Category Archives: Lifestyle

Fashion UK, Portico Designs and Rubber Road among new UK partners for How the Grinch Stole Christmas

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Fashion UK, Portico Designs, and the pop culture licensee Rubber Road are among a tranche of new UK licensing partners now signed for Dr Seuss Enterprises festive IP How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The latest signings arrive as WildBrain CPLG secures a new wave of European deals for the property.

In the UK, Portico Designs will release a line of calendars and diaries, Fashion UK is developing new kids’ daywear, and Rubber Road has introduced The Grinch to it popular collectables line up Tubbz. Meanwhile, Enesco is launching figurines and CHristmas decorations, Ecell is developing new phone covers and accessories, and Widdop & Co has signed up for gifting and home accessories.

Additional fashion partnerships have been secured outside of the UK with Trucare for the Middle East and North Africa, and Elyaf for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The new product ranges will launch from October 2020.

John Taylor, VP Northern Europe and managing director UK and France at WildBrain CPLG, said: “Thanks to his quirky humour and holiday spirit, the Grinch has firmly established himself as an icon for the festive season. This broad line-up of new partners means the brand will continue to have a robust presence during the Christmas retail period, and also have a wider range of products available than ever before.”

“We are excited about the broad reach of Grinchmas at retail this year, due in large part to all the great work WildBrain CPLG has done to select fantastic licensees who creatively connect our fans with the Grinch through consumer products,” said Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

These new partnerships join long-standing apparel and homeware UK licensees for the brand which include: Somerbond, BC International, Park Agencies, Misirli, Brand International, Dreamtex, Paul Dennicci, Cooneen, IG Design Group, Hype and Aurora.

Beyond the UK, the licensing programme also features European partners LPP for adult and kids wear and H&M for apparel and accessories, alongside Thalia for gifting in Germany, Australia and Switzerland.

In bloom: Gardening specialist Primus on the growing potential and demand for licensing in the back garden

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With the increased time spent at home, with family, and the surge of the UK’s population turning to the garden space and gardening hobby as a means of exercise and ‘back to nature’ entertainment, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that the market has become one filled with potential for the licensing space to tap into.

It was only at the end of last month that garden and gardening specialist, Primus, took home a double award win at Glee Gathering, where its range of Peppa Pig garden ornaments triumphed in both the Best of British Award and Best Garden Decoration Award categories.

The win underscored an interesting and undeniable shift in the landscape; one that Steve Perry, head of marketing at Primus, reaffirms when he tells Licensing.biz that “the garden industry desperately wants to see more licensed products in the marketplace.” It’s something the licensee spotted when it first struck up partnerships with Aardman for Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit garden ornaments, or with RSPB for its hand crafted wooden bird gifting range, and continues to see today with the success of its latest partnership with Hasbro: the market for brands in the gardening space is currently blooming.

Licensing.biz catches up with Perry, head of marketing at Primus to explore the market, why the hobby is finding younger and younger audiences, and why now is the right time for the licensing industry to be sowing the seeds for a fruitful venture in the back garden.

Hi Steve, it’s good to explore the garden with you and congratulations on the recent award wins. Seeing a licensed product take the win across two categories, how reflective do you think this is of current trends in the garden/gardening market?

I think the garden industry desperately wants to see more licensed products, having our range of RSPB hand carved wooden birds shortlisted for the same award last year also backs this up. The judges are looking for something new and original and licensed products in this category hasn’t been done like this before (other than us in other ranges).

After a very successful run from our Shaun the Sheep licensed products we decided that we would expand our licensing portfolio, so I reached out to the licensing agency behind the IP on the idea of translating the ever popular Peppa Pig characters into an ornamental form suitable for the home and garden, which they were incredibly receptive to. A deal was soon made and then after a lengthy development stage the final products have been released and all are in agreement that they are fantastic, the initial market feedback speaks for itself.

It’s here that the licensing category manager at Hasbro, Zahara Gul told us that given that the show is ‘very much about first experiences’, the team is “looking forward to working with Primus to extend the garden offering to get kids involved with nature.”

You guys mention other licensed lines in Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit. What potential do you see for the world of licensing in the garden and gardening market?

