We’ll be back on Tuesday 2 January 2024… until then, we round up some of the top stories from LicensingSource.net over the past 12 months.
With many of us already ‘out of office’, and the big day fast approaching, LicensingSource.net would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a wonderful festive break.
We will be taking some time out over the Christmas and New Year period too, returning on Tuesday 2 January 2024 to bring you all the latest news.
Here’s a round up of some of the most read stories on LicensingSource.net over the past 12 months.
January
Rainbow Productions makes brace of new board appointments – Magdalena Foulkes joins the company as licensing director, while James Barlow is promoted to the role of sales and marketing director.
Disney unveils Wonder of Friendship: The Experience as part of 100-year celebrations – as the Walt Disney Company marks its 100th anniversary, Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing unveils the first look at its Wonder of Friendship: The Experience.
Licensed toys grow for the fourth consecutive year in 2022 – figures revealed by The NPD Group at London’s Toy Fair show that licensed toys grew for the fourth consecutive year in 2022 – up by 5.5% – and now account for 31% of the market, the highest ever share.
February
Paramount and Spin Master celebrate 10 years of PAW Patrol – staff at Paramount’s UK headquarters kick off a year of celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of PAW Patrol with a life-sized cake in the form of Chase.
Primark unveils new collection celebrating 100 years of Disney – the retailer unveils its first collection to celebrate 100 years of Disney across adult and kidswear including sweatshirts, t-shirts, nightwear and accessories.
The new 70-piece collection forms part of a year-long calendar of activity by the retailer to commemorate Disney 100 Years of Wonder.
Warren Traeger begins new role at Event Merchandising – the popular industry figure takes on a new role as head of partnerships at Event Merchandising.
March
Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards 2023: The finalists – the finalists in the Product, Property, Retail and Rising Star categories are revealed.
POC’s Helena Mansell-Stopher stars in new Barclays Bank series – Products of Change’s Helena Mansell-Stopher features in a special Female Founders series from Barclays Bank, celebrating the success of female pioneers of business as part of its International Women’s Day activity.
Coca-Cola and Marvel team for major on-pack promotion – Coca-Cola teams up with Marvel on a major new on-pack promotion and campaign in the UK. The Multiverse Awaits is the biggest collaboration in the history of the relationship between Coca-Cola and The Walt Disney Company.
The Light Fund’s Northern Quiz raises £14,500 for charity – while always a great annual event, this year’s Northern Light Fund Quiz was truly exceptional, raising £14,500 for the charity, as well as being lots of fun for the 210 members of the licensing community who were part of it.
April
Character World Brands welcomes Dan Appleby as sales director EMEA – the home textiles specialist welcomes a new sales director for EMEA to its team, with Dan Appleby taking on the role.
Mamas & Papas unveils new collection with heritage brand, Laura Ashley – nursery brand Mamas & Papas and home and lifestyle brand, Laura Ashley introduce a new collection of travel solutions, interiors and baby apparel as part of their eagerly awaited collaboration.
Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards 2023: The Winners – the winners of The B&LLAs 2023 industry awards are revealed at a glittering awards event, held at the Royal Lancaster London. Hosted by Matt Forde, the brand licensing community’s annual get-together, was attended by some 450 retailers, licensees and brand owners.
Mattel teams with Gap on new apparel collaboration – Mattel and Gap unveil a new apparel collaboration inspired by Mattel’s portfolio of brands and Gap’s signature icons. The first of many upcoming Gap x Mattel product drops is the Gap x Barbie collection.
Netflix and Lacoste team on special edition collaboration – Netflix and Lacoste come together on a new collection celebrating the universes of some of the streaming giant’s best loved shows.
May
Tinderbox and Global Merchandising Services to bring music and entertainment icons to video games – independent music merchandiser, Global Merchandising Services secures a partnership with Tinderbox, the digital division of Beanstalk, to drive the growth of its entertainment and music icons into video game brand partnerships globally.
Primark’s Click + Collect trial to expand to London this summer – the retailer is expanding its Click + Collect trial, rolling it out across London stores this summer as it builds on the success of the 25-store trial launched late last year.
Hasbro unveils high profile Anya Hindmarch collaboration for Mr Potato Head – in a first for Mr Potato Head, the loveable character teams up with luxury global brand, Anya Hindmarch for a limited edition collaboration.
European retailers head en masse to Licensing Expo – over 1,000 retailers are among those registered to attend Licensing Expo, when it returns to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from 13-15 June. They include buyers from European retailers Primark, H&M, Frasers Group, Asda George, Lidl, The Entertainer, El Corte Ingles and Toys R Us, as well as B&M, Lush and TJ Morris.
TfL appoints IMG to further grow its global brand licensing programme – Transport for London confirms a multi-year deal with IMG to expand its brand engagement and licensing programme both within the UK and across the world.
June
“Licensing has lost one of its stars” – industry mourns Patrick Bailey – tributes flooded in for the former coo of Fashion UK and Blues licensing director, Patrick Bailey, who sadly passed away.
Check out our Licensing Expo 2023 photo gallery – take a look back at the three-day industry showcase, networking events, awards and more in our exclusive gallery.
Adidas, Van Gogh Museum and Crayola among Licensing International Excellence Award winners – the winners of the 2023 Licensing International Excellence Awards are unveiled in a ceremony that brought together industry executives from around the world to celebrate the best of the global brand licensing industry.
