Global news

POKÉMON CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH RETAIL SUCCESS

The Pokémon Company International is celebrating a fantastic 2021 at retail as the year-long activity surrounding its 25th anniversary approaches a conclusion. Exciting pop-ups in world-renowned UK store Selfridges and in Berlin’s iconic KaDeWe have consolidated the strength of its retail activations with high-end department stores, while sales of toys and its trading card game are soaring. Pokémon is currently taking over part of Selfridges’ toy space in three UK stores – its historic Oxford Street flagship in London, Birmingham Bullring and Manchester’s Trafford Centre – for a vibrant pop-up activation running from December 13th until the end of January. Meanwhile, a hugely successful pop-up installation in KaDeWe in the autumn has led to the launch of a permanent Pokémon space in Berlin’s foremost department store. In both stores, special branded areas have been created to promote the Pokémon range while also offering in-store entertainment to provide a fun and immersive experience for fans of all ages. A wide selection of Pokémon toys, licensed merchandise, special 25th anniversary lines and Pokémon trading card game products are available at all locations. Named Best Gaming Licensed Property at the 2021 Licensing Awards, Pokémon has also proved a winner at retail with sales of toys and TCG soaring higher than ever in the UK this year. The brand – the 6th biggest property in the UK – has seen overall toy sales rise by an incredible 91% on 2020 (source: NPD data YTD November 21.) In Germany TCG sales are also up by 81% YTD. Building on this momentum, Jazwares have extended their master toy rights for Pokémon to include new direct distribution territories in the UK and Ireland and GAS from January. The company has exciting new lines coming for 2022, which they will be showcasing at the various major toy fairs in the new year. Next year also sees another first for Pokémon as its World Championships comes to London – the first-ever time the Championships will be held outside North America. The pinnacle of competitive Pokémon play.

NHL SURF AND SKATE SITE LAUNCHES

Calhoun Sportswear has launched its NHL Surf and Skate consumer website. This site will feature NHL products from their NHL Surf and Skate brand. The new product range is a category extension of the NHL license that Calhoun has held since 2008. It features premium retro styles reflective of the Calhoun brand experience since 1973. Featured items include specialty finished sweatshirts and t-shirts with premium printing and cresting. These products will be sold by Calhoun’s e-commerce partners and Calhoun’s various e-commerce sites. A retail pop-up shop will be featured in the Calhoun factory’s historicallythemed store located in the heart of the Design District of St Catharines. Although Calhoun is very focused on NHL Products they have worked with some key entertainment and beverage licenses including Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy, Simpsons, Rick and Morty, Corona, Anheuser

Busch, Molson Coors, Harry Potter, DC Comics, Bob Ross, General Motors. Calhoun has been located in St Catharines since 1973. The company continues to cut, sew, print, embroider from the 40,000 sq. location and its US warehouse near Buffalo, New York.

KIDSCREEN POSTPONED TO JULY

As a result of the ongoing pandemic, Kidscreen Summit 2022, which was set to take place live in Miami from February 14 to 17 has now been postponed to July 18 to 21. The location and venue will remain the same. Kidscreen Summit Virtual will still take place as planned from March 7 to 11 and all attendees registered for the live event will have access to the digital companion event. All existing live event registrations and sponsorships will be transferred to the rescheduled event in July.

After a successful, decades-long career that had a major impact on the licensing industry, Licensing International recently announced the retirement of Marty Brochstein, SVP, Industry Relations & Information. Marty has long been a voice in the industry and a mentor to many, but first and foremost – as he’d tell you – he is a journalist. After a storied stint at Television Digest, Marty soon made his way to become Executive Editor of The Licensing Letter. Through his time at The Licensing Letter, Marty developed a passion for the industry, joining Licensing International (formerly LIMA) and remaining a force there for over 13 years. His work with Licensing International afforded him opportunities to meet so many professionals as well as travel across the globe, but what all who know him professionally will take away most is how Marty’s tenacity and wealth of knowledge have inspired so many. In his tenure, Marty’s been a champion for bringing people into the licensing industry and sharing his years of institutional knowledge, contributing to significant growth within the industry at large. And he’s done it all with humor and heart. Whilst he plans to devote more time to his passion for golf, Marty has also said he won’t stray far from the industry, taking on some project work both for Licensing International and others. As a long-time friend of Total Licensing, and a very valued regular columnist, we wish Marty nothing but good things - and many rounds of golf - in this new chapter in his life.

