Tag Archives: toys

Lisle Licensing named UK and Ireland licensing agent for Planeta Junior’s pre-school IP Milo

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Lisle Licensing has signed a new deal with Planeta Junior to promote and represent the pre-school property, Milo across the UK and Ireland. The deal will see Lisle’s initial focus land on toys, publishing, apparel, and dress up ranges.

A co-production between Planeta Junior and the indie family producer, Fourth Wall Animation, Milo will launch to UK screens this spring via Channel 5’s Milkshake.

Through this new partnership Milo now joins Lisle Licensing’s exclusive portfolio, which includes major kids brands like Gormiti, 44 Cats, Masha and the Bear, and Superzings.

Milo is described as a warm, funny pre-school series made up of 52 11 minute episodes about an adventurous five-year old cat who, together with his best friends Lofty and Lark, uses role-play to explore the world of vocations, introducing little ones to a variety of professions.

Milo’s world celebrates vocations such as Delivery Workers, Explorers; Nurses as well as Astronauts – every vocation is shown in a positive light so kids feel they can grow up to be anything they want to be. 

Hasbro partners with Uber Eats to launch free Hasbro Toy Store to families this half term

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Hasbro has partnered with the home delivery app, Uber Eats, to launch a free toy store in time for the half term holidays, as UK parents continue to hunt for new ways to keep their kids entertained during lockdown.

The new collaborative effort arrives as 70 per cent of UK parents admit to feeling overwhelmed as they juggle work and home-schooling, while 56 per cent say they are concerned at the thought of spending a half term holiday with fewer activities to entertain their young ones.

The country’s current lockdown restrictions mean that where families would usually be spending time at the cinema, zoos, or on playdates, parents are now being forced to look for entertainment closer to home. Over half of parents claims their kids are now bored at home, and 50 per cent say they’ve run out of things to do.

In a bid to help busy parents, the virtual Hasbro Toy Store is now offering seven of the toy company’s best-loved toys and games for just the cost of delivery. The initiative will launch on the Uber Eats app from this Wednesday.

The toys and games available through the app – including Cluedo, The Game of Life, Play-Doh, and Yahtzee, were chosen because they encourage family time and imaginative play and offer something for children of all ages. Once ordered, they will be delivered – contact-free – to your door in around 30 minutes.

With the average parent spending £99.55 per week on activities to entertain their children, Uber Eats and Hasbro teamed up to give away the toys to ensure all parents could benefit. It launches as 71 per cent of parents state that they aim to spend extra quality time with their kids this half-term.

The toy store will be open in London and Manchester from Wednesday 17th to Saturday 20th February.

Toussaint Wattinne, general manager of Uber Eats, UK and Ireland said: “Being a parent is tougher than ever at the moment, so we wanted to do our bit to help bring families together and keep the children entertained while opportunities for days out are more limited. Uber Eats delivers items beyond food to help make people’s day-to-day lives that little bit easier.”

Anne Leonhardi,  Marketing Director North Europe at Hasbro, added: “Play is hugely important for children’s development, striking that vital balance between learning and fun. The half-term holidays are no different, so we want to make sure that children and parents get the break they desperately deserve during these difficult times.

“The games and activities in the Hasbro Toy Store are a great way of making sure families have a fun February half-term, whether they’re testing their wits with a game of Cluedo or getting creative with Play-Doh.”

Since the first lockdown in March 2020, Hasbro brands continue to resonate as people spend more time at home and parents look for fun activities to keep the kids entertained.

New York | Toy of the Year awards underscores big year for children’s licenses

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Pokemon, Super Mario, Star Wars The Mandalorian, and PAW Patrol are just some of the leading children’s brands to have won big this weekend when the annual Toy of the Year awards hosted an all-virtual event to reveal its winners.

A tussle of the titans ensued as the awards – recognised as the ‘Oscars of the toy industry’ – watched global toy makers LEGO and Mattel emerge with no fewer than four award wins each, with the likes of LEGO’s Super Mario play-sets and Mattel’s The Mandalorian The Child Plush thrust into the spotlight.