We feel that brand licensing in the garden sector is a large growth area, you don’t see the same kind of licensing activity like you do in other sectors and licensors now are definitely starting to realise this. In particular we feel this is the case with younger audiences who are heavily bought into brands and characters and no doubt in part why our new range Peppa Pig and friends did so well at this year’s Glee Gathering winning two awards – Best of British and Best Garden Decoration categories.

So far the response from the trade has been the best we’ve ever had to a new licensed product collection. We knew Peppa Pig would be popular but we doubled our initial order quantity purely from the demand generated by our pre-order catalogue. We know our retailers’ customers are going to love these ornaments, as well as the more than 200 other new products for the 2021 season. We loved them from the start but we were unsure what the reaction would be from the trade and customers.

Being shortlisted for best new product at the Glee Gathering 2020 and with the volume of pre-orders coming in we are glad everyone likes them as much as we do and I think this is simply going to open more doors for the world of licensing and the gardening market. It is certainly pivotal to our plans going forward.

What sort of increase in interest in gardens and gardening have you seen in terms of customers and audiences as a result of the UK lockdown measures? Has this fueled growth in the market?

Like many industries, the current pandemic has certainly had an impact on the gardening sector, but thankfully it’s potentially had a very positive long term impact in this particular sector, The Horticultural Trades Association states that ‘almost three million gardeners sprung up this year as a result of lockdowns.”

The pandemic has created a new generation of enthusiasts who have found the joy that can be had from their garden and we hope people continue to embrace this new found love of gardening especially the younger, family demographic we are seeing a big increase in.

Arguably the success of the Peppa Pig range suggests that more families are taking it up as an ‘at home’ hobby. Would this be the main market for licensed garden products? What do you look for in a licensing partnership or property to work with?

To this point garden gift and decor has been our area of focus, I would agree that part of Peppa’s success has been due to the family appeal but there is a huge amount of scope to be had with brand licensing in the garden sector.

For us, when choosing a license partner to work with we do not necessarily look for trends or fads, instead we look at characters and brands that have stood the test of time and can almost be seen as “classic”, certainly this is the case for our Aardman collection, with Wallace and Gromit having their 30th anniversary last year.

Unlike with plush for toy industry where licenses are based heavily on what’s hot right now, I think the gardening market appreciate heritage and something that is lasting.

What does the current licensed range at Primus span? Have you got plans to build on this? What plans have you got for tapping into the younger audiences?

Currently Primus has focused heavily on decor and gift lines such as Aardman metal garden ornaments, our RSPB hand carved wooden birds and now Peppa and friends, garden decor is the core of what we distribute at Primus with over 500 other non-licensed products in the category. However we do see that there is a real movement right now to encourage young gardeners and get them into the hobby from a very young age.

There’s a huge amount of positive experiences that can be had by introducing children to gardening and research suggests children perform better at school if they’re involved with gardening, as well as it being a healthy and active hobby as opposed to video games and other not so stimulating interests’ younger generations can have.

Working with our existing licensors and potentially some new partners we feel that Primus could help to lead the way by using some of their favourite characters to help inspire them to engage into this new activity and get a lot of joy from it.

The Pokémon Company grows European apparel portfolio with Erve Europe and Van Der Erve

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The Pokémon Company International is expanding its European reach once more, having tapped Erve Europe/Van Der Erve, Europe’s licensed apparel and brands specialist, to develop kids and adult apparel for the German, Austrian and Swiss markets.

The new deal will see fashion powerhouse Erve Europe / Van Der Erve collaborate with Pokémon for a collection of kids’ and adult daywear, nightwear, and accessories, all of which is planned to launch at retail in 2021 across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Specialists in fashion-forward licensed apparel, Erve Europe / Van Der Erve are front runners in design, sourcing, and distribution of branded apparel and accessories in Europe. A preferred supplier of sustainable fashion to leading retailers, they work with department stores, fashion retailers, supermarkets, hypermarkets, discount chains, and resellers, creating bespoke items and collections on demand.

