Rubies promotes Graham Gardiner to Commercial Director

As part of its renewed strategy and continued business reinvigoration, costume specialist Rubies has announced that Graham Gardiner, a long-term and well-respected employee of the company, has been promoted to Commercial Director for the UK, Central and Northern Europe.

Graham will oversee new business, sales strategy and product life cycle, elements of which he is already keenly invested in through his current role as General Manager EMEA.

Since joining Rubies in 2006, Graham has been pivotal to business growth, retail relationship management and sales across the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, CIS and Asia. He is also responsible for warehousing expansions and B2B commercial opportunities.

With over 30 years of experience in the international toy industry and licensing, Graham has worked for some of the biggest names in the market, including Hasbro, Mattel and Kids2. His skills and responsibilities range from European Domestic to FOB business.

Mike O’Connell, Managing Director at Rubies, says: “Commercially, Rubies couldn’t be in better hands. With the combination of over 30 years of experience in the industry and 16 at Rubies, Graham understands the company direction and 365 business plans thoroughly. A natural evolution from his existing role as General Manager EMEA, the role of Commercial Director will be the driving force behind Rubies’ new forward-thinking vision whilst spearheading new trade initiatives.”

 

Rubies expands Wizarding World range with new character costumes and accessories

Rubies have helped to bring the magic of the Wizarding World to life through their range of officially licensed costumes for years, being trusted by fans and customers alike to help re-create the Wizarding World in anyone’s home. Now, the phenomenally successful range of bewitching costumes is expanding, with brand-new character costumes including fan-favourites Hagrid, Luna Lovegood and Professor Dumbledore, and Hogwarts House dress-up and accessories.

Rubies have continued to produce some of the most iconic costumes and Hogwarts uniforms from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film series, in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products. From Gryffindor and Slytherin Robes to character costumes like Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, the costumes have proved to be some of Rubies’ most successful lines for children and adults alike, especially around seasonal events like World Book Day and Halloween.

Rubies is now welcoming a whole host of brand-new ‘inspired by’ costumes, with tutus featuring enchanting metallic Hogwarts House designs, a Hogwarts cape with shimmering detail, and favourite characters like Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Luna Lovegood, Hagrid and Professor Snape. Children will be able to expand their collection of favourite characters from the series, with a wide range of these costumes available both now and in time for Halloween.

Mike O’Connell, Rubies Managing Director, says “As one of our most successful licenses, Harry Potter and the wider Wizarding World has stood the test of time, being popular with generation after generation of children. Our relationship with Warner Bros. Consumer Products has also gone from strength to strength and we are thrilled to be trusted by the global enterprise with their stellar portfolio of characters. Now, we welcome a new collection to one of our top-selling licenses with costumes that have long been sought-after by fans, including the beloved characters Luna Lovegood and Hagrid. We are incredibly excited to see fans’ reactions to these costumes.”

Order your costumes soon from rubiesuk.com.

Rubies and Disney team for Star Wars campaign

Rubies is once again collaborating with long-term licensors Star Wars and Disney to bring into the spotlight a brand-new media and PR campaign, ‘The Gift of Play’.

The Gift of Play is a new campaign hosted on a dedicated website [disneythegiftofplay.co.uk], which is entrenched in Disney’s nearly 100-year legacy of creative storytelling, to encourage adults and children to have more shared imaginative playtime together.

The campaign, which will see a takeover of Rubies social channels and website, has the aim of getting people inspired through unique and engaging Star Wars content and excited for the upcoming releases on Disney+, as well as encouraging consumers to enjoy gifting toys and costumes as a means to play and bond.

To explore the power of the Force, the campaign will see entirely new media created for Rubies social media as well as a strong influencer and press marketing campaigns and retail takeovers.

Rubies Star Wars range in support of The Gift of Play with specially selected costumes includes The Mandalorian, Boba Fett, Deluxe Darth Vader, Grogu, Poe X-Wing Fighter, Rey and even an inflatable Jabba the Hutt, with the majority available in both children’s and adults’ sizes so the whole family can have some Star Wars-themed fun.

