Tag Archives: lockdown

Funko’s Loungefly brand sees sales surge and global growth of 25 per cent

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While it’s true enough that the world’s pandemic crisis saw some of the biggest forms of live entertainment hit the pause button for the best part of the year, the likes of Disney’s portfolio of theme parks that draw all manner of pop culture enthusiasts year on year, the desire among fans to buy into their favourite brands hasn’t been diminished.

At Loungefly, the lifestyle and gifting division of the pop culture specialist, Funko, 2020 has seen sales ‘go through the roof.’ The business has told Licensing.biz that it has seen a massive surge in numbers of sales, amid a 25 per cent global growth of its branded products portfolio, proof that the pandemic hasn’t dampened the world’s culture of fandom.

Global sales at Loungefly are now estimated to generate up to $100,000,000 by 2021, while Truffle Shuffle, one of the company’s key retailers in the lifestyle space, has confirmed that it now manages to sell somewhere between 2,000 to 3,000 Loungefly bags per month on average.

Head of softlines, Funko EMEA, Rich Smith

“Sales this year have been incredible, and growth has exceeded expectations, with all things considered,” Rich Smith, head of softlines, Funko EMEA, told Licensing.biz. “We have seen huge success behind some of the Disney properties which are not as mainstream, such as Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Pixar’s Wall:E. Our evergreen properties such as Mickey, Star Wars, and Disney Princess have also continued to serve us well too.”

It’s according to Smith that demand in the pop culture lifestyle space this year has, in part, been fuelled by an unsatisfied itch among the fandom space; one that has been exacerbated by the closure of events and destinations like theme parks or conventions throughout the year. As a result, the scene’s audience of fans have taken to engaging with their favourite brands via other means.

“Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the gigantic fanbase who normally save up and visit the Disney Parks haven’t been able to and have therefore spent the money they would normally spend at the parks on product from retailers across Europe and Loungefly,” said Smith.

“Loungefly opens Funko up to a different customer base and vice versa for Loungefly. So many of the fans are wanting to get more product that ties into their collections. The beauty of the Funko umbrella is that you can buy a Marvel backpack, a Marvel t-shirt, a Marvel mug, a Marvel keyring, a Marvel advent calendar, and so forth, all under one roof, with consistent imagery: the perfect collection.”

Among the best-selling items within the Loungefly portfolio this year, it has been the mini backpack range that has stood out as its leading line. Across this range – and akin to its collectables business – Funko’s Loungefly works with a broad licensing portfolio that spans the likes of Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Warner Bros, DC, SpongeBob SquarePants, Hello Kitty, Pusheen, MTV, Clueless, and beyond.

“Loungefly is unique as we are a brand who collaborates with some of the world’s most loved licenses,” continued Smith. “We will continue to grow our offering and will continue to add more licenses to our already strong portfolio. We like to look for a license with an impeccable following, and who fits within our brand goals. They also, of course, need to appeal to our fanbase, who we listen to – a lot.”

Like the rest of the waking world, this year has seen Loungefly witness its biggest consumer trend within the online shopping space, and currently boasts a network of retailers 90 per cent made up of purely online players.

“To build on this from here, we will continue to push growth across the EMEA region with some key retail partners, as well as continue to expand our offering on our very own online store,” said Smith.

“Look out for a ton of new exclusives in 2021.”

Funko sees 14 per cent sales dip but CEO Brian Mariotti praises global team in a ‘challenging 2020’

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Despite a decrease of 14 per cent in net sales in its third quarter financials year on year, Funko’s CEO Brian Mariotti has praised the efforts of the pop culture specialist’s international teams in its executions throughout a challenging 2020, and believes the firm is ‘well-positioned for the Holiday season’ with its most diverse product offering to date.

The company’s chief executive has also expressed optimism for the outfit’s Q4 2020 performance, citing expanded presence within key retailers as it makes plans to “remain agile in the face of today’s dynamic environment.”

Funko saw net sales decrease 14 per cent to $191.2 million in the third quarter of 2020 compared to $223.3 million in the same period the year prior. The decline has been primarily attributed to the slower recovery from Covid-19 impacts within the domestic specialty channel and European region.

These impacts were partially offset by growth within the domestic third party e-commerce and mass-market channel as well as the Company’s own direct-to-consumer business. Funko’s direct to consumer e-commerce sales increased more than 150 per cent compared to the year prior.

Meanwhile, Funko’s Loungefly branded products grew 25 per cent compared to 2019, driven by the momentum of Loungefly.com and within wholesale channels.

In the third quarter of 2020, the number of active properties was 715, which represents a 14 per cent increase from the third quarter of 2019.

