets

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Pent up demand for in-store shopping, coupled with the reopening of hospitality and enduring appreciation of the return of non-essential retailers, has helped the UK’s retail scene to the strongest sales growth of the pandemic.

On a total sales basis, sales have increased 10 per cent in the four weeks covering May 2nd to 29th this year, against a decline of 2.7 per cent for the same period in 2019.

Meanwhile, footfall across the UK’s retail destinations has risen by 11.6 per cent week on week. High Streets witnessed increases of 17.4 per cent versus 8.7 per cent in shopping centres and just 2.3 per cent in retail parks.

However, it is UK holiday destinations such as coastal and historic towns that have witnessed the greatest increases, with a 37. 1 per cent rise in coastal areas, and 24.8 per cent rise in historic places.

Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive, British Retail Consortium, said: “Retail sales were buoyant in May thanks to the reopening of hospitality, coupled with the afterglow of non-essential retail’s own return.

“Pent-up demand for the instore shopping experience, as well as the first signs of summer weather, helped retail to the strongest sales growth of the pandemic.

“There is a growing sense of consumer confidence, boosted not only by the widespread uptake of vaccinations and testing, but also retailers’ own significant investment in safety measures.”

Dickinson has explained that large cities remain the hardest hit by the pandemic, with many consumers continuing to work from home and increasingly choose to shop local. It has prompted new calls for a re-evaluation of the role of the high street.

She said: “Now is the time to consider what our future high streets and town centres will look like a decade from now. We must adapt to these changes, not only to build back better, but also to build forward.

“With vacancy rates still rising in many parts of the country, we must reimagine how we integrate residential and commercial property, allowing us to build stronger local communities that encompass leisure, retail, services, and homes.

“This will require retailers, property developers, and local government to work together and plan city centres that cater to these changing demands and truly innovate the high street model.”

A summer of cautious optimism

Elsewhere, it is the change in weather combined with the late May bank holiday that has seen shoppers take to the high streets and shops of some of the UK’s coastal areas and historic towns, as staycation holidaymakers fuel an ‘increase in footfall that surpassed that in any other type of UK high street.

According to Springboard insights director, Diane Wehrle, “the fact that the bank holiday occurred a week earlier than in the previous two years meant that footfall in both coastal and historic towns was actually higher last week than in the same week in 2019.

“Whilst the attraction of coastal and historic towns to visitors meant they benefitted the most last week, there was still a significant rise in footfall in central London and in other regional cities across the UK, while the most modest increases once again occurred in more local high streets.”

Paul Martin, UK head of retail, KPMG, said: “Retailers now face an interesting few months as they assess how they best entice their customers back to stores and what the right blend of offline and online will be as spending patterns settle in a post Covid world.

“With the prospect of the full lifting of Covid restrictions coming into force this month, there will be increased competition for share of wallet as consumers focus on those leisure and hospitality activities that have been denied to them due to lockdown.

“It is a summer of cautious optimism for many retailers, who will be hoping that the continued success of the vaccine roll-out and an improving economy will offer scope to spark a big surge in consumer spending.”

SEGA Europe details ‘hand-picked’ Sonic partner line up across toys, textiles, food & drink and more

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SEGA Europe has unveiled a new line up of merchandise and consumer product deals for its flagship character, Sonic the Hedgehog, in what it has billed ‘a hand-picked line up of industry leaders’ to help celebrate the property’s landmark 30th anniversary this year.

With production on the film sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 now underway and the recent unveiling of the new Netflix series, Sonic Prime – both slated for 2022 – SEGA is enticing audiences with ‘plenty to get excited about in Sonic’s immediate future’ thanks to a swathe of new partners for the brand.

“This is a momentous year for Sonic the Hedgehog and his fans, and we are incredibly proud to be partnering with so many leaders in their field across such a diverse range of product categories,” said Jason Rice, director of brand licensing at SEGA of Europe. “Our partners list will continue to grow throughout the year so look out for more exciting announcements in the near future!”

In the world of toys and collectibles, SEGA of Europe has recently teamed up with toy innovation company, Wow! Stuff, on its award-winning Wow! Pods range, which will feature light-up characters from the Sonic universe, housed within interconnecting display cases.

A new deal has also been inked with HoloToyz, who will be launching a range of stickers, decals and temporary tattoos embedded with augmented reality technology which can be brought to life via its free HoloToyz app, while long standing partner First4Figures will also be launching a brand-new, limited edition 30th Anniversary resin statue. 

Meanwhile several deals have been inked with leading players across home, textiles and personal care including, Character World for bedding, Groovy UK for bath robes, towels and washbags, Stor for tableware, and UK based company Corsair will market a brand-new range of kids’ toiletries including wash mitts and bath fizzers.

In the gifting and greetings cards space, SEGA Europe continues to add new partnerships to support an already flourishing business. Fizz Creations is preparing gift sets, drinkware, electrical accessories, games & puzzles and even Christmas decorations, whilst leading online retailer Moonpig, has already launched a successful series of personalised greetings cards.

The Sonic licensing programme is also expanding into food & beverage with leading UK based food manufacturer Finsbury Foods set to launch branded celebration cakes into major grocers later this year, and G FUEL’s Sonic branded energy drink, already a massive hit in the US, will be arriving to UK shores soon. 

