To mark the 50th anniversary of Star Trek this year, RockLove Jewelry has unveiled its official new Star Trek 50th Anniversary jewellery collection in collaboration with CBS.
Included in the line is a Delta Enamel necklace, Delta Enamel stud earrings, an Enterprise ring, an IDCI necklace, a Kol-ut-Shan Vulcan Script (pictured) necklace and more.
The collection is available online now for fans, with prices ranging from $30 to $650.
When the movie industry meets toy industry it sells the highest number of merchandise ever. A movie’s success is not solely determined by box office numbers or praise from the critics. Even if there’s no Academy Award, a motion picture with memorable characters will win over the hearts—and wallets—of people everywhere.
You would often see Toy manufactures like Mattel, Hasbro and many more, coming up with special edition merchandise or line when there is a new theatrical release. For the licensing and merchandising industry the highest number of merchandise is sold when there is huge fan base for the movie. The hotter the film, the better for the merchandised product of it in the market. Often the merchandised products turn into trend and fad.
This week we look into the highest sold merchandise movies worldwide and we need to thank the movie makers for the incredible characters given to us.
The Star Wars galaxy has been always a hot ticket for merchandising. Since the series has been around for decades, dating back to the release of the first movie in 1977, “Star Wars” continues to be one of the most popular franchises in the world. It shows no signs of stopping; in fact, it’s set to accelerate. Disney and Star Wars has garnered $12 billion for the toy licensing alone.
Frozen movie released in 2013 was an instant hit not only among the kids but also among adults. It was heralding the return of classic Disney which we all loved. LIMA reported that the licensing segment of entertainment and characters — movies and stars such as Frozen and Elsa — accumulated $107.2 billion in retail sales. The category also accounted for 46% of the total $13.4 billion in royalties from licensed merchandise. It was one of Disney’s 11 franchises that drove over $1 billion in annual sales.
Can you guess how much sales did Cars franchise sweep after its merchandise? It was a whopping $10 billion sale. It surpassed most of Disney’s beloved movies. The automotive characters made by Disney was fantastic, they created a whole Cars Universe, unbelievable! The $10 million does not just include toys but other products too.
This movie definitely drove the sales of toy industry to a new height; after all, the movie was all about the lives of toys. Even before the first Toy Story movie was released, Disney was selling 250,000 units of each character from the popular animated movie. It seemed that kids wanted to bring their favorite characters to life, initiating their very own adventures with Woody and Buzz. According to the reports, the movie Toy Story 3 alone had brought over $2 billion merchandised sales.
Minions were hilarious and we love them for being themselves always. When Dreamworks released the first movie in 2010, the only licensed toys were the plush minions. After the movie became such a huge hit, the demand for the toys increased threefold. The sheer popularity and use of the color yellow (gender neutral color) was one of the reasons why even the merchandises sold and appealed to all. It is estimated that about $230 million sales in merchandise products.
The merchandise of the franchise movie sells due to many factors and the most important one being is the awareness level. Star Wars, for instance, sells billions in merchandise (more than from box-office revenues). Entertainment/character licensing overall remains in the top licensing property type among the others. In Hollywood, merchandising is huge for filmmakers and is worth billions of dollars. It is time for Bollywood movies to realize the huge potential market lying in front of them for earning better revenues.
Brand Licensing Europe, organized by UBM and sponsored by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association, has unveiled the four finalists for its annual License This! competition.
Now in its seventh year, the License This! competition offers those with new, unlicensed creative concepts the opportunity to break into the global licensing industry. The contest will conclude at the show on Thursday, Oct. 13, when the four finalists will present their concepts to a live audience and the panel of judges, which is chaired by Kelvyn Gardner, managing director, LIMA U.K.
The finalists include:
“Having received 24 entries for the contest this year, the judging panel had a difficult task,” says Gardner. “As ever, the caliber of entries was extremely high with lots of interesting new property concepts. However, we felt the final four have strong licensing potential and we are looking forward to hearing their pitch at BLE.”