License of the Year went to Disney for The Mandalorian, while the Pokemon Trading Card Game took home Game of the Year. Pre-school Toy of the Year was swept up by Spin Master and its PAW Patrol franchise, while Playmibile drove home at 88mph with the Vehicle of the Year award for its Back to the Future DeLorean play-set.

“It’s an exhilarating feeling to be recognized for our relentless drive to push the boundaries of play,” said Anton Rabie, Spin Master’s chairman and co-chief executive officer of the firm’s win in the Pre-school Toy of the Year category.

“Every year our incredibly talented team, in collaboration with our amazing community of external inventors, raises the bar on innovation with the purpose of developing magical moments and experiences for kids and families around the world. Together, we’re committed to reimagining where imagination can take us.”

Meanwhile, in a surprise announcement, two winners were chosen for the People’s Choice Award; Story Time Chess (Story Time Chess), a classic game re-imagined for the youngest of players, and The Original Spawn Action Figure and Comic Remastered (McFarlane Toys), a fan-favourite that has its roots in Kickstarter success.

Toy of the Year Awards were handed out in 16 categories. The winners are:

Action Figure of the Year: Fisher-Price #ThankYouHeroes Line (Mattel)

Collectible of the Year: LEGO Super Mario Character Packs (LEGO)

Construction Toy of the Year: LEGO Star Wars The Razor Crest (LEGO)

Creative Toy of the Year: Crayola Colors of the World Crayons (Crayola LLC)

Doll of the Year: Barbie Color Reveal (Mattel)

Game of the Year: Pokémon Trading Card Game Battle Academy (The Pokémon Company International)

Infant/Toddler Toy of the Year: Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Grow-the-Fun Garden to Kitchen (Mattel)

Innovative Toy of the Year: Star Wars: The Child Animatronic Edition Toy (Hasbro)

License of the Year: Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney)

Outdoor Toy of the Year: Ultimate Go-Kart (Radio Flyer)

Playset of the Year: LEGO Super Mario Bowser’s Castle Boss Battle Expansion Set (LEGO)

Plush Toy of the Year: Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Child 11” Plush (Mattel)

Preschool Toy of the Year: PAW Patrol Dino Patroller (Spin Master)

Specialty Toy of the Year: LEGO Ideas Grand Piano (LEGO)

STEAM Toy of the Year: Mega Cyborg Hand (Thames & Kosmos)

Vehicle of the Year: PLAYMOBIL Back To The Future DeLorean (PLAYMOBIL)

Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of The Toy Association, said: “From 117 outstanding finalists to this year’s TOTY winners, to Hasbro’s Toy of the Year Award and two unique People’s Choice winners, each underscores the joy of play in uncertain times, the togetherness of family game night, as well as the swiftly-evolving retail and e-commerce landscape.

“The TOTYs continue to reflect the toy and play community’s passion and perseverance, all while honoring the richly deserving Hall of Fame inductees. It also raises vital funding for The Toy Foundation as it embarks on impactful new programs supporting children’s hospitals and driving diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in the toy industry. We thank the independent expert judging panels and the tens of thousands of individuals who voted this year.”

During the event, four toy industry visionaries were also officially inducted into the esteemed Toy Industry Hall of Fame. This year saw Philip Bloom, founder and former publisher of The Bloom Report; William C. Killgallon, chairman of the board at The Ohio Art Company; Pleasant T. Rowland, founder of American Girl, a division of Mattel, Inc.; and the late Margarete Steiff, founder and creator of Steiff were all inducted.

Read more about the Hall of Fame inductees here.

More than 500 TOTY Award nominees poured in late last summer. Of those, 117 finalists were selected by a panel of expert judges. Category winners were then determined based on votes from toy retailers (mass and specialty), media, Toy Association members, and consumers.

The “Toy of the Year” winner was determined by an expert panel that discussed all the finalists before rendering a decision based on TOTY votes, holiday sales, and media buzz (traditional, online, and social).

The “People’s Choice” award winners were uniquely selected by online consumer votes. All results were audited for accuracy, including the judging and voting process, and The NPD Group validated marketplace acceptance. Descriptions of all TOTY finalists can be found at ToyAwards.org.

Asmodee acquires digital gaming platform Board Game Arena in latest global growth plan

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Asmodee has acquired the online multi-player board gaming platform, Board Game Arena in a move that will allow the tabletop giant to scale up its online play and allow players around the world access to some of Asmodee’s biggest games.