In the world of contemporary art and pop culture SEGA Europe is proud to be partnering with Moor Art Gallery for a series of exclusive screen-printed poster art and 30th Anniversary commemorative enamel PINS, all slated to launch later this year.

And finally, The Blue Blur’s existing fashion & lifestyle business is set to grow and expand with a series of new collaborations including high-end fashion designer, Marc Jacques Burton. He is set to market a limited 30th Anniversary capsule collection, including jackets, hoodies, tees, and accessories to be distributed online and through select luxury fashion outlets worldwide.

Elsewhere, Global Brands Group is developing an exclusive new kids’ apparel range for leading fashion retailer Skechers, to launch throughout Europe in the near future.

Oxford’s finest | Start Licensing’s Ian Downes on exploring The Ashmolean through licensing

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Founded in 1683, The Ashmolean is the University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology, with world famous collections spanning Egyptian mummies to contemporary art. Recognised as the first museum to open its doors to the general public, The Ashmolean holds its ability to tell human stories ‘across cultures and across time’ at the centre of its narrative strain.

And that’s a narrative that the museum has seen vast success in translating into the licensing space, too. Now, with Start Licensing’s own Ian Downes leading the Great British – and one of Oxfordshire’s finest – establishment’s deeper dive into the licensing sector, and with the promise of life springing back into the country’s museum and heritage sector itself, The Ashmolean appears more ready than ever to explore the depths at which its licensing story can be told.

We catch up with Start Licensing’s Ian Downes to learn more about the potential.

With such a wealth of heritage and history not just surrounding the Ashmolean but within it, where do you begin with addressing its potential in the licensing space? Perhaps at the very beginning would make sense, how did the Ashmolean take its first steps into the licensing space?

Like many Museums the Ashmolean has looked at licensing as a way of creating a new revenue stream and a platform for promoting its collection to the public. They have been active in licensing for a number of years and have also had a very active publishing programme. The licensing team at the Ashmolean felt they would benefit from some additional support from a third party agency and ran a tendering process to recruit an agency which I am pleased to say Start Licensing won.

One motivation for the Ashmolean to work with an agency was to extend its reach into new parts of the licensing market and to access new ideas. They had a good foundation of licensees already including well known names such as Surface View, Flametree Publishing, Woodmansterne and Fox & Chave. This has given them exposure in the market and insight into the workings of licensing. Part of our role is to build on this and identify new ways of working.

A key part of this has been to identify core areas for developments such as home decor coupled with identifying design resources. The team at the Ashmolean has been sourcing reference material from the collection on a theme by theme basis to help with business development – for example, we have reference for parts of the collection like ceramic tiles and also design themes like Christmas. This makes it easier to target licensees with ideas. In addition the Ashmolean is working very closely with certain licensees to develop opportunities. For example it’s now working with an apparel company to support it designwise as it responds to retailer briefs and design requests. This hands on approach appeals to licensees and reflects the way that licensees have to pitch to retailers these days.

What has this all taught you about the relationship that the museum could have with the licensing space, and the potential for what the Ashmolean could bring to the ‘heritage licensing’ space?

Given there are some very successful heritage brands in the market already, I think we have to work harder to create a point of difference. I think part of this is being design lead and making it easier for licensees to access the collection in a thematic way.

We need to also be tuned into trends and retailer requests. It is good to know that the Ashmolean is prepared to put time into development work in this way. The fact that licensees can work directly with the Ashmolean team is a good thing and an attractive attribute. Licensees can benefit from the Ashmolean’s detailed knowledge of the collection and its suitability for licensing. We are also working on opportunities that are driven by the Ashmolean’s exhibition programme.

Exhibitions create a real focus on specific parts of the collection and are in a sense, design refreshes. Recently the Ashmolean has had a Pre-Raphaelites exhibition featuring work from John Ruskin. On the back of this we have developed a licensing deal with the Isle of Man Post office and also Conway Stewart for a high end Limited edition pen featuring Ruskin. Both licensees were able to leverage their launches off the publicity the exhibition received.

We are also keen to develop mini programmes fired up by parts of the Ashmolean collections which are particularly strong, such as their coin collection. They have a specific coin gallery that tells the story of money. They have some fabulous coins such as the Oxford Crown minted in Oxford during the English Civil War – we think this sort of thing should interest direct marketing companies who produce collectible coins.

I read that the Ashmolean was the first museum to open its doors to the public, which gives it a rich history in making art and cultural exploration accessible to everyone. Is this an ethos that carries strong within your approach to licensing? What story are you telling through your licensing partnerships and plans? 

Where possible, licensed products are set in the context of the collection. For example the Conway Stewart pen includes a booklet that tells the story of the Museum plus focusses on John Ruskin. The Ashmolean is able to support licensees in this way to add colour and depth to products.

As mentioned earlier, licensing can also create a window for the Ashmolean to shine a light on its collection, helping to bring it to a new audience and to inspire people to visit the Museum. The Museum is a fantastic source and resource. We think licensing can help celebrate the collection and give fresh impetus to it. Seeing designs from the collection feature on licensed products is great and a way of celebrating the original work and creators.

Done well, licensing of a heritage brand can help demystify things and can bring things alive for a new audience. It is also a great chance for licensees to access a wonderful resource that will give them a really authentic story to sell to consumers and retailers.