On a geographical basis, net sales in the United States decreased four per cent to $140.9 million. Net sales internationally decreased 34 per cent to $50.3 million, reflecting more significant impacts from Covid-19 primarily within the European region.

On a product category basis, net sales of figures decreased 18 per cent to $145.0 million. Net sales of other products decreased one per cent to $46.2 million, reflecting strength in Loungefly branded products which increased 25 per cent compared to the prior year due to strong momentum on Loungefly.com as well as at wholesale retailers.

“Our teams have executed well in 2020 despite the challenges presented by the pandemic,” said Brian Mariotti, chief executive officer. “In the third quarter, we outperformed revenue expectations, reflecting strength within our domestic mass market and digital channels.

“We also maintained strong gross margins and cost controls, which allowed us to deliver improved profitability. The quarter was highlighted by our successful evergreen programs, expanded product offerings and enhanced e-commerce capabilities, all of which are enabling us to drive increased engagement with our fans around the globe.

“While we expect to face continued headwinds in specific channels and regions in the fourth quarter, we believe we are well positioned for the holiday season with our most diverse product offering yet and an expanded presence within key retail partners. Looking further ahead, we are staying focused on our four key strategies and remaining agile in the face of today’s dynamic environment.”

The Company anticipates that effects from the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to impact sales in the fourth quarter of 2020 and currently expects net sales on a percentage basis to be down 10 per cent to eight per cent compared to prior year.

Lockdown II: Primark expects further loss of £375m in sales after initial shop closures cause 60 per cent slump

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Store closures at the hands of the coronavirus pandemic have seen sales and profit at the international retailer, Primark slump by as much as 60 per cent as reported in its full year financials ending September 12 2020. The value retailer has seen adjusted operating profit plunge to £362 million, while full year revenues fell 24 per cent to £5.9 billion.

These figures have been driven by a total loss of sales in the third quarter as stores were forced to shut under government-enforced lockdowns around the world – particularly in the UK, Primark’s biggest market. The retailer has been one to feel the impact of the pandemic the hardest, having no online operations in place at all.

But despite its trading performance, Primark has still managed to open 12 new stores in the financial year, bringing it total portfolio to 384 stores globally.

According to the Retail Gazette, Primark’s trading performance impacted the overall full year figures for parent company AB Foods, which reported a 40 per cent drop in operating profit to £810 million, while group revenues declined 12 per cent to £13.93 billion on an actual currency basis.

The retailer will now have to re-live the effects of a national lockdown, following the announcement over the weekend that England will enter its second country-wide lockdown from Thursday this week, closing all non-essential shops until early December. Yesterday AB Foods said it expected Primark to lose £375 million worth of sales as a result of the second lockdown period from November 5 to December 2.

AB Foods said the new restrictions would have a “significant” impact on Primark, although it still expected sales and profits in the retailer during the current financial year to be higher.

“I am proud of how our people have responded to the many challenges presented by Covid-19,” AB Foods chairman George Weston said. “Throughout, we have provided safe, nutritious food under the most extraordinary conditions, proving the value and resilience of our supply chains.

“Following a three-month closure, Primark delivered a robust performance, receiving an overwhelmingly positive response when it safely welcomed customers back to its stores.

“Uncertainty about temporary store closures in the short-term remains, but sales since reopening to the year-end of £2 billion demonstrate the relevance and appeal of our value-for-money offering.”

In bloom: Gardening specialist Primus on the growing potential and demand for licensing in the back garden

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With the increased time spent at home, with family, and the surge of the UK’s population turning to the garden space and gardening hobby as a means of exercise and ‘back to nature’ entertainment, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that the market has become one filled with potential for the licensing space to tap into.

It was only at the end of last month that garden and gardening specialist, Primus, took home a double award win at Glee Gathering, where its range of Peppa Pig garden ornaments triumphed in both the Best of British Award and Best Garden Decoration Award categories.

The win underscored an interesting and undeniable shift in the landscape; one that Steve Perry, head of marketing at Primus, reaffirms when he tells Licensing.biz that “the garden industry desperately wants to see more licensed products in the marketplace.” It’s something the licensee spotted when it first struck up partnerships with Aardman for Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit garden ornaments, or with RSPB for its hand crafted wooden bird gifting range, and continues to see today with the success of its latest partnership with Hasbro: the market for brands in the gardening space is currently blooming.

Licensing.biz catches up with Perry, head of marketing at Primus to explore the market, why the hobby is finding younger and younger audiences, and why now is the right time for the licensing industry to be sowing the seeds for a fruitful venture in the back garden.