Mathieu Galante, licensing director EMEA for The Pokémon Company International, said: “We are delighted to be working with Erve Europe / Van Der Erve. Its vast experience from 35 years in the industry, exceptional quality, and sustainable practices make it the perfect partner to further grow Pokémon’s fashion presence in Germany, where – as across the whole of Europe – demand for Pokémon apparel and accessories continues to expand.”

Pokémon’s partnership with Erve Europe / Van Der Erve further strengthens its increasing status as a fashion icon and high-street staple. Its growing apparel offering now includes successful ranges at global giants such as Zara, H&M, Bershka, Pull&Bear, and Undiz, innovative collaborations with the likes of Adidas, UNIQLO, and Original Stich, plus capsule collections from leading fashion brands and designers including GCDS, Jeremy Scott, and Bobby Abley.

ARTiSTORY’s Natasha Dyson on the future of the art and culture licensing space

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ARTiSTORY, a licensing super group (The Crosby, Stills, and Nash or the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer of the industry perhaps?) comprised of Natasha Dyson, Dave Collins, and Tamara Dixon, couldn’t have arrived at a better time for the art and culture sector.

Alongside the arts and the hospitality industries, the cultural sector has been one of the hardest hit by the events of the past nine months, with venues and organisations forced to close or cope under the financial pressures drawn out of large decreases in footfall and visitor numbers all at the hands of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, licensing has become the beacon of light and a means for the sector to continue to reach its audiences across the globe in the meaningful ways that resonate with the public, while developing the much-needed incremental resources for themselves. And, made up of a team of ‘pioneers in the art and cultural IP licensing sector,’ this is just what ARTiSTORY is setting out to achieve.

The question is: just how big an impact is the coronavirus pandemic likely to have on the future of the art and cultural sector, how has it shaped new means of consumer and fan engagement within it, and what will licensing now have to achieve or adapt to in order to ensure those meaningful experiences are maintained?

Licensing.biz catches up with Natasha Dyson, co-founder and licensing director of ARTiSTORY to talk all this and more.

Hello Natasha, it’s nice to catch up. Just to kick us off, and to recap, what is ARTiSTORY, what is it bringing to the licensing space and what is your role in the new venture?

A new venture specialising in working in the art and culture sector, ARTiSTORY acts as a master licensee to IP by helping them to launch design led licensing programmes across Europe and North America.

ARTiSTORY merges art and culture with our daily lives through exceptional consumer goods, engaging storytelling and interactive shopping experiences.

My main focus is on developing the licensing programme on behalf of our clients. Though as you can imagine, as a new company we all wear many hats at the moment in order to get everything done.

Why is now the right time to be launching ARTiSTORY? How is this reflective of the way the licensing industry or consumer tastes have changed? 

The founding members of ARTiSTORY have been working in licensing for many years. As a team we are pioneers in the art and cultural IP licensing sector, and in the past have developed and launched numerous award-winning licensing programmes. As an example, the founding members have worked with the MET, Natural History Museum, V&A and British Museum, just to name a few, and we’ve worked with global top consumer brands and retailers, such as LVMH, P&G, Nestle, Miss Sixty, Amazon and Uniqlo.

COVID-19 has forced closures across various art and cultural organisations which has led to more demand within the art and cultural sector to continue to reach their audience in meaningful way while still developing incremental revenue sources. We see this is the perfect moment for us to bring our expertise and resources under one roof by setting up ARTiSTORY, so from a start, ARTiSTORY is an industry leader in driving the global development of art and cultural IP licensing.

ARTiSTORY is very much tapping into the heritage and cultural space – why is this such a strong sector for licensing?

The world of art, cultural and science IP is very unique in many ways. Firstly, it has literally countless precious artifacts and objects, ranging from Pottery of ancient Greece, to master paintings from Renaissance, from Kimono collection from Japan, to contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol. Each piece of these artifacts and objects offer ARTiSTORY wonderful sources of design inspiration and elements for storytelling which we then license as a package to our licensees.