Gardener will be joined on the final panel by: Tom Gunn, senior international brand director, Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products; Jane Evans, director, JELC; Sam Ferguson, senior director, licensing and retail, Jazwares; Pat Reading, licensing director, UU; Max Lister, senior licensing manager, Natural History Museum; Clare Piggot, director, licensing and merchandising, Larkshead Media; and Pippa Smith, childrenswear licensed character coordinator, Marks & Spencer.
The four finalists will compete for a chance to win the prize valued at more than £6,000, including a fully furnished 9-square-meter stand at BLE 2017 to bring the property to market as well as a LIMA membership for one year and one ticket to the LIMA Licensing Essentials Course & Spring Fling Networking Party in May 2017.
BLE is the largest licensing event in Europe and will take place from Oct. 11-13 at London’s Olympia.
There are many reasons for an intellectual property (IP) owner to grant a license. The most obvious one is to generate revenue from the guarantee and royalty payments. But licensing also can serve a number of other purposes.
Hearst Magazines International has partnered with Seat to create a Cosmopolitan limited edition Mii, Seat’s utility vehicle, in a deal brokered by IMG.
Mii by Cosmopolitan is a co-creation between Seat designers and Cosmopolitan editors and readers, who provided feedback to shape the design as well as helped in the development of the accessories included in the new model.
“The Mii by Cosmopolitan is being designed to meet women’s needs in terms of daily usage. This new car will go beyond aesthetics; it is a functional vehicle where the design has a purpose,” says Susanne Franz, global marketing director, Seat. “Cosmopolitan contributed to transforming the role of women in society and the Mii by Cosmopolitan aims to establish a fresh perspective on cars. The agreement struck with the world’s largest magazine brand for women gives us the opportunity to launch our most feminine car. The Mii by Cosmopolitan is a tribute to the modern woman.”
The new car was revealed in London, Sept. 15, at Cosmopolitan’s #FashFest, a five-day, consumer-festival of fashion.
The new Mii by Cosmopolitan will initially be available across almost 30 territories in Europe.
“We are really excited by this collaboration,” says Matthew Primack, vice president, licensing, IMG. “Following on from Cosmopolitan’s entry into the beauty space with the launch its fragrance last year, this latest market breakthrough is a testament to the brand’s widespread appeal. We look forward to expanding the Cosmopolitan brand yet further over the coming months.”
Turner India’s licensing and merchandising arm is aiming for a strong double digit growth this year as it expands into new South Asia markets of Sri Lanka and Nepal in partnership with some of the biggest FMCG brands including Perfetti, Heinz, Unilever, Parle, Mondelez, United Biscuits and Kellogg’s
As part of its expansion plans, CNE will seek more collaboration with players from retail, e-commerce and FMCG sectors to increase its footprint, and strengthen its leadership position in the market. In line with this growth strategy, CNE has also partnered with Myntra and Future Group. Besides the re-launch of the ever popular global franchise The Powerpuff Girls, CNE will also be focusing on a strong roster of DC movies from Warner Bros. that includes Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aqua Man and Flash.
All this and a preview to plans for 2017 were unveiled at the Cartoon Network Enterprises roadshow on September 20, in Mumbai with over 200 trade partners attending this showcase of Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. extensive portfolio of current and future IPs, TV shows and movies.
“The licensing and merchandise segment has evolved over the years and is currently witnessing a strong upswing due to ecommerce explosion in South Asia. We are looking at driving strategic partnerships across various categories in the coming months and providing different touch points for our fans to experience our brand. This roadshow provides an ideal platform for us to connect with our current and potential clients to showcase our portfolio and significant range of products,” said Siddharth Jain, Turner India’s Managing Director.
A brand new series of the multi-million-dollar franchise, Ben 10 is launching as part of an international premiere on Cartoon Network in October and an extensive new product catalogue will be announced soon after.
Dream Theatre has been named the Indian licensing agent for Xilam’s popular children’s brand Oggy and the Cockroaches.
