Including Disney Store Oxford Street opening a dedicated haven for Star Wars and Marvel fans.
The Source rounds up more news from the licensing industry across the globe from the week.
D350 (Destination 350) – a new haven for Marvel and Star Wars fans and collectors – has launched in a new first floor space at Disney Store Oxford Street in London. The zone will showcase ranges from Hasbro, LEGO, Funko, Iron Studios, Difuzed, Diamond Select and Hero’s, as well as Disney Store, including premium collectables, fashion and accessories. D350 will also be the host venue for future exclusive product reveals and special events and will feature interactive experiences for fans – this includes a life-size photo opportunity at launch with the Funko Pop Box with First Appearance Wolverine. An additional Hasbro Star Wars Black Series photo box will appear at the start of November, alongside a display of four Hasbro Marvel Legend figures ahead of the product going on sale in December. The zone will also sell 44 different Marvel and Star Wars first edition comics and will be the only place fans can take a sneak peek at Disney Store’s new Star Wars The Saga Coin Set limited release collection.
Egmont Publishing has collaborated with MGA Entertainment to launch Poopsie Slime Surprise magazine. The debut issue – aimed at 6-9 year olds – is filled with puzzles, posters and games and is accompanied by six free gifts.
Chinese animation company Fantawild has secured a partnership with Coolabi to bring Clangers to the Chinese market. Fantawild will localise the preschool show and develop new merchandise to make it more adapted to the taste of Chinese preschoolers.
Merchantwise Licensing has been appointed as the Australian and New Zealand agent for Minecraft. The partnership comes ahead of two highly anticipated Minecraft game launches in the coming year: Minecraft Earth (an augmented reality mobile game) and Minecraft Dungeons (a multi-player dungeon-crawler style game for PC and console.)
eOne continues to expand the presence of Peppa Pig across Asia, with the news that free to air broadcaster EBS has acquired the rights to series five, six and seven, which will be premiering to audiences for the first time in South Korea this year. eOne has also appointed EBS as the licensing agent for Peppa Pig in the region.
Edutainment Licensing has secured global digital distribution rights for Bino and Fino, a 2D animated series for 2-6 year olds. The adventure-based series aims to educate and entertain children about the continent of Africa, celebrating its culture and focusing on topics including geography, social skills and science among others.
Hoho Rights has confirmed that preschool series Hana’s Helpline is now airing on national TV in China on CCTV. The deal was negotiated by The Media Pioneers MP, Hoho’s exclusive distribution partner in China for the brand.
Studio 100 Media has appointed TF1 Licences to manage the licensing rights to the Heidi brand in France.
CHF Media Group has confirmed that preschool animation Pip Ahoy is now airing on Cartoonito further bolstering its distribution in the UK. It can also be found on itvBe, Sky, Virgin, BT and YouTube.
PUMA has created a new collection celebrating Tetris, with shoes and apparel featuring the iconic Tetrimino playing pieces. The range includes PUMA’s future-retro sneakers RS 9.8 and RS-X in colours inspired by the game, with falling Tetriminos sprinkled across the heel. There is also a PUMA x Tetris XTG Track Jacket, PUMA x Tetris Tee and Track Pants.
Endemol Shine China is collaborating with local partners IP Lab and The Big Things to open the first MasterChef Academy in Hong Kong at The Mills later this year. The academy will use MasterChef-inspired recipes for aspiring chefs of all ages to learn.
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