How is the Ashmolean using licensing to unlock history, art, and different cultures for new generations? What role does the licensing strategy play in preserving the legacy of the museum, and how is this reflected in the partnerships you embark on?

One aspect of this is that licensing is a source of income which helps support the Museum’s work. So there is a direct practical benefit. Licensing can help in bringing parts of the collection to the fore that were maybe overlooked before and it can help draw attention to particular parts of the collection.

Flametree has had great success with Dutch Still Life artwork from the collection. Its calendars have been a great showcase for artwork and may well have encouraged people to come to the museum to see the art in situ.  We are trying to take a product sector and thematic approach to licensing backed up with appropriate materials sourced from the collection. As well as design elements this includes the back story and context for artefacts. This puts the licensing into a context and in some cases helps inspire a direction of travel. For example knowing the story behind the Ashmolean’s ceramic tile collection will help licensees in their product development and also to build a marketing story. In turn this will help consumers gain a better understanding of the collection and the influences behind it.

“I think it is important to innovate in product development terms whilst protecting the legacy of the collection. Innovation can be married with elements of the collection well.”

How has ‘heritage licensing’ changed over recent years? What do consumers expect in terms of brand narrative and storytelling in ‘heritage licensing’ today, and how is this reflected in your approach?

I would say it is a category of licensing that is much more established now and it has moved more into the mainstream. It is less the domain of specialist licensees and a wider cross section of licensees are engaged with it. There is, of course, still a bedrock of licensees that are experts in the category and have built great distribution for heritage brands.

I think consumers are more interested in the authenticity of products these days and products using heritage licenses can provide a very authentic backstory. I think consumers are interested in things like design themes and influences. Heritage licensing by definition has history behind it and that creates a point of difference in a licensing context. Telling the story of objects in conjunction with licensing is a good selling point for licensing and licensees. They can add value to their products and create products that engage with consumers because of the context around them.

The licensing and storytelling potential the Ashmolean boasts must be hugely exciting to explore. What level of creativity does the depth of the portfolio afford you with your licensing plans? 

It has been really enjoyable exploring the museum and its collections with an eye on licensing and design. Pre Lockdown this was something we could do on site, but in recent times this has moved to a more online or virtual process. The Ashmolean has a great website which is a useful reference point for design inspiration.

The licensing team at the Ashmolean has also been very proactive in their support of the licensing programme. They have researched the collections on our behalf to respond to licensing briefs and ideas. This has helped give us a great tool kit to share with licensees. In addition we have created some product concepts and visuals to show licensees how the collection can be translated to licensed products. There is a fair degree of creative freedom for licensees and they can access a whole spectrum of source material to build designs from. We are also exploring specific themes to fit into product opportunities like Male Gifting and Grooming. Here we are accessing specific assets such as art prints and illustrations that fit that category.

We have also created a Curated by design style to allow us to use the Ashmolean name and branding in a different way and to open up the potential for different parts of the collection.

How do you strike the balance in innovating and retaining the heritage and legacy of the museum? 

 I think it is important to innovate in product development terms whilst protecting the legacy of the collection. Innovation can be married with elements of the collection well. We are open to new ideas and new opportunities but would always want to make sure that the Ashmolean’s assets are used in an appropriate way. They work in new categories for licensing such as spirits – there is an Ashmolean Gin, for example. I think part of the skill set is matching products with assets in an appropriate way.

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?

 I think museums, galleries and other institutions worked hard to provide opportunities for the public to remain engaged with them. This ranged from virtual tours to online talks and in other cases collaborating with third parties to develop easy to access content. For example, the Ashmolean worked with the BBC in the early days of Lockdown to produce a programme that was a tour of their Young Rembrandt exhibition. People couldn’t visit the Museum but by filming the exhibition in situ people could still see it and get a sense of it.

The Ashmolean also has a strong following of members and supporters. It has stayed in touch with them throughout the lockdown and has still published the members’ magazine. The magazine has featured licensed products such as the John Ruskin pen. My sense is that people are keen to get back into museums and early indications are that visitors are coming back to the Ashmolean.

The Ashmolean normally has a significant percentage of visitors from outside the UK most notably from the US, China and Japan. We would expect these visitors to return in due course. From a licensing point of view, I think we are keen to showcase and represent all aspects of the Museum’s collection. My sense is that Ashmolean visitors enjoy the rich mixture of the collection and enjoy strolling around the whole Museum. It is important we allow licensees and licensing to reflect this.

What categories or licensing partners will be key to you as you continue to build on the Ashmolean portfolio? Are there any categories you’d like to take the brand into, or boundaries you’d like to push to the next level in art and heritage licensing?

There are a number of categories already in place including Woodmansterne for greetings cards, Surface View for print on demand wall art and coverings, Fox & Chave for ties, The Oxford Artisan Distillery for gin, Flametree for calendars and PJ Studio Accessories for scarves.

In addition, there art good relationships with companies like King & McGaw who work with the museum on print on demand art prints. We have added in the Isle of Man Post Office and Conway Stewart recently. There is also a new deal with start up business Blu Goblin for special edition postcard prints.

We are in active conversations with an apparel company, home decor companies and soft furnishing companies. We are keen to develop these further and also to broker partnerships with brand owners to develop collections in tandem with the Ashmolean.