PULL&BEAR SIGN DEAL WITH THE SMURFS

Pull&Bear, the young fashion chain belonging to the Inditex Group has signed a Direct-to-Retail agreement with DeAPlaneta Entertainment for the global launch of The Smurfs collection, featuring the iconic little blue characters. The men´s collection includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, bomber jackets and jeans along with shorts, shirts, and caps which are now available from the online store worldwide. DeAPlaneta Entertainment coordinates the brand’s licensing program in Spain, Portugal, and Central and Eastern Europe. The brand is based on the characters and universe created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo in 1958. The brand is more alive than ever thanks to its latest releases, including CGI animated and live action films, and the new CGI TV series for 5–12 -year-olds, which launched on Nickelodeon on 10 September and has already screened on TF1 in France. This new series combines comedy, adventure and action and will soon screen on national TV stations including RAI YOYO in Italy, KIKA in Germany, and Milkshake! on Channel 5 in the UK. The Smurfs are about to launch a new line of toys with master toy license holder, Jazwares, in addition to new videogames, fashion collections, health and beauty lines, audiobooks and other entertainment products and experiences.

ANIMACCORD LAUNCHES FIRST MASHA E-SHOP

Animaccord has launched its first brand new Masha and the Bear e-shop - an online shop created and operated by Star Editions features a collection of branded merchandise inspired by the preschool series. Personalized giftware company Star Editions has announced the opening of the first stand-alone online store for Masha and the Bear that features an exclusive range of print-on-demand merchandise and products from existing licensees. The available assortment now contains 10 product categories of the POD line, including T-shirts, mugs, puzzles, bottles, and more, in addition to the master toy licensee collection from Simba Toys. According to Animaccord, the variety of e-store products under the Masha and the Bear branding will be increased later next year. The site - shop.mashabear.com - is now live.

Cloudco Entertainment, owner of entertainment property Care Bears, has launched its new Care Bears: Unlock The Magic animated series on China’s CCTV14 public broadcasting network and French free-to-air television channel, Gulli. These content launches come in tandem with new toy deals in both territories that will support the new TV series as well as the Care Bears’ forthcoming 40th anniversary in 2022. Following the immense success experienced in the US, Europe, and APAC, CCTV14 Children’s Channel in China started streaming Care Bears: Unlock the Magic across the country in October. The all-new 2D animated series produced by Cloudco Entertainment includes 48 x 11’ episodes and 2 x 22’ shorts. In September 2021, Lagardere Active started airing Care Bears: Unlock the Magic on the French free-to-air television channel, Gulli, after the initial launch on Tiji, where the series also continues to air. This October, Cloudco also relaunched Care Bears toys with new master toy partner, Splash Toys, in France. The toy line emulates the new character art style seen in Care Bears: Unlock the Magic and is rolling out successfully at mass and specialty as well as a number of other online and brick and mortar retailers across the country. Early next year, Care Bears will introduce a new line of toys and collectibles with POP MART, in China. The deal was brokered by IMG China and will feature a range of figurines, blind boxes, and novelties for teens and young adults. The toy line will debut at POP MART and rollout to online and brick and mortar retailers across the country.

3D RANGE FOR SELFIES

Howard Robinson reports that Selfies has been working with UK based 3D design studios, PopHeads who are now set to introduce an eco-3D range for craft toys, wall-art and gifting. The pop-out craft creations will launch initially in January 2022, exclusively in the UK. Part of the StackaWraps Global network, PopHeads has responded to increasing demand for craft toys, gifts and creative partnerships With the environment at the forefront of its innovations, PopHeads sourced FSC materials and sustainability minded UK manufactures to support the evolution of its latest craft toy and gifting designs. Ralph Collins head of design innovations, commented: “PopHeads has been in the incubator for a while now, and we have perfected our unique technology specifically for these fun 3D kits. We wanted to create something with maximum engagement by pairing up with exciting artists. The Howard Robinson 3D collaboration is the first to launch with the ‘Selfie’ range of cheeky creatures. Howard has a huge following globally – and iconic status in some countries – and his amazing designs are leading the way with games and collectibles”. Other new Selfie agreements include stitch kits with Art Needlepoint Co in the USA and a range of Selfie activity books with Kidsbooks Publishing in the USA and a recently completed range of card games for Masterpieces in the US. CEA Ltd has become the exclusive publisher of puzzles within India and Howard is now looking to team up for games. An agreement has been reached in a new territory for wooden puzzles with Decolaser in Argentina. Further licenses include Zuty for a range of paint by numbers in Europe with the first 79 designs now in production and agreed further territory licenses with Hinkler in Australia and Paintbynumbers.Shop in the US. Diamond painting kits remain very popular and the offering has been enlarge with both Diamond Painting Deutschland and Dozelf in the Netherlands.

