Total Brand Licensing January 19

BRAND TOTAL

WINTER 2019

A TOTAL LICENSING GROUP PUBLICATION

LICENSING

TOTAL BRAND LICENSING

CONTENTS 6

8

Editorial Comment

Thoughts from the editor

Spreading the Net...

Richard Pink of Pink Key explains

10 News

Porsche Designs, US Mint, Oxford University, ABG, Pantone, All you Need is Love...

13 Madonna’s Material Girl

New line of health and beauty products

14 A Campaign Inspired by the

History of Humanity

Licensing The British Museum

18 The Business of Cleaning Up

The home organisation market in the US is growing exponentially

36 Total Art Licensing Supplement

36 38 40 42

Art and Design Licensing News Penny Lane Celebrates 25 Years Prima Maria lights up Kiev The world of Sigis Vinylism

43 From Space Archives to Rock ‘n’ Roll

The world of V.I.P in Germany

44 Six Strategies to Grow Brand Value

Pete Canalichio tells more

46 Getting to Know You

Becoming an RHS Licensee

48 New Year and New Partnerships

London’s Natural History Museum

50 The Final Page

Shows, advertisers and more

20 Cover Story: Heads Together

Head enters the health revolution

24 The World of Pet Products

Catering for the growing petcare market

27 Space, Exporers and Animals

All this and more from National Geographic

28 How DTR is reshaping the Global

Retail Industry

30 Admiral

Focus on the renowned sportswear brand

32 Leisurewear and Sportswear

The growing importance of athleisure

34 Fighting the Private Label Threat

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Jeff Lotman of Global Icons explains

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COMMENT TOTAL

BRAND LICENSING

A Total Licensing Group Publication CO-PUBLISHER Francesca Ash francesca@totallicensing.com CO-PUBLISHER Jerry Wooldridge jerry@totallicensing.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Rebecca Ash becky@totallicensing.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Joanna Cassidy joanna@totallicensing.com OFFICE MANAGER Helen Bowerman helen@totallicensing.com JAPAN AGENT Roger Berman, ZenWorks rmb@zenworks.jp CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Pete Canalichio Yizan He Jeff Lotman

Welcome to the Winter edition of Total Brand Licensing - the first edition of this new year.

As always, we have some very varied content for you in this issue - from Head’s high-tech modern kitchen and food preparation alliances to the licensed artefacts from The British Museum.

Interestingly, we also take a look at the pet market which is growing enormously as more and more people acquire pets of all shapes and sizes. From licensed Halloween costumes for your pooch to branded dog shampoos - such as those from Martha Stewart. In fact, in the USA alone, the pet product market is worth over $70 billion with a healthy increase of more than 4% on last year’s figures.

On a less perhaps entertaining note, we also cover the burgeoning home organisation and cleaning market - now said to be worth nearly $12 billion. Cleaning influencers are all the rage and some, as per Mrs Hinch (Sophie Hinchcliffe) have well over one million followers on Instagram.

Leisurewear and sportswear brands, now referred to as athleisure, are becoming more and more intertwined as we all become more ‘casual’ and more health and exercise conscious.

And then we get to some key articles such as practical strategies aimed at growing your brand and an important piece on how DTR is reshaping the global retail industry.

Interestingly, Jeff Lotman from Global Icons takes a look at how licensing can actually work hand-in-hand with private labels to everyone’s advantage.

This issue also carries a Total Art Licensing supplement focusing on the art and design licensing world. Again, we’ve varied content in this section - from celebrating long-time licensing agent Penny Lane’s 25th anniversary to how an art brand, literally, lit up the streets of Kiev around Christmas and, on the ultra-modern side, the curious world of Sigis Vinylism merging art and music in a unique way.

Our next issue will be published in May and, of course, will be at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. We have a broad line-up of features planned including food and drink, celebrity estates, adult brands and a look at how licensors and licensees are (and should be) becoming more environmentally conscious. Of course, the issue also takes an in-depth into the brands that are showing in Las Vegas as well as putting a spotlight on Americana brands that are successful in overseas markets.

We hope you enjoy this issue and it gives you food for thought, and information, that will help in planning your licensing activities. As always, we’d love to hear from you if you have ideas for features or topics you feel we should be covering.

