14-17_Summer LSB 2021_v2.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 22/07/2021 10:23 Page 14
LICENSEE FEEDBACK
Half time report Now that we are over half way through 2021, LSB catches up with a selection of licensees to find out how the year has been for them so far, their big challenges and successes and the hopes they have for the remainder of the year.
Toby Davies, commercial director, Steamforged Games “Brexit took a toll on the speed we could get goods out to customers and that had a real knock on effect on their ability to re-order. I’m pleased to say we opened up a hub in the Netherlands mid June and we’re now able to deliver even better customer service to our EU trade partners Inset: Steamforged is in a good spot than pre-Brexit. heading into the Our biggest success in 2021 was second half of 2021, the Monster Hunter (licensed from says Toby. Capcom) Kickstarter in April, one of the largest of the year so far with a whopping £3.4 million. We’re in a good spot going into the second half as we had already factored much of the above in our budget and have some very exciting products launching in the next six months. I don’t think we’ll need to go into extra time to deliver decent YOY growth.”
Below: Stock this season is clearly going to be king, says Anthony.
Anthony Duckworth, md, Dreamtex “We’ve had a surprisingly great start to 2021 launching several really strong ranges into the market place. Xbox and Liverpool FC in particular have been incredible and these have bucked the market trend for sales in a period which is usually fairly flat. Non-essential retail opening has added to the strong supermarket and online business that carried us through the pandemic and given us a strong platform for AW21. Stock this season is clearly going to be king as shipping rates become more challenging, but we have found that by working in partnership with our customers, solutions can be found to ensure the consumer is not disappointed. We need to be fully focused on delivering our new ranges for this autumn and spring 2022 which includes BT21, Bluey and Among Us. Issues surrounding delivery schedules and extended factory lead-times remain prevalent as we investigate all solutions to try and keep production on time.”
Dan Grant, licensing director, Danilo “Given the massive challenges that everyone faced last year, Danilo actually ended the year in a healthy position. However there are still many challenges ahead as we move through the rest of 2021. Shipping has become the biggest talking point with the lack of containers and massively inflated prices putting pressure on margins. The welcome return of high street stores has been a relief. We also hope to see a much higher number of calendar stores open in 2021 to help drive distribution and sales across Q3 and Q4 this year following a tough end to 2020. We are positive about the rest of 2021 and expect the business to perform beyond the levels we experienced in 2019 when the business was showing good growth.”
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Left: Dan says that Danilo is positive about the rest of 2021. LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2021
