12-13_16-17_Vegas LSB_Summer 2022.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 05/05/2022 08:06 Page 12
LICENSEE FEEDBACK
Now that we are approaching half time in 2022, LSB asks a selection of licensees if the year is panning out as they anticipated in terms of opportunities and challenges, and what is the one thing they would like to achieve by the time we reach the all-important Q4 period?
Talking shop
Mordy Benaiah, licensing director, Pyramid International
Above: The summer period is key to the success of 2022, says Mordy.
“At the start of the year Pyramid set itself very ambitious targets for 2022. We knew that importing from China was still going to be a challenge and let’s face it, we are still paying a high price for containers, plus the lockdowns which have been happening in several regions in China have caused delays. As long as you can manage timings and try and keep costs to a minimum, then there is light at the end of the tunnel. We had just started as a business to make breakthroughs in Russia which has now completely stopped. Other negatives affecting most people across Europe are cost rises and inflation. Back to the positives, Pyramid had a surprising and very strong Q1. We are delighted with the sales and it comes down to the sales team’s hard work backed up with some great film releases like The Batman and Fantastic Beasts 3 leading the way in the cinema. TV streaming is also strong with Disney+ titles bringing fans further into wanting merchandise. For us, the summer period is key to the success of 2022.”
Allana Holmes, home and lifestyle brand and sales director, Hunter Price International “We have a vision to become the retailers’ choice for innovative and design-led consumer products and we’ve carved out three clear product divisions to provide focus for the business: Home & Lifestyle, Stationery & Craft and Toys & Activity. We began the year on a huge high after our most successful Spring Fair to date. Our home & lifestyle division took centre stage, as we launched our first collection for the Style Sisters and also debuted the new brand we developed for TV personality, Billie Faiers, Chapter B. We achieved our major objective of securing our launch retail partners, as well as starting conversations with our potential 2023 partners. These launches have been the perfect springboard to our year and as a result we’ve opened some very exciting doors, across all of our divisions. We’ve been able to turn the continuous challenges around shipping and rising costs into opportunities, by demonstrating we can create new, inspiring and engaging brands during an unprecedented time. We’ll also be announcing a series of exciting new partnerships throughout the year - a key objective will be to bring these new collaborations to life through industry leading NPD innovation.” Left: Hunter Price enjoyed its most successful Spring Fair to date, says Allana.
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LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2022