BRAINBASE AND NISSAN

Brainbase and Nissan Motor Corporation recently announced a partnership whereby Nissan will unify their global licensing operations on Brainbase’s modern, intuitive brand licensing platform. “Nissan has a rich history of ingenuity and innovation in the auto industry not only in their home country of Japan, but across the globe,” said Nate Cavanaugh, co-founder and CEO of Brainbase. “Our companies’ combined commitments to excellence and disrupting the status quo brought us together, and the Brainbase team is excited to support their high-growth licensing business with our industry-leading technology.” “In a space of seemingly many software vendors, Brainbase is in league of its own in the intellectual property licensing industry,” said the Licensing Business Group, IP Promotion Department at Nissan. “By partnering with Brainbase, we are setting up our licensing team for success in the present and in the future for years to come.” Brainbase brings together every feature required to run a global licensing business at scale so licensing teams can make smarter, faster decisions. With the help of Brainbase, IP owners are able to unify their global operations into a single software platform – from deals, product approvals, royalty reporting, digital asset management, and dashboard analytics. Nissan aims to establish a winwin relationship with its customers through the automotive brand licensing business. From toys to apparel, Nissan will bring licensed product to market even faster to the fans of Nissan vehicles such as Skyline, Z and many more. Nissan joins a Brainbase customer roster with leading global brands including BBC Studios, BuzzFeed, Chefclub, Crayola, kathy ireland® Worldwide, Moose Toys, Penske Media Corporation, SYBO Games and the Van Gogh Museum, among others.

ViacomCBS Consumer Products recently announced that it has appointed PT. TLG, a brand management and licensing agency, as its strategic partner for the Indonesia market for a period of three years. Effective January 1, 2022, the TLG team in Jakarta, led by industry veteran Mochtar Sarman, will take charge of all existing VCP businesses for various properties from ViacomCBS’s kids entertainment brand Nickelodeon, global youth media brand MTV, and entertainment destination Paramount Network. Drawing from ViacomCBS’ wide portfolio that caters to all audiences and demographics, properties and franchises available for licensing under this appointment include pop culture icons SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; fan-favorite Avatar: The Last Airbender; preschool hits PAW Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Dora the Explorer; and comedy sensation Emily in Paris, . Masakazu Soeda, Vice President, ViacomCBS Consumer Products, Japan, SEA, India said, “We recognize the immense potential that Indonesia holds for the consumer products business. With the strong appeal of our properties and the TLG team’s deep market expertise, we believe that we will be able to better address local trends and needs, and take advantage of the many opportunities available to deepen the viewing experience and fuel fandom through our products.” Mochtar Sarman, CEO of TLG, added, “The TLG team is excited to leverage our combined decades of experience to supercharge the delivery of exciting new products and experiences for fans in Indonesia. We look forward to working closely with ViacomCBS and local partners.”

KAPPA AND UBISOFT

Renowned Italian sportswear brand Kappa and Ubisoft®, developer and publisher of the video game Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, are delighted to announce the launch of a compelling capsule collection for winter 2021-2022. The agreement was brokered by Ubisoft’s licensing agency IMG. The two brands have teamed up to offer an exclusive collection that blends contemporary fashion with the gaming world, while integrating the Rainbow Six Siege DNA into these iconic products. The collection is composed of three ranges: Banda, Logo and R6. This capsule collection includes 8 pieces including hoodies, casual tshirts, a jacket and a tracksuit, all in black, grey and blue tones taken from the Rainbow Six Siege universe. Each product features instantly recognizable details such as the combination of the iconic Kappa Omini logo with the Rainbow Six logo to create a unique “banda” that runs along the sleeves of the jacket and the sides of the sweatpants. The collection is made using delicately crafted materials perfectly timed for the winter season. This collaboration is built on Kappa and Rainbow Six Siege’s mission to satisfy the most passionate gamers, as well as fashion and lifestyle lovers. All 21-22 Kappa x Rainbow Six products are now available on www.kappastore.fr.