Secondly, art and culture are universally cherished by consumers worldwide, regardless of their age, language and professions. Many consumer brands and retailers with whom the founding members have worked are all impressed by the scale of the impact, the effectiveness of new user acquisitions that art and culture IP has delivered. As an example, a recent market report released by Alibaba Group in 2019 indicates that art and cultural IP licensees reported an average rate of 70% customers are first time customers to them, thanks to the art and cultural IP. In a world where the costs of user acquisitions are so high, licensing has proven to be a great and cost-effective marketing tool.

How will you approach this space, and what will be at the heart of the partnership’s you guys forge here?

With a track record of success in the art and culture sector we are confident that we can convert our strong existing relationships into new partnerships. ARTiSTORY is an appealing proposition to IP, retailers and brands alike as there is no other company that come close to what we have achieved in our former roles in this sector.

ARTiSTORY offers consumer brands and retailers the possibility to elevate their product designs, acquire more customers and charge a premium price.

How are you guys looking to push the envelope of innovation in this space? What sort of partnerships will be top of your list?

Past success and research tell us that we need to look beyond the traditional audience for this sector and reach out to a younger audience. As well as looking to work with brands and retailers that already appeal to this age group, we will be targeting those that don’t as this is where we can really add value to their businesses and drive customers to their stores.

To appeal to the younger audience ARTiSTORY will invest in content development including social media postings, videos, documentaries, live streaming, talk shows, workshops and more. Equipped with high quality content, we will launch various marketing campaigns to promote our licensed products and our IP partners.

How do you think the current situation will evolve the heritage and cultural space overall – i.e virtual tours – will they be a part of the future of the space? – and how can licensing tap into this evolution?

In the era of pandemics, cultural institutions remain closed or are expecting lower levels of visitors – which result inevitably greater revenue shortfalls. How to stay financially sustainable is a key question that cultural organisations need to solve in order to keep their missions alive.

Licensing, as proven in many world’s leading museums such as British Museum, The MET and V&A, is an effective practice that not only allows cultural organisations to enjoy incremental revenue but also enable them to extend their reach to tens of millions of audiences globally.

We see digital tools such as virtual tours and live streaming to be an integral component of future licensing programmes. This is something we plan to implement for our clients having seen first-hand how successful it has been in other markets. We hope to build loyal fans of art and culture products through interacting with audiences around the world.

What are the key trends you guys are seeing in licensing at the moment, and how will ARTiSTORY be tapping into these?

Obviously the last few months have been very strange for everyone and there has been huge shift in the way consumers buy products, and also the products they are buying.

Online has become such an important channel over the last few months and now many people have switched to online purchasing they will continue to shop in this way. Brands and retailers that have an online presence are appealing to us due to their accessibility and the fact that our target consumer primarily shops online.

Whether online or in-store we are seeing an increase in customer experience spending. ARTiSTORY can help retailers and brands bring customers back into their stores through developing innovative store experiences.

A trend that is becoming increasingly important to consumers is the desire to purchase sustainable products and buy from brands and retailers that they know are sustainable. ARTiSTORY will be working with IP that has preserved history for thousands of years. It’s now our responsibility as an industry to preserve the planet for future generations. Material, packaging and reusability will make up part of the selection criteria determining our partners.

Poetic Brands to make an impression with Van Gogh Museum apparel and travel collection

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The popular apparel licensee, Poetic Brands is looking to make an impression next year when its new partnership with the Van Gogh Museum will witness the launch of a comprehensive range of men and women’s apparel, along with a collection of travel accessories.

The deal – brokered by Licensing Link Europe, who managed the rights for the Van Gogh Museum – taps into the current consumer demand for iconic and well-known pieces to be incorporated into their daily lives. The new range is due to launch in the UK next year and has already garnered strong interest from retail.

Following the death of the renowned artist, Van Gogh’s brother Theo and his wife managed the works, before their son, Vincent Willem, founded the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation in the ’60s. He went on to build the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to preserve the family’s collection for future generations, which now houses the world’s largest compilation of works by the artist, with over 200 paintings,500 drawings and more than 700 letters.

“Van Gogh is universally recognised and we are excited to create a brand new range for the property, bringing it further into the lifestyle of the modern consumer,” said Elliott Matthews, executive director of Poetic Brands. “It is unique in our portfolio, and we have already been overwhelmed by the reaction of retailers to the proposed lines.”