Fran Hales, Head of Content and Marketing, says: “We are thrilled to be part of The Gift of Play, working closely with Lucasfilm and Disney on their innovative and exhilarating marketing campaign. The Gift of Play campaign is an opportunity not just to showcase our products, but also to promote dress-up as a key part of Disney’s legacy for creative storytelling, while immersing both adults and children in the shared world of imaginative playtime together.”

Star Wars-inspired costumes by Rubies are available to order now on rubiesuk.com. Stay tuned on Rubies official social media channels to see the intergalactic takeover soon, at @rubiesuk on Facebook and @rubies_uk on Instagram.

Rubies extends Fireman Sam license

Costume manufacturer Rubies has announced the continuation of its successful partnership with leading global toy company, Mattel, Inc., as they announce the extension of the Fireman Sam license.

The new deal signifies the strong relationship built over the years between Rubies and Mattel, as they look to expand their dress-up portfolio across EMEA.

With over 30 years of legacy, the Fireman Sam brand holds a special place in the hearts of millions of children and adults across the globe, with the series airing in over 100 countries. Rubies will continue to manufacture and distribute its current styles along with the addition of exciting new designs to the range for 2022.

Tracey Devine-Tyley, Head of Portfolio and Licensing at Rubies, says: “Our partnership with Mattel and its subsidiaries, responsible for the creation and continued success of the Fireman Sam brand over the years, is set to grow exponentially following this extension. The Rescue Team have been educating young children for over 30 years on the importance of teamwork and safety and we are proud of the values it upholds as they align with our own company morals which we wish to share and impart on our youngest audience, children.

“We are happy to be able to continue to provide youngsters with dress-up that encourages them to act in the heroic and ambitious way that the rescue team of Pontypandy do. Part of our company mission is to inspire children to be the best they can be with our costumes and therefore we are delighted to be able to continue doing this.”

Helen Genia, Head of UK Licensing and Hardlines EMEA Mattel Consumer Products adds: “Fireman Sam is an important piece of British pop culture and a much-loved character across toys, books, fashion, nightwear and dress-up. We are thrilled to expand the license with Rubies to offer children more role-play opportunities and bring to life the characters and world of Pontypandy through fantastic new dress up looks, allowing children to play out heroic adventures.”

Fireman Sam content has over 9.36bn global views to date on the official YouTube Channel and it is a top 5 preschool character brand in Europe, with 360 integration, including toy, consumer products, live events, and publishing.

The Fireman Sam show is produced by Mattel Television and WildBrain and distributed by WildBrain, and is available to watch in the UK on Cartoonito, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Milkshake (Channel 5) and Virgin Media, as well as networks across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The official Fireman Sam costumes are available to order from Rubiesuk.com or from online stores including Amazon.

Boat Rocker rounds up new herd of Dino Ranch licensees across US, Canada, and EMEA

The dress up and costumes specialist, Rubies has been listed among a suite of new US, Canadian, and EMEA licensing partners for the break out hit preschool series, Dino Ranch.

Having launched in January, the popular preschool series has proved to be a hit with both audiences and licensees, with multiple deals already lassoed by brand Boat Rocker across key consumer categories in a number of international territories.

A swathe of new deals reaching across the US, Canada, and the EMEA region now expand the Dino Ranch licensing programme into toddler bedding, hoisery, holiday ornaments, dress up and compilation magazines, with more categories destined to follow in the coming months.

Under its new partnership with the Toronto-based Boat Rocker studio, Rubies is enabling kids to become their favourite Dino Ranch character with costumes and dress up accessories. The team will manufacture and distribute across multiple territories, including the UK and Ireland, France, Iberia, Italy, Benelux, Nordics, CEE, Australia, and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Kennedy Publishing – recognised as the UK’s third-largest and fastest growing children’s magazine publisher, will be producing special Dino Ranch compilations featuring stickers, gifts, puzzles and colouring.