Beyond the collection, the Ashmolean can support licensees in areas like PR , photo shoots, displays and sponsorship. There is scope for partners to create very rounded partnerships that feature licensing but go beyond a straight product relationship – for example, a paint company could sponsor an exhibition, have their paints used on the gallery walls and sell a licensed range. We are also keen to engage with companies from the arts and crafts area – the Ashmolean has been inspiring people for years. It seems sensible to think that companies who manufacture art kits, craft kits and accessories might see a value in partnering with the Museum to build new collections which can be linked to content from the Museum and featuring well known artists.

We also think it would be great to work with companies based in and around Oxford. One idea is to try to persuade Mini to develop a Limited Edition Mini featuring design elements sourced from the Museum and then feature the Mini at the Museum. The Mini is manufactured roughly three miles from the Ashmolean. Would be great to see two of Oxfordshire’s best known names work together.

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

We are keen to keep the momentum going – we have new partners and a number of the existing partners are adding to their ranges. It has also been great see how partners like Woodmansterne have embraced the opportunity and partnership. at the last Spring Fair Woodmansterne used an Ashmolean artwork to theme their stand featuring a large scale artwork as the centrepiece.

It is great to see an experienced licensee like Woodmansterne recognise the quality of the Ashmolean’s collection and to celebrate it in such grand style. We hope to develop some more partnerships that work across different levels and allow both partners to build the partnership beyond a product relationship.

We are always opening up the archive to inspire fresh thinking and ideas. We hope to invite more licensees and retailers to visit the Ashmolean and see the collection for themselves. It won’t fail to inspire and impress.

The Olympics vaults into NFT space and details new video game title with nWay

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has detailed its launch into the NFT market thanks to a new partnership with nWay, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands.

The deal will witness the launch of a new Olympic-themed digital entertainment, consisting of NFT Olympic pins and crossplay multiplayer video games, all developed by nWay.

The NFT Olympic Pins are digital versions of collectable and tradeable Olympic Pins, which will first be distributed and sold on nWayPlay.com starting on 17 June, 2021. These digital Olympic Pins will have various properties generally associated with physical pins, including authenticity, scarcity, and provenance.

The Pins will launch with an inaugural set that forms part of the Olympic Heritage Collection, which celebrates the art and design of the past Olympic Games and reflects the graphic legacy of the world’s largest sporting event, such as posters, emblems, pictograms, and mascots from 125 years of modern Olympic Games.

Collectors can obtain unique and officially licensed NFT Olympic Pins in three ways; either by purchasing assorted packs on nWayPlay.com; by purchasing specific pins directly from other collectors on the nWayPlay Marketplace; or by earning them free of charge by playing a real-time Olympic-themed competitive video game connected to nWayPlay.

The new game will be launched in the lead up to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

“Olympic pins started as a way to identify athletes, judges and officials, but over the past 125 years it has become an Olympic Games tradition, where everyone from athletes to event staff, journalists and spectators all take part to collect and trade pins in the Olympic Village and beyond,” said Timo Lumme, managing director of IOC Television and Marketing Services.

“Today’s announcement is a natural evolution of this tradition, in line with Olympic Agenda 2020+5 and the IOC’s digital strategy to embrace new digital technologies to promote the Olympic values and grow direct relations with our fans. They can now connect with the excitement of the Games in a whole new way and own a piece of Olympic history.”

Taehoon Kim, CEO of nWay, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with the IOC to bring the NFT Olympic Pins Collection to the nWayPlay Marketplace for the first time. We used our experience as game developers to incorporate high-quality 3D models with animation and visual effects to create truly premium NFTs.”

Collectors will be able to purchase assorted packs of NFT Olympic Pins on nWayPlay.com starting on 17 June, 2021 with the peer-to-peer transaction functionality on the marketplace to come online shortly later.

The new related Olympic-themed videogame will be launched later this year, in the lead up to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

Pop culture retailer The Geek Retreat on track to open 60 of its planned 100 stores this year

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Geek Retreat, the geek culture retailer, gaming café and events venue rolled into one, is on track to open 60 of its planned 100 new stores on UK high streets by the end of 2021, creating 360 jobs around the country.

The franchise is on track to meet its previously announced target of a total of 100 new stores in 2022.

The Geek Retreat franchise, which opened its first store in Glasgow in 2013, now has 27 stores, with the newest in Truro, Cornwall, which opened last week. It has stores in town and city-centres such as Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, the Wirral, Northampton, Chelmsford and London, which stock geek culture merchandise like comics, posters, clothing, figures and memorabilia as well as games and trading cards.

Fans of everything from Marvel and sci-fi, to Warhammer and Pokémon – and even traditional board games, are welcome at the stores and play their hobbies in the café.

New stores are due to open in a number of locations around the UK, including Blackburn, Hereford, Exeter, Lincoln, Ipswich, Bedford and Exeter, in the next couple of months.

To support the growth of the business, the retailer has also announced a series of new hires, including four franchise development managers who will support the expanding geographical footprint of the brand. A further 25 employees will join the head office team in new roles such as New Store Openings Managers, Event & Gaming Specialist and Head of Digital & Ecommerce.

Following the recent brand relaunch, Geek Retreat has also developed and launched a new menu in consultation with its franchisees. The full menu roll-out in partnership with leading food service firm, Booker, sees the introduction of a high-quality menu with vegetarian, vegan and kid’s options, ensuring there’s something to suit everyone’s taste.