Chris Taday, director of Licensing Link, who brokered the deal, added: “We’re thrilled to have Poetic Brands on board for this prestigious property. The team work tirelessly to create on-brand and on-trend designs which appeal to both retail and consumers alike. We’re very much looking forward to seeing the final pieces.”

YouTube skateboarding channel Braille turns to footwear after successful toy range debut

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The leading skateboarding YouTube Channel, Braille Skateboarding, is building on the international success of its officially licensed range of toy fingerboards and skate ramps with a leap into the world of footwear. In a partnership brokered by Semaphore Licensing, the skate brand has teamed with R&R Footwear to develop a new range of functional skate shoes.

Braille Skateboarding launched onto the consumer products scene in July this year when it brought its first collection of toy fingerboard and skate ramps to the international market. The range – which also comprised mystery surprise sets – became a hit with retail giants Amazon and Target, as fans ‘went wild for the toys’ inspired by the channel’s popular Skate Everything series.

Skate Everything features a collection of videos that showcase Braille Skateboarding’s founder, Aaron Kyro, creating skateboards from anything other than what you would think to use, such as computer keyboards, ironing boards, electric guitars, and even gummy bears.

The toy range was quickly met with ‘huge demand from skate fans from across the globe’ and soon after retailers and stockists were reportedly placing reorders to meet the elevated consumer demand. According to Semaphore Licensing, this demand was fuelled by the brand’s YouTube Channel and its more than 5.6 million subscribers.

Braille Skateboarding has also secured its first international retailer in Smyths Toys, who has brought the brand to the UK market. Projections currently show that by the end of 2020, close to one million finger boards will have been shipped to retailers.

Following the initial success, Braille is now positioned to expand its licensing efforts into new categories. The company has since partnered with R&R Footwear in a move to develop and roll out a ‘stylish and functional skate shoe’ that would appeal to skaters and non-skaters alike.

Braille Skateboarding now plans to chronicle the development journey of the new shoe in partnership with R&R Footwear as it aims to launch the product to retailers in summer 2021.

“We are ramping up to bring unique products to shelves globally on behalf of Braille Skateboarding,” said Michael Bienstock, founder and CEO, Semaphore Licensing. “We join Aaron in his mission to ensure the entire world knows what a Braille board is.”

Lisle Licensing named exclusive UK agent for art and lifestyle’s Kate Smith Company

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Lisle Licensing has been appointed as the exclusive UK licensing agent for the humorous art and lifestyle brand, Kate Smith Company. Based in the USA, the company behind the hugely popular brand ‘From Frank’ has briefed the team at Lisle to replicate its North America and Canadian success in the UK.

Lisle Licensing will work to establish Kate Smith Company as a recognised uplifting, entertaining, and positive brand with retailers and consumers.

Kate Smith Company specialises in social connections, with the objective of creating art and product to ‘make humans smile’. Established in 2018 following the success of ‘From Frank’, it has amassed a broad collection of art that spans its jokes, original character brands, phrases and art design that lend themselves to a variety of categories including publishing, greetings, stationery, home accessories, gifting and novelty.

The breadth of styles provides licensees with the opportunity to deliver a continuous flow of product and flexibility to tailor any number of bespoke collections, large or small.

Over the last two years, Kate Smith Company has been listed in Target, Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods, Paper Source, Wal-Mart and more. It has partnered its designs with US greetings cards heavy-weight, American Greetings, and in Summer 2020 launched an everyday collection in Target stores nationwide through Recycled Paper Greetings.

Francesca Lisle of Lisle Licensing, said: “We are thrilled to have been chosen by Kate & Ryan to exclusively represent their brand in the UK. It’s bold, fun, fresh, and already defined by its success in the USA. If the world needs anything right now it’s the Kate Smith Company’s wicked sense of humour and bright bold art design to make people smile.”

Aardman teams with British designer Julie Dodsworth to create unique new Shaun the Sheep designs

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The British Artisan designer, Julie Dodsworth has partnered with Aardman to create a set of hand painted designs, taking inspiration from the colours of the British countryside and the popular Shaun the Sheep brand.