Founded in 2010, Board Game Arena has emerged as a global leader in online board games, providing official online versions of more than 250 games across 40 languages to more than five million members around the world.

Asmodee has suggested that the combination of the two companies will help to ‘bridge the gap in board game get-togethers created by the pandemic,’ while also offering that five million member base access to hit Asmodee titles including Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic.

Board Game Arena’s already expansive catalogue of games includes Asmodee hits Carcassonne, Jaipur and 7 Wonders, of which more than four million games have been played since its release on the platform in 2018.

The digital platform has been one of a number in the gaming space to have seen a surge in popularity driven by the pandemic last year, and in 2020 it registered a 600 per cent growth, indicating the scale of the current board game craze among families and single players.

To support its growth and pursue its development, Board Game Arena’s management team has chosen to join Asmodee in a move that will allow Asmodee to speed up the availability of its key titles on the platform.

Grégory Isabelli and Emmanuel Colin, Board Game Arena co-founders, said:  ”Working with Asmodee allows us to continue our massive growth, with a partner that shares our love and passion for board gaming.

“Asmodee fulfills a sine qua non criteria for us: that BGA is always run by absolute board game fans whose core business is board game.”

Thomas Koegler, head of strategy at Asmodee, said: “Our growth is based on one crucial commitment: offer the best gaming experience to consumers and bring our brands to the widest audience.”

“Having a platform that allows players from all over the world to meet, play their favorite games together or discover new games is a natural fit alongside our amazing catalogue of board games. Skull and Splendor will be in the coming weeks the first of a long list of Asmodee releases on the platform: we hope that players will enjoy them.”

As with other Asmodee entities, Board Game Arena will remain independent, and current management will remain at its helm. Pricing policies and editorial line remain unchanged, with Board Game Arena continuing to rely solely on the quality and popularity of games, offering its services to all publishers and market players.

Mattel achieves ‘best performance in years’ as Barbie and Hot Wheels fuel Q4 and full year success

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Mattel bosses have hailed the company’s fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results as ‘its best performance in years,’ having beaten all expectations to see Q4 net sales up ten per cent and full year sales increase by 2 per cent to hit $4,584 million.

Sales of the company’s fashion doll brand, Barbie, as well as the continued popularity of Hot Wheels in the Vehicles sector, and Mattel’s portfolio of games fueled much of the fourth quarter success for the company across both its domestic North American and international markets.

Q4 net sales in the North America segment increased 13 per cent, primarily driven by growth across Dolls, Infant, Toddler, and Pre-school, Action Figures, Games and Other. Meanwhile, net sales in the international segment saw a lift of seven per cent.

For the full year 2020, net sales in North America were up seven per cent versus the prior year, but the international market saw a dip of four per cent due to declines in Infant, Toddler, and Pre-school sales, as well as action figures, building sets, and vehicles.

The decrease was partially off-set by growth in the dolls category that was driven primarily by Barbie.

Across the EMEA market, Year on Year growth was 12 per cent in constant currency, representing double digit gains across two of Mattel’s largest markets in North America and EMEA. It’s according to the NPD Group that Mattel outpaced the industry in Q4 last year, growingg approximately five times faster than the industry for the year.

Ynon Kreiz, chairman and CEO of Mattel, said: “This was a banner quarter for the company with our best performance in years. In the midst of a pandemic and very challenging market conditions, our results exceeded expectations, with another major upswing in topline and a significant increase in profitability, as we gained global market share and continued to transform Mattel into an IP-driven, high performing toy company.

“The fourth quarter and full year demonstrated the resilience of the toy industry and the priority that parents place on quality toys, trusted brands and purposeful play.

“Our momentum was driven by the quality and breadth of our product offering, enduring strength of our brands, highly efficient supply chain, world-class commercial capabilities and very effective demand creation, in close collaboration with our retail partners. The continuous improvement in our performance puts us in a strong position from which we believe we can accelerate our growth.

“I could not be more proud of the entire Mattel global team for having stepped up in an extremely tumultuous year to support our consumers, customers, business partners and communities where we live and work.”

