Page 9 - Toy & Hobbly Retailer Magazine August-October 2019

4TROLLS FRANCHISE LATEST ADDITION TO UNIVERSAL
AND LEGO PARTNERSHIP
Universal Brand Development (Universal) and the Lego Group announced that the DreamWorks Animation film franchise, Trolls, is the newest addition to their expansive licensing partnership. Inspired by characters and scenes from the forthcoming feature film Trolls World Tour, Lego Trolls construction sets will be available worldwide next year.
DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls premiered in 2016 and has grown to become one of the largest global entertainment brands. The sequel, Trolls World Tour, will premiere globally in 2020 while episodes of the original series, DreamWorks Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, are currently streaming on Netflix. “Our collaboration with the Lego Group will bring the Trolls’ vibrant world to life with construction sets that inspire creativity and open up
new and exciting play patterns for the brand,” Universal Brand Development senior vice
president and general manager, globa5
TARIFF TALK
According to Licensing International, the talk of the floor was that of impending tariffs to potentially be applied to goods from China and Mexico. “This has left licensees weighing a range of options from switching to suppliers
in non-tariffed countries to seeking concessions from licensors on minimum guarantees and royalty rates in a bid to offset rising costs,” Licensing International said. “For the time being, licensees we spoke to say they’ll likely absorb the added costs, but if the tariffs extend into the fall retail price increases are close to inevitable. For their part, licensors appeared willing to work with licensees on reducing costs tied to tariffs, but what form that would take was unclear given the constantly moving deadline for imposing the tariffs.”
WINNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AWARDS
BEST LICENSED PRODUCTS:
• Apparel/Footwear/Accessories – Spirit Halloween for the Fortnite costumes and accessories range
• Appliance/Automotive/Housewares/ Electronics – Ion Audio for the Ford Mustang LP record player
• Toys/Games/Novelties (ages 0-12) – (Tie) Lego for the Harry Potter range AND Jazwares for the Fortnite Llama Loot Piñata
• Apps/Software/Video Games – Kano for the Harry Potter Coding Kit
• Food/Beverage – The Ruprecht Company for the Tony Roma’s range
• Health & Beauty Aids – ASOS/CREA Cosmetics for the Crayola Beauty Range
• Home Decor – Crate & Kids for the Sesame Street furniture and décor range
• Publishing/Back-to-School – Moleskine for Super Mario notebook and stationery range
• Toys/Games/Novelties (ages 13+) – Hasbro
for Fortnite Monopoly
BEST LICENSED BRANDS:
• Art/Design/Celebrity/Fashion Brand – The Very Hungry Caterpillar / World of Eric Carle by Eric Carle Studio, LLC & The Joester Loria Group
• Digital/App/Video Game Brand – Fortnite by Epic Games
• Corporate Brand – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
• Entertainment/Character Brand: Animated – LOL Surprise! by MGA Entertainment
• Entertainment/Character Brand: Live- Action – Harry Potter by Warner Bros. Consumer Products
• Food/Beverage/Restaurant Brand –
Hershey’s Reese’s by The Hershey Company
• Sports/Collegiate Brand – NFLPA by NFLPA
OTHER AWARDS:
• Best Licensed promotion – Home Alone Again by 20th Century Fox / Google Assistant
• Best Licensed Collaboration – The Peanuts Global Artist Collective by Peanuts Worldwide
• Best Experiential/Location-based initiative – Camp Master Chef by Cerdanya / Endemol Shine North America
• Best Retailer for a Character/ Entertainment Initiative – Galéries Lafayette for Wizarding World
• Best Retailer for Coporate/Lifestyle/ Sports Initiative – Forever 21 for Coca Cola
• The Newcomer Award – Fortnite by Epic Games
• Community Choice Award – Funko for Warhammer 40,000 figurines ❉
l toys and hardlines, Joe Lawandus said.
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER 9