Peter Dobson, chief executive of Geek Retreat, said: “We are pressing ahead with our expansion plans and are on track to meet our target for new stores. Despite the impact the pandemic has had on the high street more generally, the Geek Retreat proposition and unique culture has proved particularly resilient and has shown us how important it is for people to have a safe please to visit and to share their interests with friends as part of a community.”

All stores commit to a COVID-19 secure environment, with strict social distancing and hygiene measures in place, to give customers extra piece of mind that they can visit in confidence.

Silence is Not an Option author Stuart Lawrence to take part in diversity and inclusion workshop at B&LIS this month

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Stuart Lawrence, the author of Silence is Not an Option, and brother of murdered schoolboy, Stephen Lawrence, is participating in a diversity and inclusion workshop led by Products of Change co-founder, Helena Mansell-Stopher at the Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit taking place this month.

The workshop is one of the final sessions to be announced for the packed three-day online event, which takes place June 9th to 11th. Designed specifically to help middle-management, business leaders and owners navigate the changing retail, content and consumer landscape, three-day passes to B&LIS cost £249 (£224 for Licensing International members and qualified retailers are invited to attend free of charge.)

Emoji company CEO and founder Marco Hüsges joins WildBrain CPLG’s EVP and managing director Maarten Weck and WildBrain Spark’s commercial director Rachel Taylor to reveal how they have built an extensive merchandise offering and robust retail presence for the Emoji brand in Europe, including a recently forged content and licensing partnership for new digital-first series Emojitown.

In their session, Emojitown: The Power of Building Brands with Digital-First Strategies, they will explore the significant potential of AVOD and digital strategies in driving successful licensing and merchandising campaigns to build brand success for the long-term.

Senior leaders, broadcast and brand licensing experts from Studiocanal (Valérie Rolandez-Barrios), WarnerMedia (Rachel Wakley) and Moonbug (Adam Steel) are also confirmed for a closing-day panel ‘New Streams of Consumerism: How Entertainment is Evolving’, which will look at how brands can create equivalent awareness and maintain visibility on streaming platforms with much shorter marketing windows than traditional entertainment releases.

Kornit Digital and EPIK will present sponsored workshops on DTR (direct to retail) and NFT (Non Fungible Tokens), respectively. Taking place on opening day, ‘How the licensing industry is evolving with direct to retail’ will look at one of the toughest challenges ever to face the traditional licensing model; and on the final day, ‘The NFT playbook’ is a deep dive into everything NFT and digital merchandise.

Each of three days of B&LIS focuses on a different theme, with exclusive keynotes as outlined below:

Day 1 – Trends and retail. Keynote: Innovate, adapt, disrupt: In conversation with Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, IKEA Group chairman

Day 2: CSR and sustainability: Keynote: Why the future will be blue – how to become an agent of change: Smurfs’ Philippe Glorieux and Caroline Petit of the United Nations Regional Information Center.

Day 3: Content & digital transformations: Keynote: The Wayfair boost: leveraging ecomm ads for product programmes, Ankit Mangal, director of Wayfair

“Covering everything from sustainability, to diversity and inclusion, sport, streaming, toys, gaming, NFTs, DTR, bricks n mortar and ecommerce, and the changing consumer trends among younger generations, B&LIS will draw out trends and insight from within and outside the brand and licensing industries to really help delegates drive the future direction of their brands, businesses and stores,” explained Anna Knight, VP Licensing, Informa Markets.

“This agenda will challenge you to take stock, open your mind and think differently, so be prepared for an inspirational three days.”

Delegates from the following companies have already signed up to attend: Aldi, Aykroyd & Sons, Amazon, Asda, Blue’s Clothing, Character World, Chupa Chups, DC Thomson Media, Dreamtex, EMP Merchandising, General Mills, Hachette, HTI Toys, Jaz Toys, Popgear, Primark, Simba Dickie, Tesco, Walt Disney Company, Beanstalk, The Entertainer, Unilever, ViacomCBS and Schwager & Steinlein Verlag.

The longlist of confirmed speakers include:

