LicensingSource discovers how Difuzed is looking to make strong statements this year in three categories in particular.
From Belgium to the US, LicensingSource chats to a selection of licensors and agents based outside of the UK to find out their takeaways from 2021, what they see as the biggest opportunities and challenges for licensing moving through 2022, their aims and what word they would use to describe business in both the year just gone and the current one.
Today – Netherlands: Difuzed.
For fashion and lifestyle company, Difuzed – which is based in the Netherlands – 2021 was another good year and it has even more ambitious plans in 2022.
While the company will continue its work in the gaming and entertainment sectors, Difuzed is making particularly strong statements in three categories – anime, sustainability and its acquisition of global rights to lifestyle brand, Hard Rock Café.
“This year, we will continue to innovate with exciting anime collections,” comments Jeremy Orris, director of licensing at Difuzed. “These focus on the massive pan-European fan-base, featuring brands like Naruto Shippuden, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Hunter x Hunter and My Hero Academia and introducing new brands like The World Ends with You. What started as a small trend a few years ago is turning into an evergreen tidal wave which we are here to support with our key sector licensor partners Mediatoon, Crunchy Roll and Funimation.”
Meanwhile, the company recently acquired the apparel and accessory categories for EMEA, plus global retail rights to lifestyle brand, Hard Rock Café. A new set of style guides have been created, with Difuzed confident it can grab the attention of retailers.
In addition to the global projects, Difuzed is also promoting sustainability through its partnership with Australian fashion brand Piping Hot. The collaboration will see the introduction of a collection that will be branded ‘Piping Hot by Difuzed’.
“We are extremely excited to partner with a global sustainability powerhouse like Piping Hot, as we witness sustainability moving from being a trend to being a lifestyle,” says creative director, Sara Allwood (pictured). “Our partners and brands are increasingly becoming more conscious about sustainability, so it’s the right time for us as a company to move forward with our sustainability plans. We’ll prioritise using recycled materials within our core ranges as we try to save the planet one t-shirt at a time.”
This feature originally appeared in the spring 2022 edition of Licensing Source Book. To read the full publication, click on this link.
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