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Licensing News – what’s hot in licensed
Hasbro has signed a fi ve-year contract with Epic Games, which expands its Fortnite product licensing deal beyond outdoor play products and tabletop games into additional categories such as collectable action fi gures, vehicles and roleplay items.
This development extends a two-year deal between Hasbro and Epic Games wherein the company was granted licence to integrate Fortnite into its Nerf and Monopoly products. Now Hasbro will bring new products as well as in-game experiences to Fortnite fans of all ages.
Hasbro SVP & GM Adam Biehl said: “We’ve had tremendous success collaborating with Epic Games and the Fortnite brand over the past few years, and this expanded product licensing partnership allows us to deliver an amazing line-up of Fortniteinspired toys and collector items that we’re confi dent fans will be excited to experience.”
The new Hasbro-licensed Fortnite products are on track to launch in the autumn.
New CoComelon line-up
Bandai UK has announced its new line-up of CoComelon toys following January’s NPD data ranking of CoComelon as the number one new infant/toddler licence for the month and number four in the same category for the year-to-date.
The CoComelon licensed toy range, manufactured by Jazwares and distributed in the UK and Europe by Bandai UK, launched in A/W20 and has developed into S/S21 with a collection of new SKUs, including instruments, a musical tractor, educational collectables and a new wave of plush.
CoComelon, which has the largest kids’ channel on YouTube with more than 100 million subscribers, encourages children aged one to four to sing and dance as they learn letters, numbers, animal sounds, colours and more.
Bandai UK managing director Nic Aldridge said: “We are thrilled to move into 2021 with an even wider offering of innovative, themed, fun, educational toys to engage preschoolers and extend their enjoyment of the show.”
Wow! Stuff roars into Jurassic World
Toy company Wow! Stuff has added Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s blockbuster franchise Jurassic World to its roster of licensed brands.
Wow! Stuff’s new Jurassic World line-up features fl ying dinosaur toys, collectable ‘swipe to light’ pods with special effects sound modes, and a new take on dinosaur hatching: Drop ‘n Pop’. Drop the egg onto any hard surface and it pops open to reveal a plush dinosaur. When popped open, the dinosaur sits proud at the base of the egg. It can also be easily squashed back into the eggshell.
Speakers confi rmed for licensing online event
Licensing experts from Asda, the BBC and Kantar are among the fi rst tranche of speakers announced for the Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit, which takes place online from 9-11 June.
The three-day event aims to help middle-management, business leaders and owners navigate the changing retail, content and consumer landscape through keynotes, panel discussions, roundtables and workshops providing advice, information and strategies on the future of brands and licensing.
Insights leaders Kantar CEO Claire McLelland and Kids Industries co-founder and CEO Gary Pope will tackle the ‘consumer’ as they join License Global’s content editor Ben Roberts to investigate the changing purchasing choices of children, Generation Z and millennials.
Asda’s head of baby and maternity Ruth Golightly will debate what’s next for bricks and mortar and the future of the high street consumer, while BBC Studios’ licensing director Rikesh Desai, Nutmeg Licensing managing director June Kirkwood and SGLP MD Simon Gresswell will focus on CSR and sustainability with a programme exclusively curated by Products of Change.
Online registration for the Summit is now open at www. brandlicensinginnovationsummit. com. Early bird discounts of 30% are available until 16 April. Qualifi ed retailers are invited to register for free.