Young fans in the US and Canada can snuggle up with their heroes in a Dino Ranch themed bedroom with toddler bedding from Baby Boom Consumer Products, while High Point Design will be producing colorful socks, hosiery and Fuzzy Babba slipper socks.

Holiday festivities will have a distinctive Dino twist with ornaments from third-generation family firm Kurt S. Adler, Inc, the leading importer, and distributor of holiday decorations for 75 years for the US and Canada.

Kate Schlomann, EVP brand management and content marketing, Boat Rocker Studios, said: “Dino Ranch has been an incredible success since hatching on Disney Junior, where it launched as the number one preschool show.

“The Dino Ranch YouTube channel has engaged fans with a staggering 23M views in seven months. We’ve seen a huge appetite for the show from viewers, licensees and retail buyers alike. Jazwares launched an early drop of the Blitz dino plush on Amazon.com in the US and units completely sold out organically in less than two weeks.

“We are delighted to welcome another herd of partners to supply young fans with more exciting product across further key categories as public demand is high.”

These new licensees follow a slate of recently announced deals for publishing, apparel, swimwear, sleepwear, home décor, timepieces, dress up and costume characters in the US and Canada, which begin rollout from early 2022. Global master toy partner Jazwares will launch its own Dino sized toy range this autumn.

Dino Ranch is also available on Disney+ in the UK, Australia, and the US and the first 26 episodes are available to own on Apple iTunes (U.S.).

Created by Matt Fernandes (of Industrial Brothers) and produced by Industrial Brothers and Boat Rocker Studios, in association with CBC Kids and Radio-Canada. Boat Rocker Studios manage the global franchise development including content distribution and consumer products.

Freddy, Jason, and other horror icons at forefront of Rubies’ Fall in Love with Halloween campaign

Icons from the horror movie scene, including Freddy and Jason, are to be featured among a line up of costumes at the forefront of a major new campaign from the dress up specialist, Rubies, as its lifts the lid on its Fall on Love with Halloween push in time for this year’s spooking season.

A special Halloween marketing drive, the campaign has been devised in recognition of the importance of Halloween for Rubies business, who has earmarked the October date as its ‘biggest event of the year, by far,’ and one that is expects to see celebrated on a larger scale than ever before this year, as the world reconnects following dimmed celebrations over the pandemic.

Rubies’ Fall in Love with Halloween campaign will set out to ‘provide a combination of prominent creative, rich media and engaging activity ideas’ for its core audience, as well as content to be used by its trade customers in the build up to the big fright night.

“With parties, gatherings, trick-or-treating and so many other events planned to operate safely, Halloween is now seen as the first major occasion of 2021 to gather and celebrate with the ones you love (and give them a scare!),” read a statement from the firm.

Rubies is now set to unleash brand-new inspiring content across all of Rubies social channels, its official website and on a range of partnered retail sites.

The content will showcase a mixture of new generic costumes and accessories in addition to officially licensed characters such as horror icons Freddy and Jason. Rubies will be bringing a new take on a variety of global brands loved by audiences around the world.

The campaign kicked off in June with Rubies maintaining its market-leading reputation for content with an eerie and ambitious photo shoot, centered around a blood-curdling vaudeville theme, shot on location with models and circus performers, the size and scale of which is like nothing that’s ever happened at Rubies before.

Located underneath Bristol’s central train station, Temple Meads, the unique venue offered an original setting with quirky oddities to create exciting and creepy content. The team worked over two days with a wide range of industry professionals and variety of skilled circus performers.

The content will feature across social channels in a range of new media formats supported by online and print marketing collateral.

Fran Hales, head of content and marketing, said: “From initial concepts all the way through to the execution of the content, I am delighted with how each aspect of this marketing campaign is turning out. The photo shoot, in particular, allowed us to put our own unique spin on what we do as a business, showcasing Rubies imaginative ideas when it comes to content generation.