Mattel’s CFO, Anthony DiSilvestro, added: “Mattel delivered another outstanding quarter of double-digit growth with broad-based gains across the portfolio and continued improvement in gross margin, and we are pleased with our performance for the full year.

“With a strong finish and positive start to 2021, we are providing guidance for the new year reflecting continued improvement in both our top and bottom line. Mattel also stands to benefit from our newly announced Optimizing for Growth programme and we believe we are well-positioned to continue this momentum.”

The Optimising for Growth programme aims to streamline key processes at the toy maker and is expected to deliver in aggregate $250 million of incremental cost savings by 2023.

Bandai Namco begins toy and games divisions merger process with new president

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The wheels have been set in motion of a restructuring at Bandai Namco that will see the Japanese corporation merge its toy and gaming units ‘to better leverage its many IPs’ such as Pac-Man, Dark Souls, and Tekken.

Upon the release of its latest financial results, Bandai Namco confirmed that company veteran Masaru Kawaguchi was to move into the role of president and representative director, and lead ‘a new strategic direction’ at the company.

This direction includes pushing through plans to merge its toy and games business, reflecting what it has billed in a statement issued to the press as ‘a new era of dramatically changing sense of values and lifestyles.’

From April this year, Bandai Namco will push forward with these previously announced plans, part of which will see the corporation reduce its operating units from five to three.

Kawaguchi will assume his new role after a one year tenure as part-time director for all Bandai Namco Entertainment.

As part of the move, the Toys and Hobby Unit and Network Entertainment Unit will be merged into the Entertainment Unit. Meanwhile, the Visual and Music Production Unit and IP Creation Unit will be merged into the IP production Unit. Finally, the Real Entertainment Unit will be renamed Amusement Unit.

Bandai said: “From April 2021, each business will join together in a united effort to a greater degree than before under the All Bandai Namco concept in preparation for the next Mid-term Plan.

“The Company will reorganise its Unit structure to further strengthen its IP Axis Strategy in the global market, and will change to a new structure for its directors.”

By merging the toy games and toy divisions, Bandai Namco said it believed it would be able to better leverage its many IPs, which include Pac-Man, Dark Souls, Tekken and more.

Jazwares extends its UFC partnership to bring Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal into the ring

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The global toy company, Jazwares, has extended its partnership with the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation, UFC, to launch a new range of collectable figures courtesy of Ringside Collectibles.

Under the latest deal, popular UFC fighters Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, Amanda Nunes, Francise Ngannou, Israel Adesanya, and Urijah Faber now join the line-up.

The UFC Ultimate Series limited-edition figures by Jazwares have been billed as ‘the most detailed, realistic, and sophisticated representations of UFC athletes’, allowing fans and collectors to re-create the thrill of fight night with the UFC articulated fighter figures.

Each fighter features character-authentic details including tattoo-like-details, weight class body types, and realistic facial expressions. The 6.5-inch UFC collectibles come with two sets of removable hands and two removable heads. They also come with a fighter-specific flag, UFC champion belt, or other unique fighter accessories.

This new collection comes after the first launch featuring current and former UFC champions including UFC lightweight champion Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones, former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, former featherweight champion Max Holloway and UFC lightweight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

LEGO and SEGA partner to bring Sonic the Hedgehog to brick form

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The LEGO Group has detailed a new partnership with SEGA to bring Sonic the Hedgehog into brick form, thanks to a concept design submitted to the Danish toy maker’s invention platform, LEGO Ideas.

Created by a 24-year-old LEGO superfan, Viv Grannell, the design was inspired by SEGA’s critically acclaimed 2017 platformer experience Sonic Mania and features iconic characters and environments from the game’s Green Hill Zone level.

The design achieved its pre-requisite 10,000 votes from LEGO fans worldwide and has now been given the green light to enter production through a partnership between LEGO and SEGA.

Talking about the winning idea, Viv Grannell, said: “I’ve been invested in the world of Sonic for almost my entire life, and it’s such a perfect fit for the LEGO system that I spent about a year rallying support for it to happen.

“Having 10,000 people back my design was overwhelming enough, even with friends and family behind me, but having it be selected for further development was the most exciting secret I have ever had to keep.”

