Gift Focus - Mar/Apr 2020 (Issue 118)

86 Hot pr operty Catch up with all the latest from the world of licensing MR. MEN LITTLE MISS SEEK LICENSING PARTNERS AHEAD OF 50 TH ANNIVERSARY Mr. Men Little Miss is set to celebrate its 50 th anniversary next year and is seeking licensing partners ahead of the milestone. Mr Men Little Miss plans to create a buzz around the anniversary by launching two brand new characters that are promised to bring more diversity to the much-loved collection. Since Mr. Tickle, the first character in the series, was born in 1971, the books have remained a family favourite for half a century, with the franchise selling a book every 2.5 seconds around the world. The global brand has successfully collaborated with a host of partners in recent years, including the likes of the Spice Girls, Transport for London (TfL), Next fashion and Haliborange Vitamins. Since Sanrio acquired the Mr. Men Little Miss brand in 2011 the iconic licensor has remained the second biggest preschool brand in the market, with more than 1.8 million books sold in the UK in 2019 alone. Alastair McHarrie, Sanrio licensing director, comments: “The Mr. Men Little Miss 50 th anniversary in 2021 provides an opportunity to reflect on the role the brand has played for many generations of kids and adults across the world. Over the next year we’re looking forward to announcing exciting collaborations as we prepare for what’s shaping up to be the most successful year yet.” For further information, please contact Sabrina Segalov: ssegalov@sanriolicense.com Lowdown on licensing fr om Toy Fair Licensed products have always been big players in the toy category. The recent Toy Fair at Olympia, London, confirmed that this link is still a strong one but it also revealed a growing trend that toy companies are getting more tuned into the gift trade, recognising that toys make good gifts. At a general level, this is demonstrated by changes in packaging, format and pricing. More specifically it’s shown in the licensing category by the selection of licensed properties and how they’re used creatively. Pop culture licensee Funko is a great example of this movement. Building on the popularity of its Pop! vinyl figurines the company has introduced new product formats such as t-shirts. These have been made ideal for gifting by packaging them in cereal style boxes accompanied with suitably themed designs. Plush toy specialists such as Aurora and Rainbow Designs work hard to add products at a variety of price points including formats like small plush toys on keychains. Aurora’s Shaun the Sheep product includes a plush keychain. Traditional toy companies such as John Adams and Gibson’s have recognised that choosing certain licenses and adapting packaging can open more opportunities to feature in the gift trade. In the case of John Adams’ this company has a strong line of board games based on TV gameshows like The Chase whilst Gibson’s has developed new packaging formats to make products like jigsaws more giftable – the Pringles jigsaw puzzle in a Pringles style container is a great example of this move to gift-ready formats. Wilton Bradley has developed a range of baking kits with Nadiya Husain. Nadiya was at the Toy Fair to help launch the range. Styled with a contemporary feel, Nadiya’s baking kits are a really good example of a product that can work in multiple retail channels including toy, gift and homewares. Suppliers who use licenses have realised that a well-chosen license can open up new retail doors for them if they develop the products accordingly. For more information visit the twitter page @startlicensing Ian Downes Start Licensing