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Licensor Feedback - hopes for the remainder of 2021
LICENSOR FEEDBACK Hot Property
LSB catches up with a number of brand owners to find out how 2021 has been so far, their views on the retail environment and the challenges and positives as we enter the second half of the year.
Left: Spidey and his Amazing Friends is the first full-length Marvel series for preschoolers. Below: Paul Gitter, svp third party commercialisation for Marvel 20CS & ESPN, Consumer Products, The Walt Disney Company.
Company, tells LSB. “A great example is our recent content on Disney+, which has fuelled tremendous opportunity and significantly broadened our audience reach to fans, families and beyond.
“WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki have all amassed incredible buzz and new, dedicated fan bases have driven demand for inspired product lines across toys, collectables, softlines and home décor. It is so exciting to see how consumers are really gravitating towards, and celebrating our product lines.”
The company has also been busy targeting the next generation of Marvel fans, with Spidey and his Amazing Friends launching in August on Disney Junior and later on Disney+, marking the first full-length Marvel series for preschoolers.
“From a Marvel perspective, the appeal of our characters for licensees continues to grow,” Paul continues. “It has been a challenging 18 months for many, and our brand, with its legacy of creating amazing content that brings fans and families closer together brings inspiration and resilience. Our characters are known for often triumphing against the odds, leading to millions of highly engaged fans who seek out our products around the world. Their stories seem more pertinent today, than ever before.” Paul also sees more positivity when it comes to the health of the retail environment. “Covid definitely had an impact on retail due to widespread enforced closures of physical stores and the resulting focus and acceleration of ecommerce,” he says. “With a return to normal, we see retailers coming out stronger, and gravitating to established evergreen brands like Disney and Marvel with exciting and innovative retail marketing to welcome back shoppers. For Marvel in particular, we’re already seeing consumers purchasing our lines at a healthy rate at their favourite ecommerce sites and brick and mortar shopping destinations.”
Paul is confident the positive momentum will continue into 2022 and beyond. “Our strategy for Marvel is all about character equity: who they are, what they stand for and how they connect with audiences. We want our licensing partners to
connect their brand with the core attributes of
Marvel’s characters, such as performance, strength and durability, as a way to differentiate their products on retail shelves.
“Over the coming months, we plan to continue to add to our roster of partners in hardlines, softlines and consumables, as well as celebrate our upcoming theatrical releases including Black Widow, Shang-Chi, The Eternals and new Disney+ content in a big way across all of our retail and product collaborations. We are expecting the remainder of 2021 to be fairly strong, setting the stage for positive momentum into 2022 and beyond,” he concludes.
Daryl Shute, brand director at Magic Light
Pictures, believes that there are multiple macro factors that will shape the coming year.
“Physical and mental, health, social habits, travel patterns and how financially stability for both individuals and the economy will have a role to play as we emerge from the past 18 months,” he says. “In light of this we have proceeded with caution and continue to believe in what we have.
The Gruffalo is a cherished and trusted brand
that has grown steadily year on year from the beginning. The real opportunity is to continue to build as a universe of characters under The Gruffalo brand family and incrementally grown shelf space with key retail partners.
“We’re also working on our new preschool series so bringing new partners on board and announcing signings of Pip and Posy licensees will be a real focus.”
Daryl adds that, despite putting “a red line” through last year’s budget in March 2020, Magic Light’s licensing business ended the year pretty much on the original figures. It also saw growth of +35% YOY in some categories and its apparel DTRs held position.
The fact that the industry is seriously looking at the sustainability of products and making achievable steps with measurable changes is also something which Daryl believes has advanced in the past 12 months.
He concludes: “The collective demand for action is now a real conversation happening across multiple global organisations which could lead to the significant change that is urgently needed.”
Right: Daryl says that Magic Light Pictures has seen growth of +35% YOY in some categories. Above: Consumer appetite for live experiences remains high, says Stephen.
“In spite of a challenging retail environment, we have seen strong performance across our portfolio of much-loved brands and licensed products,” begins Stephen Davies, md for
consumer products and licensing at BBC
Studios.
Merchandise for hit preschool series, Bluey is hitting shelves and the company has renewed deals for Hey Duggee with MV Sport, HTI, Golden Bear, Fiddes Payne, Dennicci/Blues Clothing and Kinnerton.
In addition, the partnership with Teemil for BBC Earth is continuing, while for Doctor Who, a new game – The Edge of Reality – plus immersive experience Doctor Who: Time Fracture are among the recent highlights.
Stephen also says that the company has witnessed viewers falling back in love with physical discs and home entertainment during the pandemic, which is benefiting nostalgic shows such as Fawlty Towers and Only Fools and Horses.
Stephen continues: “Live events continue to carry challenges. Clearly there are multiple moving parts, and where there has been so much uncertainty, it’s been challenging to optimise timings and all the other elements that go into creating live experiences. We’ve had to make some difficult decisions, particularly with indoor live shows where social distancing capacities have made productions unviable, and we feel strongly that quality shouldn’t suffer. Thankfully, consumer appetite for live experiences remains high, and we’re already starting to see strong results as events start to move closer to normality.”