Under a two-year agreement, the agency will represent Oggy across all consumer products categories and brand promotion.
The series is currently one of India’s leading children’s TV performs, airing on both Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and the first consumer products are expected to hit shelves in autumn next year.
Oggy and the Cockroaches targets kids aged six to 11 years old and has already found success across Europe particularly within France and Italy, as well as South Asia.
The Oggy brand is now distributed in more than 160 countries worldwide and is watched in 600 million homes and boasts an internet audience of three billion total videos viewed on YouTube, as well as three million fans on Facebook.
Marie Laure Marchand, senior vice president of global licensing at Xilam, said: ‘We are delighted to have secured this partnership agreement with Dream Theatre; we know its experienced licensing team will capture the essence of Oggy and the key characters in a range of products that will engage the fans of today as well as tomorrow.
“Asia is a key growth market for our business and it was important we appointed who shared our vision and passion for the brand.”
A new line of items inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh, to mark the 90th anniversary of the brand, have been unveiled.
October 14th 2016 will mark 90 years since A.A. Milne’s first Winnie-the-Pooh book was published, which will see a new range of plush toys, homeware pieces, baby accessories and more launch.
Included in the range is a Balloon Spot Foldaway Overnight Bag by Cath Kidston and a new publication based on Winnie the Pooh from Egmont Publishing.
Winnie-the-Pooh items are available in both the Disney Store and other select retailers nationwide.
The fourth edition of Kids India highlighted the importance of licensing for brands and the problems faced by licensees and licensors in the industry
Kids India, India’s biggest B2B fair for products related to children held the exhibition for three days at Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. The event saw the key players from the industry participate with many young and innovative companies.
The exhibition held panel discussion on ‘Licensing in India’ on Friday focusing on the growth of licensing industry in India and how it is evolving through licensees and licensors. The issues faced by licensees and the steps which are required to take before licensing a product for good business was also highlighted in the discussion.
The panel included VivekJhangiani, President, The All India Toy Manufacturer’s Association (TAITMA); RutikaMalaviya, Indian Representative, Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA); S. Nagarajan, Managing Partner of En Theos Consulting, former head of Disney India and Warner Bros; and Ishmeet Singh, Country Head, Mattel Toys India Pvt. Ltd.
The discussion centered on the Licensing Industry in India and things that may hinder it and the solutions to how licensees can overcome it for better businesses. Under that umbrella of licensing each panelist talked about how licensing industry is at a nascent stage but is evolving at good rate in India.
From the licensor perspective Ishmeet Singh, Country Head, Mattel Toys India, said, “The reason for licensor to give licensee out for IP or brand is an evolving space with short term objectives. Now licensors understand the role of each category as a licensees and how important their role in it is. Depending upon the product category whether it is complementing their brand or portfolio or is relevant to the audience needs to be checked on.”
“Understanding the objective of the licensees plays a role in terms of how the industry is shaping and as licensors we look out to brands which complement and enhances it,” added Singh.
Speaking about the growth potential of the Indian Licensing Industry RutikaMalaviya,Indian Representative, Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA), stated, “The retail sales merchandising industry currently is $1263m which in the previous year was $1023 m. As far as India is concerned, India is at the 20th place and that is indeed a good indicator for Indian Licensing Industry as compared to last year where we stood at 21st place.”
“The toy category is one of the major categories when it comes to licensing industry and stands at second place in terms of global retailing and India stands at 12th place out of all the categories like apparels, fashion, character licensing, etc. ”addedMalaviya.
In regards to how to a licensee should choose a licensor, Malaviya said, “We need to understand about what the product is about and what are the objectives and then accordingly select the licensor and which thereby would enhance the growth in the industry. Relatability is another major factor to keep in mind by the licensee for better growth. ”
The panelist also talked about the IP laws and its relevance in the licensing industry and how each of the licensing property is needs to be protected by laws. Licensed property awareness and propensity of a category is something which needs to be checked before taking huge decisions.