Rikesh Desai, Licensing Director – Merchandise, Partnerships and Interactive, UK & EMEA Consumer Products, BBC Studios
John Friend, Head of Halo and Xbox Consumer Products, Microsoft
Stephanie Freeman, Senior Global Licensing Manager – Outbound Licensing, The LEGO Group
Gabrielle Sims, Head of Licensing, FatFace
Dan Avener, Chief Executive Officer, MDR Brand Management
Karen Hewitt, Co-Founder, Character.com
Susan Bolsover, Global Licensing and Consumer Products Director – Penguin Ventures, Penguin Random House UK
June Kirkwood, Sustainable Licensing Consultant, Nutmeg Licensing & Sustaineers Consultants
Simon Gresswell, Managing Director, SGLP
Gary Pope, Co-Founder, Kids Industries
Graham Saltmarsh, Managing Director, Licensing International – UK
Ben Roberts, Content Editor, License Global
Claire McClelland, Client Executive – Entertainment, Kantar
Dorian Bloch, Senior Client Director, Market Intelligence, GfK
Helena Mansell-Stopher, Founder, Products of Change
Ian Shepherd, Founder and CEO, The Social Store
Emily Aldridge, Head of Global Licensing, Abysse Corp
Charlotte Delobelle, European Brand Ambassador, Fashion Snoops
Kate French, Senior Category Manager – Softlines (Footwear, Accessories, Home & Gifting), Hasbro
Steven Plackett, Managing Director, Vista Stationery & Print (Carousel Calendars)
Dan Grant, Licensing Director, Danilo
Leonora Aixas, Co-Founder, DNA Brands
Steve Cox, UK Sales Director, Keel Toys
Sue Stanley, Licensing Director, Brans In Limited
Mark Bezodis, Licensing Managing Director, Perry Ellis International
Scott Macrae, Brands, License, New Business and Partnerships Mission Lead, George at Asda
Dan Amos, Head of Gaming and Esports, Difuzed
Marie-Laure Marchand, SVP Global Consumer Products and Business Development, Chefclub
Valérie Rolandez-Barrios, Vice President of IP Licensing & Partnerships, Studiocanal
Jade Snart, Sustainability and Technical Compliance Expert, George at Asda
Alex Balzaretti, Senior Manager, Commonwealth Games Federation Partnership (CGFP)
Kate Gibson, Managing Director, Gibsons Games
Gary Jacobson, Brand Licensing Manager, Tottenham Hotspur
Lisa Hey, Head of Product Development, Character World
Claire Bradbury, Global Account Director, PowerStation Studio
Philippe Glorieux, Head of Marketing, Communications & Family Entertainment, IMPS – The Smurfs
Caroline Petit, Deputy Director, United Nations Regional Information Center (UNRIC)
Maxine Lister, Head of Licensing, Natural History Museum
Rachel Wakley, General Manager UK, WarnerMedia
Paul Hepworth, Vice President, Licensing, Liverpool Football Club
Sabine Hulsman, CEO, The Cookie Company Group
Pamela Stathaki, Global Head of Sustainability, The Marketing Store, Europe
Jeremy Goldsmith, Managing Director, Event Merchandising Ltd
Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, Chairman, Ingka Holding, IKEA Group
Adam Steel, Licensing & Franchise, Moonbug
Gary Ma, COO, Epik
Winston King, VP Partnerships, Epik
Daniel Ruben, Workflow Solutions Director, Kornit Digital
Alistair Mylchreest, Segment Head – Licensors, Kornit Digital
Frédérique Tutt, Global Toys Industry Advisor, NPD
Stuart Lawrence, Author, Silence Is Not an Option: You Can Impact the World for Change
Maarten Weck, EVP & Managing Director, WildBrain CPLG
Rachel Taylor, Commercial Director, WildBrain Spark
Marco Hüsges, CEO & Founder, emoji Company
Ankit Mangal, Director, Wayfair
Gary Grant, Founder and Executive Chairman, The Entertainer
John Baulch, Publisher and Managing Director, Toy World Magazine
Anita Majhu, Senior Licensing & Global Sustainability Manager, BBC Studios
Gianni Romano, Company Director, Lyfcycle

A booming Enterprise | From Star Trek to The Beatles: How Eaglemoss is fuelling the kidult and pop culture market

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Now in its fourth decade serving the sci-fi and fantasy collector’s and collectables market, Eaglemoss has become an authority on the topic of pop culture and kidult sectors, supplying some of the most detailed models to be found on the scene today. But there’s a whole lot more to the company than Star Trek busts. Here, we catch up with head of Hero Collector at Eaglemoss, Ben Robinson to learn more about the company’s plans

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Eaglemoss is a cap with many feathers. A bow with many strings. A Trident with the pre-requisite number of prongs; that being, three. It is a triforce of the geek and pop culture scene, acting not only as a direct to consumer platform, but a fan subscription service, and a distributor to independent and mass retail channels across the UK.

If it’s high end collectables, comic books, licensed gifts, toys, and other consumer products all deeply rooted in the growing kidult and pop culture space that you want – be you a casual collector, an entrenched nerd, or a toy shop tapping into both of those – then Eaglemoss has to be on your list. In fact, it likely already is.

Established in 1975, Eaglemoss pre-empted the ‘kidult’ market by a decade or two, recognising early on, the power that many sci-fi and fantasy properties had to capture the imagination of generations to come and firmly establish itself as a leader in the collectables field. Since the publication of its first ‘partwork’, the business has been in a state of continued expansion, and today holds claim to having produced, marketed, and distributed more than 150 collections across more than 30 markets over five continents and in 13 different languages.

Spanning London, Paris, New York, Moscow, Sao Paolo, and Warsaw, Eaglemoss is well-placed to tap into the global ‘kidult’ and pop culture sector as its demands broaden to include more innovative and engaged consumer products. This year, for example, the company is tapping into the demand for pop culture-inspired advent calendars, an extension of the toy advent calendar trend that has been gaining momentum here in the UK over the last few years.

Here, we catch up with Ben Robinson, head of Hero Collector at Eaglemoss to discuss the company’s latest releases, its plans for the growing kidult market, and what the Eaglemoss name brings to a sector brimming with superfans.

Hello Ben, thank you for talking to us and indulging our pop culture obsession. To kick us off, can you give us a bit of background on Eaglemoss? Who are you, what audience do you cater to, and for long have you been doing it?