The Sonic Mania Green Hill Zone LEGO Ideas design will now go into the product development phase, in partnership with SEGA and once finalised will be available worldwide.

Talking about the collaboration, Jason Rice, director of brand licensing, SEGA Europe Ltd, said: “At SEGA, we’ve always encouraged fans to take part in the legacy of the Sonic franchise through their own creations and it’s wonderful to see the tradition continued through the LEGO Ideas program.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Viv and the LEGO Group, and hope to inspire fans to continue creating their own unique Sonic the Hedgehog experiences for generations to come.”

The Sonic Mania Green Hill Zone LEGO Ideas design is the ultimate embodiment of Sonic the Hedgehog’s past and future as the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary this June. Featuring a wide variety of elements inspired by Classic Sonic, the set will provide LEGO collectors and Sonic fans alike a truly supersonic LEGO experience.

Rainbow Designs to launch new We’re Going on a Bear Hunt toys in Walker Books deal

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Rainbow Designs is encouraging children to undertake their own Bear Hunt adventures this year as it launches its new We’re Going on a Bear Hunt collection of soft and wooden toys to the market.

Based on Walker Books’ classic storybook of the same title, the toys take inspiration from the adventurous tale that has been entertaining children for over 30 years.

The new range of toys will include a super soft Bear toy and Wooden Shape Puzzle featuring the Bear, Rufus the dog, and will be illustrated with paw prints and the Bear Hunt sayings, such as Splash, Splosh and squelch, squerch. New additions to the range will follow later in the year.

Anthony Temple, managing director of Rainbow Designs, said: “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is the perfect fit with our portfolio of prestigious and nurtured children’s brands and it is exciting to be kicking off Rainbow’s milestone 50th Anniversary year with the launch of such a joyful and iconic character range.”

Pindy O’Brien, licensing and retail development director (UK & Europe) for Walker Books, added: “We are thrilled to have Rainbow Designs launching toys for our classic “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”.

“The softness of their plush product and high quality delivers everything we’d want from our toy range. We are excited to have them on board as our EMEA partner.”

Full steam ahead for Spin Master’s Mighty Express as Penguin Young Readers is named global publishing partner

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The global children’s entertainment company, Spin Master has secured a global publishing deal for its Mighty Express IP with Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House.

Under the new deal, the publisher will have the global rights to roll out 8x8s, board books, shaped board books, picture books, novelty books, leveled readers, holiday books, and exclusive rights to sticker, activity, colouring and novelty books, all based on the animated pre-school series.

Spin Master Entertainment launched mighty Express – an original animated pre-school series – on Netflix in September 2020. The series appeals to both pre-schoolers and their parents through inclusive and diverse characters combined with stories that promote hard work and celebrate accomplishments.

Built within a franchise ecosystem that includes the streaming series, a YouTube content destination, a Mighty Express mobile app and a toy line slated to launch fall 2021, Penguin Random House will aim to ‘further enrich the franchise sharing the quirky characters and their exciting adventures with pre-schoolers in new formats.’

“Mighty Express is an exciting franchise, with content developed through the lens of play which reaches preschoolers and their families through a multi-platform approach,” said Juli Boylan, Spin Master’s VP of franchise development and outbound licensing.

“We are thrilled to be working with Penguin Young Readers, who are experts at sharing stories that will continue to build deeper engagement and brand love for Mighty Express.”

Daniel Moreton, vice president and associate publisher, Penguin Workshop, added: “When we first stepped into the wonderfully engaging and adventurous world of Tracksville, we knew immediately that we wanted to get onboard. The Mighty Express themes of partnership, unity, and connection, are universal, and something we all need right now.

“Penguin Young Readers Licenses is thrilled to be partnering with Spin Master once again. Their collaborative creative energy and brand building strategies, aimed at reaching kids everywhere they are, make the journey just as exciting as the destination.”

Mighty Express marks Spin Master Entertainment’s first series launching straight to a streaming platform and is part of the Company’s commitment to a multiplatform content strategy. The Mighty Express franchise is wholly-owned by Spin Master and the Company retains the rights to distribution of the series including licensing of consumer products.

The Penguin Young Readers line of books and activities are expected to launch in autumn 2021.