26,27,28+29 Licensee Feedback (SL).qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 26/04/2025 12:34 Page 1
LICENSEE FEEDBACK
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LSB catches up with a selection of licensees across a number of categories to find out their expectations for summer trading, how sell-through is going in their respective sectors, concerns and what they are most looking forward to as Q3 approaches. Allie Wilson, divisional sales director, Blues Group “Trade has never been more important; retailers have certainly been more cautious with their buys which in turn allows the ability to react and trade back when stock performs. We are seeing event-driven products receiving fantastic sell- Above: Allie Wilson. Below: Offering seasonless through with the retailers product is “crucial” for success says Allie. selecting the right products, buying the right amount and giving the customers what they want. Our new dress-up division at Blues Group is really taking hold, allowing us to offer a full service delivering events into retail which is proving key to our success. With the change in weather patterns, enduse has never been more important. Ensuring we offer seasonless product is crucial for success. Gone are the days when knitwear was just being bought for the winter months. Layering pieces are key to offering a balanced range to customers. It's certainly keeping us on our toes. We would like to see sales continue on an upward trajectory at retail and customer confidence does not diminish going into Q3 and Q4.”
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LICENSING SOURCE BOOK 2025
Fran Hales, head of portfolio and marketing, Rubies “Rubies is gearing up for an exciting summer with blockbuster licences like How to Train Your Dragon, Jurassic World, Marvel and the iconic Superman taking the spotlight in our promotions. With the relaunch of the entire DC franchise kicking off with James Gunn’s summer blockbuster, Superman, we’re planning massive marketing activations at every level, from a PR stunt in collaboration with WB to custom POS. Alongside, we anticipate a bustling festival and Pride season to uplift sales and engagement. It's why we are launching our Super Summer campaign to help retailers with marketing support to get the most out of the key beats and major product releases we have coming up. Q1 had some success but ultimately it was not as robust as desired; this was possibly influenced by the impact of rising costs especially for a season such as World Book Day. As we head into Q3, the anticipation is high for Halloween and Christmas, our peak seasons. You can now shop quite a few new Halloween styles and new licensed properties such as PAW Patrol and Bing.” Top: Fran Hales. Above centre: PAW Patrol has joined the Rubies portfolio.
Ashley Holman, md, ToyTopic “With the launch of the Hasbro outdoor games range at retail across Europe, we are hoping for some early summer sun to kick start the outdoor category which is so dependent on weather. Thankfully we have some very strong licences and operate in a category where we can offer great quality product at value prices, so overall Q1 has been successful for us. However with several of our major retailers now saying they are taking no more new stock at all for the rest of 2025 due to over buying, this remains to be seen how long that position actually lasts for and what the financial impact to many suppliers is. Given that, I’d like a strong sunny start to the summer and retail to sell through the overstocks they currently have, meaning the trade can go into Q3 and Q4 in a stronger position overall.” Above: Ashley Holman. Above right: ToyTopic saw a successful Q1 for a number of its licences.