Eaglemoss was founded in 1975 and is a global leader in licensed collections. We have a long history of figurines, die-cast models, and partwork magazines. We’re lucky enough to work with characters and licenses from Marvel, DC, CBS, AMC, BBC, Disney, James Bond, Universal, and many more. Our core audience is built up of fans and collectors who care passionately about the brands.

A motley crew, if ever there was one. Can you tell us what Eaglemoss is bringing to the UK pop culture space in that case? How does it encompass that market and ignite the passion within the UK scene?

The overarching objective of the company has always been to create products that have real appeal for fans. It’s very important to us that we don’t just do the obvious products but create things that are authentic and have the kind of detail that fans appreciate. 

We are experts ourselves and work closely with licensors throughout the development process to make sure that the end product is not just high quality, but authentic and show all the love we have for the brands ourselves.

The adult market – or ‘kidult’ space – has seen steady growth here in the UK over the past few years, and last year accounted for 27 per cent of total spend on toys (according to NPD). How has this been reflected in sales growth at Eaglemoss? What strength of the UK’s ‘kidult’ sector have you witnessed?

We’ve specialised in the adult collector market for decades so its success isn’t a surprise to us. What we have found is that the growth of online sales is making it easier to reach those grownup fans. I think it’s fair to say it’s often been difficult for them to find products that show the level of care and attention that’s important to them. There’s a generation of people who grew up with these amazing properties. They haven’t given up on them as they’ve got older but their expectations have only gone up. They want products that are really designed for them. That’s something we pride ourselves on understanding. 

What do you think has been key to driving the growth in this space? What is it that businesses like Eaglemoss bring to the table to give that market credibility? 

More than anything it’s about our own level of fandom. The people we sell to can smell anything cynical a mile off. We’re really careful to make sure our products feel just right, whether that’s a specific detail on a super hero’s costume, the exact colour of a die-cast spaceship or including some detail that a fan will instantly recognise, and appreciate. Those are the kind of things that only someone who knows and loves the brand as much as the fans, would know to include. 

Can we talk through the Eaglemoss portfolio for 2021? What are the key launches from you guys this year across the pop culture portfolio? We hear you have a range of advent calendars launching – can you talk us through these?

We’re entering the advent calendars arena for the first time this year, which is a very exciting time for the company.  We’re launching these fantastic introductions with three iconic brands: Doctor Who, Star Trek and The Beatles; with each one featuring detailed, high-quality collectable items hiding behind each of the calendar doors. They’re really nicely designed and we think they’ll bring a smile to every fan’s face. 

The Doctor Who calendar has a classic TARDIS design which opens out to reveal its 24 doors, the Star Trek offering takes the distinctive form of a Borg cube/ship (as seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation) and The Beatles inspired calendar comes in the form of four trays encased within an outer shell featuring iconic Beatles artwork. They’re just things that make you happy. 

Why has the advent calendar market become an important one for you guys, and what will you be bringing to the space? What sort of growth of the market are you expecting to see in the coming years?

We always want to make new stuff, and we know we can bring something special to the calendar market by targeting collectors. Every item in these calendars has been specially designed and is exclusive. We’ve brought all our expertise and love for these brands to bear. 

One of the things we hear a lot is that people are nervous about buying things for fans because they think they might already have it. The great thing about these advent calendars is that you can absolutely guarantee that the content is brand new, and there is stuff in there that will make true fans smile. That and Christmas are a pretty good combination. We’re so pleased  with the final products, so we’re looking forward to revealing them to fans.

What retail partners are you guys currently working with? What are your plans for the UK retail scene? 

One of the unique things about Eaglemoss is that we offer an omnichannel solution – with bestsellers sold through key retail partners, like HMV, adding to sales through our own e-shop and high-end model kits through our subscription service. We try to cater for different audiences across the various channels and because of our product development heritage we’re able to play across a wide range of categories. 

Our retail expansion is going well in the US where we just have our first launch with Walmart and in other European markets through our network of distributors.

So, Ben, can you tell us what the next big step for Eaglemoss might be here in the UK?

We’re super excited about the next 12 months with plenty of new licences and product lines launching. We’ve only just dipped our toe in the water with our retail range and despite the difficulties that Covid-19 has brought we’ve still been able to expand our business, which is testimony to the products we’re bringing through. 

And just before we let you get back to the day job, is there anything you’d like to add?

Alongside our advent calendar launches, we’ve also got some really exciting products coming. We’ve got some classic sci-fi brands in The Expanse and Stargate. We’re just launching a new Hero Collector Museum made up of detailed replicas that are designed to sit on yourself and we’re also growing our horror offering. 

We have some amazing subscription offers that mean you can build extraordinary models of the Eleanor Mustang, the Ghostbusters Ecto 1, the Titanic and the Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation. There’s more Star Trek on TV than ever so we’re excited by the opportunities that will bring. 

We’re also developing Marvel statues based on the Disney + shows, so 2021 is shaping up to be a busy and exciting year for us.

Eric Carle’s “timeless tales and unique artwork will delight and inspire for years to come”

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Rocket Licensing has joined the many to express condolences over the death of Eric Carle, the author and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, who died on May 23rd aged 91.

A statement issued by the family of the US author read: “In the light of the moon, holding on to a good star, a painter is now travelling across the night sky.”