“In India, the licensing industry needs to grow with the support of both – licensees and licensors and LIMA as an association is always there to support the licensing industry and help the parties in need to be connected to each other through a proper platform, ” said Malaviya about the need for support and growth of Licensing Industry in India.
The industry for toys and children’s products is geared up for the fourth edition of Kids India – India’s largest B2B fair where all the key players from the industry will participate along with many young and innovative companies.
Within a span of four years, the event has established itself as the annual meeting place and the most important networking platform for the industry.
Wishing all participants the very best of fortune, Mr. Ernst Kick, CEO, SpielwarenmesseeG, Germany, says “This year for the first time the fair will be spread over two halls at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre covering an area of 8,500 sqm accommodating 150 Indian and international exhibitors representing about 350 brands. This year has also seen SpielwarenmesseeG establish a subsidiary, Spielwarenmesse India Pvt. Ltd., which is organizing the event for the first time. There is so much to discover in this industry and at Kids India as we all come together in the Spirit of Play!”
While the growing middle class in urban India is getting more brand and quality minded, the market in general is still quite price sensitive and there is a need to raise awareness about the benefits of play and toys.
“Toys play a vital role to help foster the mental, physical, emotional and social development of children. Our initiative ‘Value of Play’ – an awareness campaign to promote the importance and benefits of play, is one of the steps to encourage play and the use of toys in an emerging market like India”, explains Katharina Janotta, Managing Director, India Pvt. Ltd.
While the children of today are playing more with their screens than toys, the increased usage of smart phones is not going to replace traditional toys completely.
“Traditional toys such as board games, building bricks, dolls and so on will always have a value”, feels Katharina Janotta. “And nowadays they can even be played in combination”, she added.
This is also reflected in the broad spectrum of products on display at Kids India that range from Soft Toys, Games and Puzzles to Sports and Playground Equipment on the one hand and from Technical & Action Toys to Electronic Toys and Games and Multimedia on the other.
Since its inception the fair is being supported by the The All India Toy Manufacturers Association (TAITMA) – the oldest and main representatives of the toy industry in India.
Mr. VivekJhangiani, President, TAITMA said, “The Indian toy market is continuously growing and we can witness more and more spending on toys. We believe this is a sustainable trend which will persist even during times of economic difficulty. Indian consumers are beginning to understand the importance of play, and Kids India is one of the platforms to promote this awareness and educate consumers about the various benefits of toys and play as well as to provide an impetus to the industry”.
Many of the participating companies including the key players from the industry have been a part of the fair right from the first edition.
“From its start, Kids India has proven to be the leading trade fair for the toy industry in India and we are glad to be a part of it. This year too, we are delighted with the wonderful platform we have to showcase our core franchises, new innovations, and comprehensive portfolio of toys. Indiacontinues to be a key market for Mattel. The opportunity to reach our Indian consumer in new and meaningful ways is tremendous. We want to ensure we continue to delight our consumers in new and innovative ways. So our toys and consumer products teams are constantly exploring new ideas for toys, new opportunities to collaborate with partners, and new areas to invest,” said Ishmeet Singh, Country Head, Mattel Toys India Pvt. Ltd.
Seventy five percent of the world’s toys are still made in China where the bulk of toy exports are produced to OEM orders for foreign brands. However, in light of factors like declining external demands, escalating local production costs and changes in the Renminbi exchange rate, the challenges for the Chinese toy exporters are intensifying. This could translate into opportunities for the Indian manufacturers. Kids India provides an ideal platform for joint ventures, technology transfer and for partnering with international companies.
“Kids India is the perfect forum for the Indian toy and sports industry to showcase its expanse to the world and serves as an excellent platform for presenting Indian made toys and children’s products to the world. The fair serves to encourage more international buyers to come to Indiaespecially from the neighbouring countries and is thus helping to boost exports,” said TarunDewan, Executive Director, Sports Goods Export Promotion Council (SGEPC).
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