As well as Doctor Who: Time Fracture, CBeebies Land and Hotel is open again, Question of Sport Live is in theatres later this year, while Seven Worlds One Planet in Concert is scheduled for December as is Countryfile Christmas in the Park.
“For our licensing business, we have overcome many challenges,” begins Helen Genia, senior manager, consumer products at Mattel. “The continued lockdowns have affected many categories, but particularly party, dress-up and apparel. But since stores have opened, we have seen a return to health with apparel set to be in growth by the end of the year. Other categories have been very robust, so it has been a real mixed bag.”
Helen says that she has been heartened to see how everyone across all sectors has pivoted to adapt to new agile working conditions, adding that Mattel is fortunate to have “great partners that have continued to push the boundaries”.
“Just to name a few, our Very and SkinnyDip partnerships with Barbie continue to bring freshness to both our kid and adult fans. Our arts and crafts partnerships are delivering to our consumer needs, while publishing remains a cornerstone of our beloved Thomas & Friends franchise, where we are also innovating with new formats.” Above: Helen believes that the product Mattel is bringing to
From a hardlines perspective, Helen admits that, like so many other market is the best it has seen. companies, things are challenging with cost increases in raw materials and worldwide shortage on IC chips, to the “ludicrous” cost increases in freight from the Far East or containers simply not being available. “We are fortunate that some categories can be airfreighted due to size and that others are coming from other regions across the globe,” she says.
There are positives, too, however: “We are privileged to be in a position where our business is buoyant. The product that we are bringing to market is the best we have seen, due to the laser focus we have on our development, ensuring that we deliver best in class product to meet the demands of our consumers, allowing them to deepen their relationships through relevant brand extensions,” Helen concludes.
2021 has already seen Boat Rocker Studios’ parent company, Boat Rocker Media, go public, and Caroline High, director of licensing, says it is now in “an ideal position” to pursue a range of expansion initiatives.
New preschool series, Dino Ranch, launched in the UK in April on Disney+, and the licensing programme is growing with the introduction of Global Brands Group, Character World, Immediate Media and Ravensburger. They join existing partners Jazwares and Scholastic. Meanwhile, Love Monster will see new content launch at Christmas in the UK and Australia, and The Next Step is continuing with its successful partnership with Pineapple Studios among other activity.
“Overall, things are improving and there is light at the end of the tunnel,” says Caroline, discussing the challenges brought about by the pandemic. “We’re confident in the direction
things are moving in the second half of 2021 as we continue to collectively work to come out the other side of the pandemic. “We have lots of positives to keep us cheerful. We’ve been absolutely delighted by the reaction to Dino Ranch, both from its young audience and commercial partners. Its straightout-of-the-gate ratings success is very exciting and testament to the hard work and passion that has gone into the project over the last couple of years. We’re also really looking forward to celebrating the 40th anniversary of the world’s greatest secret agent, Danger Mouse, and have some exciting activity planned, including a range of special 40th anniversary Above: Boat Rocker has lots of positives to look forward to, says Caroline. merchandise from a host of licensees, and showcasing 40 original classic episodes on the Danger Mouse YouTube channel starting in September. We’re also thrilled to have new content on the horizon for Love Monster, with its second series coming early next year.”
Hasbro has been busy working on a variety of location-based experiences including the August opening of Monopoly Lifesized in London.
My Little Pony: A New Generation will premiere on Netflix in September and several softlines deals are in motion including Morgan Lane, Alex Woo and a capsule collection at Rue 21 stores. The company has also deepened its relationship with Reebok following its successful Power Rangers collaboration with upcoming launches for Peppa Pig and PJ Masks.
“Early in the pandemic we were quick to pivot to a digital-first approach, working with ecommerce partners and enhancing our capabilities in the space - and we think those new strategies will continue to benefit us as the world returns to a new normal,” Claire Gilchrist, vp consumer products at Hasbro explains.
She continues: “Like many industries, we have been challenged by container shortages and shipping delays and have been working closely with our licensees and retailers to manage. It is also difficult to forecast inventory needs accurately as consumers return to a new normal, so we have put
more resources toward inventory management.
“Another challenge has been to smartly navigate the highly competitive pipeline of delayed theatrical releases and tentpole events. We’re working closely with our partners and retailers to support them through delays, and drive consumer demand and engagement for the launches.”
However, Claire is also keen to point out the positives: “Also, with optimism for a post-pandemic world, we’re finding that many of our retail partners are already seeing strong licensing growth and great momentum as we enter the second half of the year and plan for 2022. There continues to be a strong demand for our beloved franchise brands across our portfolio. As consumers seek comfort during these uncertain times, it’s no surprise that nostalgia remains an important global trend that we continue to tap into.”
Above: Claire Gilchrist, vp, Hasbro Consumer Products AMPAC. Below: Nostalgic brands, such as My Little Pony, will remain key going forward.
