NEWS
HEAD EXPANDS PRODUCT PORTFOLIO HEAD has announced it has expanded its product portfolio. The leading manufacturer of tennis and ski equipment is launching Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP) together with co:sports as the official licensee. The inflatable boards are now available from selected sports retailers and online. The three paddleboards from the 2022 collection cover all possible usage scenarios. The “epic” is an extra wide board for young people and paddlers who are standing on a SUP for their first time. The “sublime” is considered an all-rounder for various purposes. The almost 4 meter long “grand” is ideal for extended tours. As a result of technical features such as a double outer skin (Double Rail Construction) or seams welded under high pressure (Fusion Generation 2 Technology) the HEAD boards offer maximum safety and stability on standing or flowing water. The boards can be easily folded and transported in the backpack that comes with them. The inflatable stand up paddleboards were developed by co:sports GmbH from Rheine, Westphalia. The company acts as an official licensee and has exclusively secured the Europe-wide marketing rights for the HEAD
Paddleboarding brand. “Our team’s many years of experience in the SUP sector found the ideal partner in HEAD to take Stand Up Paddling to the next level. Our boards are characterized by the high quality and safety you are used to from HEAD, without sacrificing excellent riding dynamics,” says Ralf Kämmerling, Managing Director of co:sports. “Since HEAD stands for performance and innovation, among other things, we are very happy to have won a selected expert in the field of SUP with the company co:sports. We deliberately chose a partner who can offer state-of-the-art solutions for both ambitious beginners and experienced paddlers. co:sports shares this positioning with us and that’s why we’re really looking forward to the launch of the new HEAD SUPs in specialist stores,” said Giuseppe Faranna, Vice President Division Manager Licensing at HEAD Sport. While many manufacturers are currently experiencing delivery bottlenecks due to ongoing delays in the supply chains, HEAD’s SUP boards have been available in Europe from selected sports retailers and on online since April.
TFL SOCK COLLECTION The London Sock Exchange has announced it has launched its TfL Collection – a range of socks developed in collaboration with Transport for London, celebrating the city’s most iconic transport through the medium of yarn. The deal was secured by TSBA Group, TfL’s global licensing agency. The London Sock Exchange team has worked closely with the TfL brand and design team to create six distinct pairs of socks. The socks have been knitted using The London Sock Exchange’s signature 200-needle knitting process – giving each pair a finer, stronger, more comfortable finish, and next-level detail in design. PAGE 10
ICON AVATAR FASHION FOR SMILEY Epik bridges the gap between real-world brands and digital ecosystems by connecting Ready Games, the leading distributed web3 gaming ecosystem on mobile, and Smiley Company, the lifestyle brand and original creator of the iconic smiling emoticon now celebrating its 50th anniversary.
In honour of Smiley’s half-century, the brands have launched a bespoke virtual fashion line of SmileyWorld branded merchandise for Ready Games’ app, ‘Icon Avatar Fashion Universe’. In the app, players can now choose up to 21 unique SmileyWorld pieces to add to their avatars’ virtual fashion closets. “Ready’s innovative NFT technology provides brands and creators the opportunity to elevate fashion collections in the digital space,” says Christina Macedo, COO of Ready Games. “Our vision is for players to be able to express themselves through clothing and in-game accessories. Smiley’s iconic symbol of universal happiness is the perfect fit for our first animated and textured NFT fashion collection. The whole collection feels fresh, playful, and wonderfully iridescent - truly brilliant!” “Launching a collection of SmileyWorld virtual fashions with Ready Games is an exciting leap into the metaverse for The Smiley Company,” says Lori Heiss-Tiplady SVP of Digital at The Smiley Company. “The Icon app is the perfect launching pad for digital fashions from our lifestyle brand born in the digital universe and built on self-expression. The animated patterns and avatars made possible by Ready’s ground-breaking technology will allow users to express their moods in a bold new way with SmileyWorld.”
TOTAL BRAND LICENSING