Carle’s most famous book tells the story of a caterpillar with a giant appetite that, having been first published in 1969, has gone on to sell more than 50 million copies around the world and been translated in 62 languages. 

Not only that, but the title has built an enduring reputation among global audiences that spans generations, upheld by a robust licensing programme that spans categories and continents. The brand’s European activity is overseen by the UK’s own Rocket Licensing.

Carle’s son Rolfe told the New York Times that his father had died in Northampton, Massachusetts, from kidney failure. 

Rocket Licensing issued its own statement via social media this morning, saying:

“It is with great sadness that we hear that Eric Carle, author and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, passed away on 23rd May at the age of 91. Eric’s timeless tales and unique artwork will continue to delight and inspire for years to come. #RememberingEricCarle”

Speaking with the BBC in 2019, Carle believed that the enduring popularity of his The Very Hungry Caterpillar came down to its ‘fundamental message of hope.’

“For many years, my publisher and editor and I did not know the reason for The Very Hungry Caterpillar being so popular,” he said. “But over time, I’ve come to feel that it is a book of hope. And it is a hopeful feeling that has made it a book readers of all ages enjoy and remember.”

It is estimated that one copy of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar is sold every 15 seconds.

Finding Neverland | How adult fans are driving toy sales across the UK

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There’s no shame in admitting it, toys, games, gaming, and play doesn’t have to have an age limit; something that a growing portion of the UK population can attest to. Last year, the UK’s kidult market hit new heights, fuelled by a pandemic that left grown ups and kids at heart with a lot more time on their hands to revisit their old passions. Given the audience size, it’s a market that can’t be stopped

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A factoid that gets overheard often when you spend any length of time within a city setting, is that you’re at no point, more than seven feet away from a mouse. The same could probably be said for Funko Pop! figures.

In fact, the statistic is likely somewhat higher. Higher still if you swap out specifics for the term now used to categorise a demographic of people that appears to be expanding at an alarming rate. If the most recent NPD figures are anything to go by, the UK’s ‘kidult’ sector, that is the adult audience of toy fans, appears to be, well, breeding like mice.

Accounting for a staggering 27 per cent of the total toy sales here in the UK for the year end 2020, the kidult sector is one that can be, by any means, no longer ignored.

What started decades ago, with the advent of the pop culture consumer products scene has shifted from an underground following of ‘ultra-nerdom’ to a mainstream – if not staple – sector within the UK toy space. Time was, tell a room full of adults about your collection of Transformers toys or your Mage level in the latest tabletop campaign, you’d be faced with stifled chortles and a lifetime of social isolation. Today, those self-confessed nerds are our celebrities, our pop icons, and our sports stars. And that’s OK. These days, when it comes to the topic of adult collectors of toys games, there really is no kidding around.

Take the pop culture gift and consumer products specialist, Fanattik, for instance. In its last financial year report, the firm found itself up around 123 per cent. We’re all aware that 2020 will forever be classed as a ‘freak’ year for sales figures, with online shopping helping drive sales in sectors that wouldn’t necessarily be replicated on the high street, but how would you account for the 40 per cent growth, year on year, that Fanattik has enjoyed each year before Covid-19?

“Traditionally, we never supplied toy retail, our focus was always on the gift trade,” Fanattik’s managing director, Anthony Marks, tells ToyNews. “But enquiries from the toy sector dramatically increased last year, retailers were looking for something different to add to their online offering, and the ones that trialed our range never looked back.”

It’s become a common narrative across the toy industry that the kidult audience is being recognised and catered to at a growing pace by companies and retailers once more aligned with the traditional children’s audience. There’s a reason that the Toymaster catalogue has started including Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons, just as it has welcomed Games Workshop into the fold in recent years, and why Pokemon Trading Card Game sales are in the midst of a world-wide resurgence, and why the local toy shop is just a likely to stock miniatures painting kits as it is Jellycat plush toys for pre-schoolers.

The audience for toys today is multi-generational.

“The genie is out of the bottle,” exclaims Marks. “Just look at the success Playmobil has had with its Back to the Future range. The retailers we are speaking with throughout Europe say that they will always have shelf-space for the latest blockbuster, but the iconic film and gaming brands cannot be ignored anymore.”

Late last month, Fanattik released details of a major new partnership with Hasbro and its Wizards of the Coast segment through which it will launch a range of licensed gifts and collectables based on its Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons gaming franchises. It’s a marker of success for the firm that has managed to carve a reputable name for itself in a market notoriously protective of its favoured IP. Marks has high hopes that the range will replicate the success retailers saw with Fanattik’s Yu-Gi-Oh! ranges when the collection launches in Q3 this year.

“We do not go for the latest film or game release, it has to be a brand with multi-generational appeal, an existing fanbase that
due to the market’s focus on the latest game or film release, finds itself being ignored,” says Marks.

“The Kidult sector has been growing year on year, and the pandemic gave it a major push forward. With no new film releases, for example, fans were going back and watching their old favourites and introducing those films to family members who missed it, or were too young to appreciate them the first time around.

“There are also millions of new gamers that have been created by having to spend more time at home, and that’s an audience that cannot be ignored either.”

This article – and a more in depth look at some of the firms taking on the ‘kidult’ sector – appears in the Spring/Summer issue of ToyNews.