Bandai celebrates 40 years in business

With its 40th anniversary coming up on 29 April, Bandai UK is celebrating four decades of bringing some of the world’s most iconic brands to the UK market.

Having successfully set up as a UK arm in 1982 for its Japanese parent company, Bandai UK launched trading with its foundations steeped firmly in the boys’ action figure market, gaining significant success with the likes of big-name properties such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers.  Over recent years, however, the business has undertaken a period of realignment to establish itself as a top multi-category player within the toy industry.

Forty years on and Bandai UK possesses an enviable portfolio of leading brands and ranges within its key divisions – Toy, Collector, Own IP, and Third-Party Distribution – all equally fundamental to the company’s early and ongoing success. Primary IPs include the best-selling Tamagotchi, Pac-Man and hit anime series Dragon Ball, while distribution lines such as CoComelon, Miraculous, McFarlane, and National Geographic are proving to be hugely successful inclusively within their associated categories and the overall toy market.

“It’s a massively exciting time to be at Bandai UK,” says Nic Aldridge, Bandai UK’s Managing Director. “Our approach is to continually challenge and evolve to remain relevant, and innovative, especially as the market becomes increasingly competitive. We are now well-established as a multi-category toy company and our recent positioning as the No.15 toy company (February 2022 NPD) assures us that this is the right approach for growth and driving forward the business. We’re looking forward to celebrating with our partners, retailers, and consumers, and planning ahead to thrive for years to come.”

 

Bandai celebrates 40 years in business

With its 40th anniversary coming up on 29 April, Bandai UK is celebrating four decades of bringing some of the world’s most iconic brands to the UK market.

Having successfully set up as a UK arm in 1982 for its Japanese parent company, Bandai UK launched trading with its foundations steeped firmly in the boys’ action figure market, gaining significant success with the likes of big-name properties such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers.  Over recent years, however, the business has undertaken a period of realignment to establish itself as a top multi-category player within the toy industry.

Forty years on and Bandai UK possesses an enviable portfolio of leading brands and ranges within its key divisions – Toy, Collector, Own IP, and Third-Party Distribution – all equally fundamental to the company’s early and ongoing success. Primary IPs include the best-selling Tamagotchi, Pac-Man and hit anime series Dragon Ball, while distribution lines such as CoComelon, Miraculous, McFarlane, and National Geographic are proving to be hugely successful inclusively within their associated categories and the overall toy market.

“It’s a massively exciting time to be at Bandai UK,” says Nic Aldridge, Bandai UK’s Managing Director. “Our approach is to continually challenge and evolve to remain relevant, and innovative, especially as the market becomes increasingly competitive. We are now well-established as a multi-category toy company and our recent positioning as the No.15 toy company (February 2022 NPD) assures us that this is the right approach for growth and driving forward the business. We’re looking forward to celebrating with our partners, retailers, and consumers, and planning ahead to thrive for years to come.”

 

Manga and anime powerhouse Viz Media appoints new VP of consumer products

The anime and manga powerhouse, Viz Media, has appointed the former Netflix Consumer Products director, Laura Takaragawa to the role of vice president consumer products, a newly created position for the business as it looks to increase its presence in the licensing and merchandising space.

The new role will see Takaragawa manage licensed merchandise and collaborations, interactive and digital games, location-based engagement, and promotions across all of its properties. She will report into Viz Media’s senior vice president of animation, Brian Ige.

With almost ten years’ experience in licensing and consumer products positions, Takaragawa has previously held roles with Sanrio – where she was vice president of licensing – National Geographic, as vice president of consumer products, and most recently, head of licensing at Netflix Consumer Products.

“Her vast experience in cross-platform licensing and brand storytelling, combined with her content knowledge and passion, make her the ideal leader for this role,” said VIZ Media’s chief marketing officer Brad Woods.