The Source takes a look at some of the big licensing stories of the year.
2015 has been another bumper year in the UK licensing industry – from Force Friday to emerging new brands, from The Licensing Awards to The Light Fund challenges and another strong Brand Licensing Europe.
We round up some of the stories from the year, focusing today on May and June.
May
Carte Blanche strikes a brace of deals with Saban Brands for its Power Rangers and Paul Frank properties. The company will first launch a range of fashion and lifestyle-led greeting cards for Paul Frank.
Series two of LEGO The Simpsons Minifigures launches, with 16 new characters included. Fans have the chance to own Santa’s Little Helper, Snowball, Comic Book Guy, Groundskeeper Willie, Smithers and The Simpson family themselves are all included among other characters.
A further six retailers join Brand Licensing Europe’s Retail Mentoring Programme. Asda, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Claire’s Accessories, Lloyds Pharmacy, Matalan and Stanfords all join existing participants Sainsbury’s, Boots, Lakeland, Blue Inc and Mothercare in the six-month programme.
The V&A partners with high street fashion chain Oasis to produce a new collection. The range is based on 11 botanical prints, chosen by the Oasis design team from the museum’s textile and design archives.
June
ITV Studios Global Entertainment expands the digital games side of its business, appointing former Namco Bandai and Capcom man David Miller as its new vp of digital games.
The industry is given its first glimpse of the new-look Teletubbies, with DHX Media releasing a new image from the show. The characters’ features have been updated for a new generation of children, while Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po now all have touch screen tummies.
Rovio teams up with LEGO for a new building set range based on its hit Angry Birds franchise.
Spin Master signs as global master toy licensee for DreamWorks’ preschool franchise, Noddy.
Cartoon Network reveals that a new Ben 10 TV series is in the works, and will hit the UK next autumn.
Frozen, One Direction, My Little Pony, Minecraft, Downton Abbey, Lovehoney, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Kohl’s Department Stores are among the winners at the LIMA International Licensing Awards, which took place during Licensing Expo.
LIMA’s first ever Annual Global Licensing Study was published, revealing that Entertainment and Character licensed merchandise generated more than $107 billion globally at retail in 2014, 44% of the total licensed retail sales.
Preschool favourite Peppa Pig is set to make the move into China, with eOne confirming that the show will debut on CCTV’s children’s channel this month. Consumer products will begin to follow from July.
The eagerly awaited Jurassic World makes box office history by becoming the biggest worldwide opener of all time.