“What we’ve created in such a small space of time will not only serve us well for Halloween but also for Carnival season. We are keen for our partners to also benefit from our marketing materials and I encourage them to contact us to utilise it on their own channels and platforms.”

With Fall in Love with Halloween, Rubies hopes to be able to celebrate this occasion with fans of the brand and welcome new customers who are looking for original and creative solutions to promote Halloween.

Freddy, Jason, and other horror icons at forefront of Rubies’ Fall in Love with Halloween campaign

Icons from the horror movie scene, including Freddy and Jason, are to be featured among a line up of costumes at the forefront of a major new campaign from the dress up specialist, Rubies, as its lifts the lid on its Fall on Love with Halloween push in time for this year’s spooking season.

A special Halloween marketing drive, the campaign has been devised in recognition of the importance of Halloween for Rubies business, who has earmarked the October date as its ‘biggest event of the year, by far,’ and one that is expects to see celebrated on a larger scale than ever before this year, as the world reconnects following dimmed celebrations over the pandemic.

Rubies’ Fall in Love with Halloween campaign will set out to ‘provide a combination of prominent creative, rich media and engaging activity ideas’ for its core audience, as well as content to be used by its trade customers in the build up to the big fright night.

“With parties, gatherings, trick-or-treating and so many other events planned to operate safely, Halloween is now seen as the first major occasion of 2021 to gather and celebrate with the ones you love (and give them a scare!),” read a statement from the firm.

Rubies is now set to unleash brand-new inspiring content across all of Rubies social channels, its official website and on a range of partnered retail sites.

The content will showcase a mixture of new generic costumes and accessories in addition to officially licensed characters such as horror icons Freddy and Jason. Rubies will be bringing a new take on a variety of global brands loved by audiences around the world.

The campaign kicked off in June with Rubies maintaining its market-leading reputation for content with an eerie and ambitious photo shoot, centered around a blood-curdling vaudeville theme, shot on location with models and circus performers, the size and scale of which is like nothing that’s ever happened at Rubies before.

Located underneath Bristol’s central train station, Temple Meads, the unique venue offered an original setting with quirky oddities to create exciting and creepy content. The team worked over two days with a wide range of industry professionals and variety of skilled circus performers.

The content will feature across social channels in a range of new media formats supported by online and print marketing collateral.

Fran Hales, head of content and marketing, said: “From initial concepts all the way through to the execution of the content, I am delighted with how each aspect of this marketing campaign is turning out. The photo shoot, in particular, allowed us to put our own unique spin on what we do as a business, showcasing Rubies imaginative ideas when it comes to content generation.

“What we’ve created in such a small space of time will not only serve us well for Halloween but also for Carnival season. We are keen for our partners to also benefit from our marketing materials and I encourage them to contact us to utilise it on their own channels and platforms.”

With Fall in Love with Halloween, Rubies hopes to be able to celebrate this occasion with fans of the brand and welcome new customers who are looking for original and creative solutions to promote Halloween.

Rubies launches range of adaptive costumes to make dress up and role-play more inclusive

Rubies has released a new range of adaptive costumes designed for children with limited mobility and boasting a selection of features that makes them optimised for ease of wear, accessibility and fitting.

The new collection has been designed to enable all children – regardless of their level of ability – can engage in role-play and dress up, with specially designed features that allow them to do so.

Features include back opening in the trousers and skirts, which allows wheelchair users to dress in bed or in a laying down position, and the combination of Velcro fastenings with elasticated areas add comfort and allow for easier dressing. A discrete front flap opening allows access to tubes on the abdominal area.

Furthermore, the seated area of the costumes is free from costume fabric, helping to reduce pressure points which can cause sores and ulcers from wrinkles, creases or pronounced seams.

To ensure the collection provided comfort and inclusivity with the key demographic, the costumes have been tried and tested on a select focus group of participants in this year’s Superhero Series Powered by Marvel, with positive feedback across the board on the designs and features. One of the costumes even featured on a Good Morning Britain section with Emerson Grant showcasing his Spider-man outfit to the nation.