Aysha Kidwai takes on new Concept One Accessories role – Concept One Accessories continues to grow its UK-based team, welcoming popular experienced licensing industry executive Aysha Kidwai.
Global sales of licensed merchandise and services top $340 billion – global sales of licensed merchandise and services reach a groundbreaking $340.8 billion in 2022, an uptick of 8% compared to 2021.
July
Demand ‘roars’ for Lionesses memorabilia on eBay – as the Lionesses open their account at the Women’s World Cup with a 1-0 win against Haiti, demand for memorabilia has been ‘roaring’ on eBay.
The Licensing Awards: The 2023 finalists in full – the countdown to The Licensing Awards 2023 in September is officially on, with the finalists across all categories having been announced.
The Light Fund Summer Treasure Hunt raises £6,500 – the Summer Treasure Hunt in aid of The Light Fund is another roaring success, with the event raising well over £6,000 for the industry charity. Over 200 industry executives headed to Holborn’s Sway Bar to follow the specially created map with a series of questions and challenges.
August
Royal Mail celebrates Paddington with special stamp set – Royal Mail reveals a special set of 10 stamps to celebrate 65 years of Paddington. Six stamps in the main set are taken from Ivor Wood’s strip cartoons of Paddington, originally published in the London Evening News newspaper in the late 1970s.
Lush thinks pink with limited edition Barbie collaboration – Lush continues its journey into the licensing space, teaming up with Mattel and Barbie on a new collaboration which celebrates the colour pink in all its glory.
Devolver Digital launches Champion x Fall Guys sportswear collection – Fall Guys – one of the most successful gaming launches of 2022 – and sportswear brand Champion collaborate to launch a capsule collection of branded sportswear.
Retail Monster welcomes Gabbi Langdorf to its team – the company expands its UK and European team, welcoming Gabbi Langdorf from 1 September as senior retail and licensing manager.
The Everywhere Group teams with Hasbro for Peppa Pig: Surprise Party immersive experience – The Everywhere Group secures a major licensing partnership between its immersive events arm, Immersive Everywhere, and Hasbro.
September
The Licensing Awards 2023: The Winners – The winners of this year’s Licensing Awards are crowned in a glittering ceremony, with over 1,200 industry executives filling The Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel for an evening of celebration.
Event Merchandising to bring Pocket Planet retail to Oxford Street – Event Merchandising has been appointed as retail operator for the new Pocket Planet indoor miniature world attraction, which is due to open on London’s Oxford Street next year.
Rob Goodchild joins Two Daughters Entertainment as commercial director – animation, producer and IP company, Two Daughters Entertainment confirms the arrival of former Aardman executive, Rob Goodchild, as its new commercial director.
Van Gogh Museum collaborates with Domaine du Météore on new range of wines – Domaine du Météore is launching a range of wines in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
October
Rocket Licensing brings together Miffy x Cath Kidston at BLE – Rocket Licensing highlights the growth of the licensing programme for Miffy during Brand Licensing Europe, showcasing a new collaboration with Cath Kidston.
Warner Bros. Discovery sets new leadership for Global Consumer Products and Franchises – GBFE president Pam Lifford confirms her departure to focus on family, while longtime European consumer products head, Julian Moon, has announced his retirement.
Universal Products & Experiences capitalises on horror portfolio – Universal Products and Experiences share details of an ambitious 365 licensing strategy for its deep and dark portfolio of horror properties.
Character World Brands eyes further growth, as it confirms leadership team changes – Character World Brands reveals that the UK business has grown +19% over the past year – and it is eyeing further growth through 2024; Danny and Mark Schweiger confirm move to non executive roles.
November
Funko sample sales raise over £16,000 for The Light Fund – Funko’s second sample sale of the year raises a further substantial sum for the licensing industry charity, The Light Fund. Held across Funko’s Hammersmith and Coventry sites from 6-9 November, the sales raised £16,323.24 for The Light Fund.
Paramount Consumer Products partners with Calm on bespoke PAW Patrol content – Paramount Consumer Products has for the first time teamed up with Calm – a leading mental health brand with the #1 app for sleep, relaxation and meditation – to create an exclusive collection of bespoke PAW Patrol content.
Sales of licensed products ‘grow significantly year-on-year’ for Primark – the retailer enjoys significant growth for its licensed lines over the past year, with a growing portfolio of brand partners – including Disney, Netflix, NFL, NBA and Mattel – helping to attract consumers.
Sanrio to launch major celebration to mark 50 years of Hello Kitty – Sanrio is launching an ‘epic’ celebration to mark 50 years of the classic Hello Kitty brand.
Wonder announces ceo transition – global celebrations group Wonder announces that its ceo, Joe Hennigan, has decided to step down from his role for personal reasons.
December
The Light Fund raises £125,000 and will fund 25 charity projects – industry charity The Light Fund has raised an impressive £125,000 this year which is to be put to very good use funding 25 different charity projects in 2024, helping men, women and children across the world.
Licensing Expo opens 2024 registration with Brands at Play focus – registration has officially opened for Licensing Expo 2024, with the show set to focus on Brands at Play, while it has also confirmed a number of changes including new dedicated attendee programmes which aim to deliver ‘elevated value’ for attendees.
Max Publishing acquires London Stationery Show – Max Publishing has acquired London Stationery Show from Ocean Media Group.
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