H&M, BBC Studios, Smyths Toys Superstore, Cribstar, Liverpool FC, MGML, BB Designs and IMG all share their delight at winning accolades.
2020 has ended on a high note for the winners of The Licensing Awards – with executives from the victorious companies continuing to share their delight with Source.
The H&M team – which was awarded Best Overseas Retailer – commented: “We at H&M License Studio are very happy and honoured to receive the prestigious award for Best Overseas Retailer. We share it with our talented teams of designers and buyers who create the fantastic licensed products that are so popular with customers and fans.”
Staying with retail, and Smyths Toys Superstores’ joint head of marketing, Sinead Byrne, said the team was delighted to receive the recognition of picking up Best Retailer of Preschool Licensed Products.
She commented: “Smyths Toy Superstore works extremely hard to offer excellent customers service, a click and collect and home delivery service, and an exceptional product range at competitive prices. We are delighted to receive recognition for all our hard work and would especially like to thank our suppliers, customers, and staff for their continued support and for helping to make it all possible.
“All at Smyths Toys Superstores look forward to offering our customer’s many more years of incredible service through 2020 and beyond.”
Back into the Product categories, and Eddie Clark, licensing manager at Museums & Galleries, said the company was “thrilled” to win Best Licensed Paper Products or Stationery Range for The Tiger Who Came to Tea.
“It’s the first time with a licence we took the bold step of launching with a full suite of stationery and our expanding range of gift products, so it’s very gratifying to get such a great response,” Eddie commented. “HarperCollins and their agents were super to work with so development of the products was a very easy, collaborative process. We are very proud to have brought them all to market.”
BBC Studios and Teemil picked up the accolade for Best Sustainable Licensed Product for the BBC Earth range. Anita Majhu, senior licensing manager at BBC Studios, told us: “BBC Studios is delighted to share this award with Teemill who have been at the forefront of driving positive change in the industry.
“Sustainability has been at the heart of the design process for Teemill’s BBC Earth t-shirts, making them the perfect choice for consumers looking for high quality, fashionable clothing that has been ethically and responsibly sourced.”
For Cribstar’s Jadwiga Batatawala, when the company’s Peanuts range was announced as the winner of Best Licensed Preschool Apparel or Accessories Range it “came as a real shock to us!”
“We are a small company so to be recognised in this way really is a great way to end the year,” said Jadwiga. “A big thank you to the team at WildBrain CPLG who made the range a possibility and also a big thank you to the team at Max Publishing for bringing everyone together in these strange times.”
Sagar Brahmbhatt, head of operations and licensing at BB Designs – which picked up The Innovation Award for its Harry Potter Wizarding World Lumos Book Lamp – commented: “Winning the award was amazing – the first actual win in 16 years after I think a total of six nominations. Major thank you to the Max Publishing team for the recognition. Team BB really appreciated this, but were a little sad that due to COVID we all couldn’t celebrate together and go on stage. Looking forward to next year’s live awards!”
Fortnite has enjoyed a strong year in the licensing space and this was rewarded with its win for Best Gaming Licensed Property. Matthew Primack, svp of licensing at IMG, commented: “This is exciting news for everyone involved in Fortnite’s licensing programme. On behalf of Epic Games and IMG, thank you for the award. It’s been a great year for Fortnite licensing with new figures and toys, apparel and accessory, gaming and collectible products as well as exclusive merchandise collaborations with several global music artists and brands including Travis Scott, J Balvin and Marvel. We look forward to building on this success in 2021.”
Finally, Liverpool FC‘s prowess on the pitch was matched in the licensing space, winning Best Sports Licensed Property. Paul Hepworth, vp of licensing, told Source: “Congratulations to all the nominees. Delighted to be honoured in such esteemed company and to have been crowned Best Sports Licensed Property. A big thank you to all our licensees for their continued support.”
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