Hi Steve, it’s good to explore the garden with you and congratulations on the recent award wins. Seeing a licensed product take the win across two categories, how reflective do you think this is of current trends in the garden/gardening market?

I think the garden industry desperately wants to see more licensed products, having our range of RSPB hand carved wooden birds shortlisted for the same award last year also backs this up. The judges are looking for something new and original and licensed products in this category hasn’t been done like this before (other than us in other ranges).

After a very successful run from our Shaun the Sheep licensed products we decided that we would expand our licensing portfolio, so I reached out to the licensing agency behind the IP on the idea of translating the ever popular Peppa Pig characters into an ornamental form suitable for the home and garden, which they were incredibly receptive to. A deal was soon made and then after a lengthy development stage the final products have been released and all are in agreement that they are fantastic, the initial market feedback speaks for itself.

It’s here that the licensing category manager at Hasbro, Zahara Gul told us that given that the show is ‘very much about first experiences’, the team is “looking forward to working with Primus to extend the garden offering to get kids involved with nature.”

You guys mention other licensed lines in Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit. What potential do you see for the world of licensing in the garden and gardening market?

We feel that brand licensing in the garden sector is a large growth area, you don’t see the same kind of licensing activity like you do in other sectors and licensors now are definitely starting to realise this. In particular we feel this is the case with younger audiences who are heavily bought into brands and characters and no doubt in part why our new range Peppa Pig and friends did so well at this year’s Glee Gathering winning two awards – Best of British and Best Garden Decoration categories.

So far the response from the trade has been the best we’ve ever had to a new licensed product collection. We knew Peppa Pig would be popular but we doubled our initial order quantity purely from the demand generated by our pre-order catalogue. We know our retailers’ customers are going to love these ornaments, as well as the more than 200 other new products for the 2021 season. We loved them from the start but we were unsure what the reaction would be from the trade and customers.

Being shortlisted for best new product at the Glee Gathering 2020 and with the volume of pre-orders coming in we are glad everyone likes them as much as we do and I think this is simply going to open more doors for the world of licensing and the gardening market. It is certainly pivotal to our plans going forward.

What sort of increase in interest in gardens and gardening have you seen in terms of customers and audiences as a result of the UK lockdown measures? Has this fueled growth in the market?

Like many industries, the current pandemic has certainly had an impact on the gardening sector, but thankfully it’s potentially had a very positive long term impact in this particular sector, The Horticultural Trades Association states that ‘almost three million gardeners sprung up this year as a result of lockdowns.”

The pandemic has created a new generation of enthusiasts who have found the joy that can be had from their garden and we hope people continue to embrace this new found love of gardening especially the younger, family demographic we are seeing a big increase in.

Arguably the success of the Peppa Pig range suggests that more families are taking it up as an ‘at home’ hobby. Would this be the main market for licensed garden products? What do you look for in a licensing partnership or property to work with?

To this point garden gift and decor has been our area of focus, I would agree that part of Peppa’s success has been due to the family appeal but there is a huge amount of scope to be had with brand licensing in the garden sector.

For us, when choosing a license partner to work with we do not necessarily look for trends or fads, instead we look at characters and brands that have stood the test of time and can almost be seen as “classic”, certainly this is the case for our Aardman collection, with Wallace and Gromit having their 30th anniversary last year.

Unlike with plush for toy industry where licenses are based heavily on what’s hot right now, I think the gardening market appreciate heritage and something that is lasting.

What does the current licensed range at Primus span? Have you got plans to build on this? What plans have you got for tapping into the younger audiences?

Currently Primus has focused heavily on decor and gift lines such as Aardman metal garden ornaments, our RSPB hand carved wooden birds and now Peppa and friends, garden decor is the core of what we distribute at Primus with over 500 other non-licensed products in the category. However we do see that there is a real movement right now to encourage young gardeners and get them into the hobby from a very young age.

There’s a huge amount of positive experiences that can be had by introducing children to gardening and research suggests children perform better at school if they’re involved with gardening, as well as it being a healthy and active hobby as opposed to video games and other not so stimulating interests’ younger generations can have.

Working with our existing licensors and potentially some new partners we feel that Primus could help to lead the way by using some of their favourite characters to help inspire them to engage into this new activity and get a lot of joy from it.

Chefclub to serve up first children’s TV series in France as lockdown fuels new cooking craze

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The popular cooking brand, Chefclub, has signed an exclusive agreement with the French pay-TV channel, TeleToon+ for the first children’s television series Chefclub Kids, We Have Fun in the Kitchen. The new series will begin broadcasting this month, making its debut on October 12th, during the Week of Taste.

The full series will be available on the SVOD platform myCANAL.