The new Shaun the Sheep x Julie Dodsworth collaboration not only renders the series’ hero Shaun in a unique new way, but delivers on Aardman’s ongoing ethos of ‘we do more’ buy extending the brand into new areas in new ways.

Painted in Julie Dodsworth’s signature style, the new patterns have been developed to suit a range of categories, from homewares, fabrics, and toiletries, to stationery and garden equipment.

Danny Heffer, creative lead, sales and marketing at Aardman, said: “We are really pleased to be working with British talent like Julie Dodsworth on this new design collection. Julie is known for her floral hand painted style, which translates nicely into Shaun’s rural world.

“It’s been refreshing getting a new perspective on Shaun the Sheep and it we think it will be popular with fans not only in the UK, but in a number of territories around the world. We are currently looking for a range of licensing partners to take along with us on this design journey and help to bring Julie’s interpretation of Mossy Bottom Farm to the retail market.”

Julie Dodsworth added: “I’m thrilled to have been invited to work with Shaun the Sheep and all the team at Mossy Bottom. From the viewpoint of being a genuine fan it has been fantastic to create designs that reflect Shaun’s humour and colourful character. My thanks to all the team at Aardman.”

Peter Rabbit hops into long-term partnership with Cadbury for Easter 2021 and beyond

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Penguin Ventures, the licensing arm of Penguin Random House UK, has today detailed a long-term partnership for its ever popular Classic Peter Rabbit brand with Cadbury at Easter to launch a suite of themed Cadbury products for Easter 2021.

The initial Peter Rabbit range will hop onto shelves in time for Easter next year and will be available nationwide. Under the partnership, Peter Rabbit will appear on some of Cadbury’s most iconic product ranges in what has been described as ‘a perfect pairing of two British brands so intrinsically associated with Easter.’

Markéta Kristlová, senior brand manager, Easter, Cadbury, said: “We are very excited about this partnership of two very beloved brands with a shared rich British heritage. We look forward to Peter Rabbit and Cadbury’s helping families to have even more magical Easter celebrations from next year.”

Lindsay Pearl, head of international licensing, Penguin Ventures, added: “We are over the moon to be able to announce a long term collaboration with Cadbury on a beautiful and delicious range of Peter Rabbit Easter chocolate. Peter Rabbit and Cadbury are both synonymous with Easter gifting, shared experiences and family celebrations and we look forward to amplifying those shared values as we launch next year.” 

Cadbury is the biggest chocolate brand at Easter in the UK with iconic products including shell eggs, hollow bunnies, Mini Eggs and Crème Eggs.

The Tusk Trust eyes environment-conscious consumer products move with Golden Goose

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The Tusk Trust, a charity that, for 30 years, has helped initiate conservation work in Africa has appointed Golden Goose to develop new licensing opportunities across multiple retail categories.  

The environmental charity has a high profile thanks, in part, to its Royal Patron, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, and has previously seen licensing  success through a fruitful partnership with the specialist retailer, Mothercare.

Adam Bass, Golden Goose director, explained: “Because of  its work with endangered species such as elephants, lions, giraffes, wild dogs, turtles, and more, The Tusk Trust has fantastic eye-catching imagery that can be used on products as diverse as nursery apparel, plush, publishing and home decoration.”

Antonia Habdank-Toczyska, client and strategy director with Golden Goose, added: “With African prints and patterns being so on trend, Tusk is well set to deliver products that protect and connect to Africa’s rarest animals.” 

The Tusk Trust’s interest in developing its licensing programme couldn’t be better timed. According to The Grocer, 55 per cent of consumers have grown more concerned about the environment since the pandemic.

With successful conservation initiatives across more than 20 countries, increasing vital protection for over 10 million acres of land and more than 40 threatened species, and as a brand that has already shown proven success at retail, Tusk ‘presents a great opportunity for licensees and retailers to develop stand out, commercially successful product that is aligned with consumer trends,’ said Golden Goose.

Dan Bucknell, Tusk Trust executive director, said: “A lot of the planned activity celebrating our 30th anniversary has been deferred so we expect licensing activity to play a valuable role in helping us  reach our target audience with relevant products.”