Gift Focus - May/Jun 2019 (Issue 113)

98 MIFFY CONTINUES WITH LICENSING SUCCESS DRi Licensing’s much-loved property Miffy began life as a children’s book character more than six decades ago. With its 65 th anniversary approaching in 2020, the brand is gaining momentum, with partnerships already in place to celebrate the occasion. Launching in spring is a design-led stationery collection from Blueprint featuring an on-trend black and yellow pattern. The extensive range also includes a 3D money box, backpack and drinks bottle. Appealing to the adult market is a range of crafting products from Visage Textiles. Following the success of Stitch & Story’s Miffy crochet and knitting kits, Visage Textiles launched the first of a new series of printed fabrics at CHSI Stitches in February. Looking ahead to autumn, a licence for stylish home gifting is being finalised. Alicia Davenport, licensing director at DRi said: “Miffy has huge resonance with adults who remember her from their childhood, and this nostalgic appeal continues to drive exciting new developments to the licensing programme.” Miffy also performs well in the baby sector. Following the success of the 2018 collection, children’s fashion company Tobias and the Bear will release a brand-new Miffy collection in the spring. The new range features a simple design and includes new bedding and clothing lines, as well as a stylish white velvet 3D cushion. Rainbow Designs is creating a plush range that follows the original Miffy book colours, as well as new nursery lines in cool mint and an exclusive grey range for John Lewis. ROCKET ANNOUNCES MULTIPLE NEW LICENSEES FOR THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR Rocket Licensing, the licensing agent for Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar in the UK and Ireland, has announced a raft of new licensees, with product to be launched at retail in 2019. This coincides with the 50 th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, bringing heightened media, retail and consumer awareness. New licensees coming to retail this year include natural family skincare specialist Bloom and Blossom, which is developing a Very Hungry Caterpillar range of toiletries within its bath, book and bedtime mission. Licensed to Charm, a creator of high-quality licensed jewellery and charms, which will produce a special range of The Very Hungry Caterpillar jewellery for babies, women and children, including brand-new christening gifts. 2019 will also see the arrival of The Very Hungry Caterpillar backpack from bags specialist William Lamb for online retailer character.com and the debut range of personalised gifts from Signature PG. Already launched at retail by new 2019 licensees are butterfly and insect sets from educational product company Insect Lore and a new play nest from development toy specialist Galt. These new additions join a raft of established licensees launching new ranges for the anniversary, including Rainbow Designs and Dennicci. Meanwhile, The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s publisher, Puffin, is planning to publish six new books in this anniversary year, including a 50 th anniversary edition. The campaign includes birthday parties across hundreds of bookshops, a major online campaign and placement of the much-loved caterpillar across a range of print, online and broadcast media. Melissa Satterly, brand manager of The Very Hungry Caterpillar at Rocket Licensing, said: “Awareness and appreciation of Eric Carle’s classic children’s character has always been high, but now, with The Very Hungry Caterpillar celebrating his 50 th year, interest from consumer, media and retail is greater than ever, a fact reflected in the growth of an already strong licensee list that now boasts more than 30 UK partners. We are delighted to welcome these new licensees to the programme in this tremendously exciting year for the brand!” Success for British Museum gift col lection at Sainsbury’s The British Museum, one of the UK’s most popular visitor attractions, has hailed the success of its first promotion of licensed items in a major supermarket chain. The British Museum’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Christmas gift promotion, alongside licensing partner BB Designs, appeared in Sainsbury’s for 12 weeks from October to December 2018. The range was designed and produced by BB Designs. The company also arranged its placement into Sainsbury’s. The range included a pen with 3D topper, tea cup purse, fob charm with phone charger, planter, trinket dish, keyring and bookmark set, mug, A5 notebook, paperweight, stationery set, drinks flask and hanging wall art. The range is illustrated with images taken from the British Museum’s collection of proof illustrations to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . The gift range saw excellent sales in Sainsbury’s across up to 227 locations. The collection had a wide appeal to gift buyers of all ages as well as lovers of stylish and unusual stationery, accessories and homeware. The range has been so successful that it has inspired the development of a successor, which will be made available later this year. The new range will be based on works housed in the British Museum by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, including the iconic Great Wave. Craig Bendle, manager of merchandise licensing for the British Museum, said: “For our very first promotion in a major supermarket, and one that took place in the run-up to Christmas, a gift selection was the ideal offering – and Alice in Wonderland was the perfect theme. We’re delighted with the result and grateful to BB Designs for designing these items and helping us to bring them to one of the UK’s leading retail names.”