Chefclub is recognised as a world leading producer of culinary videos on social networks, with more than a billion views per month worldwide, including more than 200 million in France. It aims to engage viewers with fun and easy recipes that has already inspired a community of more than 90 million followers across the globe, including 8.6 million in France.

Chefclub Kids, We Have Fun in the Kitchen, aims to serve up recipes in a series that offers a ‘cooking spectacle’ to motivate children to take their turn in the kitchen. Through it, children discover a variety of healthy recipes that have been created especially for them.

Chefclub has previously outlined its mission to ‘transform the kitchen into a game.’ Guided by the Chefclub brigade, children will be immersed into a universe designed to help them discover healthy eating habits and cooking autonomously.

These 21 5-minute episodes are also available for international distribution, giving Chefclub programs a new and even more extensive network of broadcasting.

Marie-Laure Marchand, SVP, global consumer products and business development at Chefclub, said: “We are very pleased to collaborate with the Canal+ group and its children’s channel TéléToon+ in France. Following the craze for cooking during lockdown, Chefclub’s cooking videos have known an unprecedented success, particularly the children’s vertical, Chefclub Kids. It seemed natural to us to offer a format adapted for television that will allow us to promote our brand on all media.”

Barratt and Icefresh retro ice cream launch brings joy to a locked down nation

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A licensing partnership between confectionery brand Barratt and Icefresh has surpassed sales expectations during lockdown, thanks to the launch of an ice cream range targeted at retro sweet fans.

The range of four ice lollies and an ice cream tub was made available exclusively at Iceland this summer, with ice cream versions of childhood favourites Fruit Salad, Dip Dab, Flump, Black Jack and Wham.

The partnership was brokered by brand licensing specialist, The Point.1888, which is now seeking new partners for the Barratt brand following the increased awareness that has been generated through the collaboration.

The fun-filled range entered all of Iceland’s more than 1000 stores nationwide from April 20th, a month into the UK’s lockdown experience. Once on sale the range repeatedly sold out, with more than 1.3m units sold in the first 12 weeks, despite the strict social distancing measures and without a significant launch investment.

Valeo Foods, owner of the Barratt brand, has stated its belief that the success was linked to ‘a strong national affection for a familiar British brand we have all grown up with’ and the fun and escapism it brings to consumers.

Russell Tanner, marketing and category director at Valeo Foods, said: “During a challenging time for the nation, the supermarket shop became the only time many people left their homes.

“The Barratt ice cream range became a sell-out success not just because of the fantastic lockdown weather, but because shoppers were seeking small and cost-effective ways to bring fun into their lives at a time when that wasn’t easy to come by.

“Although this was a brand-new product in freezers, buyers trusted the Barratt brand for a taste sensation that would help to infuse their lockdown summer with joy. As a result we’re thrilled to be emerging from a challenging trading period with an army of new and reinvigorated brand fans.”

Sarah Crimes, head of marketing at The Point.1888, added: “Against the backdrop of Covid, to reach this type of result is amazing and is a testament to the strength of the Barratt brand. As experts at bringing licensing partners together, we’re thrilled at a job well done and are now ready to take advantage of the increased interest in Barratt from retailers to explore more collaborations in the near future.”

Icefresh was responsible for translating Barratt’s range into the ice cream experience.

Lucy Wright, brand manager, said: “As we developed this new range we knew that sweet-lovers would be unforgiving of anything that didn’t truly recreate that joyful feeling of enjoying a sweetie in the playground. We kept coming back to the original sweets and refining the recipe until we were confident that we had a product that was completely true to the Barratt brand – for example, the Dip Dab ice lolly even comes with sherbet for dipping.

“Thanks to the strength of the Barratt fan base and the quality of the ice creams, this has been our highest performing licensed ice cream launch to date, with more than 1.3 million boxes of ice cream sold in the first 12 weeks.”

An earned media campaign whetted the public’s appetite for the frozen treats. After samples were sent to journalists up and down the country, national coverage rolled in with more than 40 mentions secured across titles including The Sun, Daily Express, Metro and You magazine.

Meanwhile a colourful and creative social launch delivered exceptional ROI, with the product seen by 1.3m people and a quarter of a million video views tracked.

Iceland, it turns out, was equally as thrilled with the range performance. Sally Bentley, senior buyer, commented: “We always knew that Barratt and Iceland would be a great fit and as expected, the ice creams flew out of our freezers as fast as they came in. Our store staff were big fans of the range, and were outstanding advocates when it came to promoting the product in store.”

Discussions are ongoing to extend the range in 2021, with more exciting flavours and formats added to maintain consumer interest.