Mike O’Connell, managing director, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce the introduction of Adaptive Costumes into our extensive licensed portfolio. As an inclusive and innovative company, we strive to create a world where everyone can express themselves equally. Although our exclusive Adaptive Range costumes are different in their features and design, we wanted to ensure our price point matched any other costume of the same quality within our range.

“Dress-up play is a very important part of childhood, allowing children to explore different characters and role models and shape who they become, and we hope these costumes will allow every child to be able to do this.”

The new range will launch with a choice of characters from Marvel, DC and The Mandalorian that are instantly recognisable and highly inspiring to children. The superhero range in particular focuses on Captain America and Spider-Man’s jumpsuits featuring 3D padded muscles; both consist of tops, trousers and snood.

The range also includes Wonder Woman’s dress which has a shimmering sequin bodice detail, a full layered skirt and comes with a range of accessories to complete the character including cape, boot covers, gauntlets and a foam tiara.

Adaptive Costumes will be available to order in time for Halloween. Contact the Rubies sales team to find out more.

Jazwares appoints new commercial and licensing director amid continued ambitious plans for European growth

As part of the company’s ambitious and ongoing growth strategy for the European market, toy maker and licensing specialist, Jazwares, has appointed a new European Commercial Director and European Licensing Director.

After almost two decades at Argos and Sainsburys, most recently as the Buying Manager for Sports, Leisure, Outdoor Toys & Nursery, Matt Stent joins Jazwares as its new European Commercial Director, reporting into Jonny Taylor, SVP Europe. Stent will be responsible for growing Jazwares’ business in Europe both through its regional offices and third-party distributors.

Meanwhile, Sam Bourne, the former Head of Licensing and Brand at Rubie’s Masquerade, brings a wealth of experience within licensed consumer goods to her new role as European Licensing Director. Reporting into Global VP of Licensing, Sam Ferguson, her role will focus on ensuring Jazwares delivers commercial value and results to global licensing partners, as the business continues to grow.

In addition to both of these appointments, Jazwares has expanded its UK team with a further ten hires to fill newly created positions across licensing, sales, marketing, operations, and business intelligence.

“We are thrilled to be adding such strong talent to our team, to match our growth both in the UK and across Europe,”  said Jonny Taylor, SVP Europe. “Exciting times ahead.”

Rubies invites gothic kids’ book character Amelia Fang into the licensed dress up collection

Rubies is expanding its children’s book character range of dress up costumes with the addition of the popular quirky gothic-inspired publishing IP, Amelia Fang.

Created by author and illustrator Laura Ellen, the Amelia Fang book series is published by Farshore/HarperCollins UK and has sold over 380,000 copies in the UK, as well as translated into 24 languages worldwide. It follows the tale of a little vampire with a big heart as she embarks on adventures on the city of Nocturnia.

The title is favoured by seven to nine year olds, with seven books in the series, filled with gothic tales and creative illustrations. Rubies notes that the character Amelia Fang works well within World Book Day and Halloween ranges.

The costumes themselves will feature Amelia Fang, the lead character, and her signature spooky outfits in a variety of sizes. Rubies will design, market, manufacture and distribute the range in the UK next year.  

The IP is the latest to joins a robust and growing portfolio of character licenses that spans everything from Marvel and DC to the likes of Dennis the Menace and Horrid Henry.

Tracey Devine-Tyley, head of licensing and portfolio EMEA, said: “We understand how important reading is to children as it helps develop their minds and imaginations and we strive to support this through any of the licenses we hold which celebrate reading. Amelia Fang is a fantastic license for us to acquire as it is a beloved book series, with a strong and growing group of fans consisting of both children and parents.”

Laura Ellen Anderson, creator of Amelia Fang, added: “I’m so excited to see Rubies bring the Amelia Fang costume to life. It’s wonderful to know that my fans and readers will be able to easily access this costume which can be worn for events such as World Book Day and Halloween, or just for fun.”

The costumes will be available to order early next year on www.rubiesuk.com.