Rainbow Designs’ Zara Grindrod on seeing high demand from retailers and consumers for its Paddington range, new launches and being award finalists.
LicensingSource.net catches up with a selection of licensees across key categories to find out their summer successes and what they see as the highlights and challenges as we enter the ‘golden quarter’ of 2024.
Today: Zara Grindrod, sales and brand director, Rainbow Designs.
“This year, we’ve enjoyed several successes with our licensed ranges, including the launch of the new Disney Baby The Lion King collection in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Disney’s The Lion King. The Simba-inspired range of plush toys aimed at newborns and babies is already enjoying great success at retail.
We have also received a phenomenal response to the new Harry Potter Wizarding World range of infant plush toys, that will be flying in this autumn. The range focuses on Harry Potter, Hedwig and Dobby, in adorable lines that include My First Soft Toys, Rattles and Activity Toys, as well as Hogwarts House Comfort Blankets for Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
However, as we head into Q4, all the attention is going to be on Paddington. The Adventures of Paddington preschool toy range was a finalist in The Licensing Awards (Best Licensed Toys or Games Range), and with the eagerly awaited third movie, Paddington in Peru, arriving in UK cinemas early November, the nation’s favourite bear is going to be on many wish lists this festive season. We are already seeing high demand, at both retail and consumer level, for all our Paddington lines, in particular our Classic Paddington range, with the Classic Cuddly Paddington being a hot favourite.”
This feature originally appeared in the autumn 2024 edition of Licensing Source Book. To read the full publication, click on this link.
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