HEAD OFFICE Total Licensing Ltd 4 Wadhurst Business Park Faircrouch Lane, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 6PT, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1892 782220 Fax: +44 (0) 1892 782226 www.totallicensing.com Total Brand Licensing is published quarterly by Total Licensing Ltd in the UK. ©2019 Total Licensing Ltd. All rights reserved.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without written permission of the publishers and owners. Although persons and companies mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, Total Licensing Ltd nor any of its employees accept any responsibility whatsoever for their activities.

All images are reproduced with permission from their owners.

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FEATURE

Spreading the net...

Finding new ways and new people to expand your business

By Richard Pink, Managing Director, Pink Key Licensing Ltd

With Spring Fair and Ambiente imminent at the time of writing we reach the same issue we reach every year – not only finding new and innovative ways to develop the licenses we have, but equally finding new people to take on the licenses.

I joked a couple years ago that you find a number of types of people at trade fairs:

1. People who understand licensing 2. People who have heard of licensing but don’t get it 3. People who want to kill anyone involved in licensing 4. People who think you are a publican of some sort!

Each year there seems to be a small conversion from the people that currently don’t do licensing to actually becoming ‘licensees’. Sometimes they have dabbled with a smaller brand; sometimes they have gone ‘full Disney.’ Even a modicum of success will ensure that in the next two to three years they will be descended on by every licensor or agent walking the floor of the NEC to repeat what they just did with ‘their’ license. Inevitably, this means that one of the licenses they take on may not work quite as well as expected and there will be a tipping point that sees them either put it down to experience or walk away muttering about the whole industry.

So, the question becomes how do we encourage more people who are not currently involved in licensing to become more engaged?

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FEATURE more people to participate.

Possibly, Spring Fair or any other trade fair isn’t the place to do this since the focus for the people with the stands at these events needs to be on attracting potential customers, after all they have a business to run and the last thing they need is someone trying to sell to them!

Most of the problem lies with manufacturers’ assumption that getting involved in licensing is something akin to doing a deal down a dark alley behind the skips. It’s a perception issue and one that everyone in the licensing needs to work hard to overcome to encourage more people to want to participate in our industry I’ve been lucky enough to work with some people who have never worked in licensing before but, nevertheless, did their very first deal with me. I went out of my way to ensure that we made it as easy as possible for them to work with us, to take out the complexities so that they were free to focus on what really mattered – developing successful products. I’d love to talk about my 100% strike rate but, of course, for every successful ‘new blood’ licensee for Kellogg’s, Pringles, SLUSH PUPPiE and Pan Am, there has been someone who got scared off by the thought of the contract.

Ultimately, I’d have to say it’s my fault for not explaining the purpose and importance of the contract and style guide well enough.

However, as an agent, it’s vital to persevere; when it works it really works because you acquire a licensee who has no preconceptions, genuinely thinks outside the box and challenges your own expectations of what

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your license can achieve. Inevitably, of course, once they see the value in licensing they may get tempted by bigger fish and, ultimately, your standing within their portfolio diminishes somewhat. The challenge, then, is how you maintain your importance to them - but that’s the subject for another day.

It’s vitally important, I believe, to actively encourage people who are not currently involved in licensing, ensuring they really understand the value they can create by being involved. That means not making any assumptions about what they know and then ensuring you proactively work with them to simplify the process and remove the scary bits that might make them want to walk away.

However, it is vitally important that we find some way of talking to this wider pool of people, otherwise we will just end up talking to the same people again and again, ending up in some sort of bizarre Groundhog Day scenario. There is so much more potential value within the licensing industry; new brands are entering the market all the time that have new and different values and creative angles.

At Pink Key, we are going to be developing programmes for a number of new brands this year (watch this space!) and we need to talk to people who will give us a different view on how we should be taking them to market and well as keeping the brands we already have refreshed.

Richard Pink is Managing Director of Pink Key Licensing Ltd, a Hertfordshire based agency managing programmes for Kellogg Vintage, Pringles, Pan American Airways and SLUSH PUPPiE.

Licensors and their agents need to avoid falling into the trap of assuming that everyone genuinely understands what licensing means, and accept that, before they can set about selling the license they represent, agents need to be able to sell the benefits of licensing in general. While there is a role for trade bodies like LIMA to do this, there is also a collective responsibility not to look ‘in’ on our industry, but to look ‘out’ and encourage

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NEWS

Porsche Designs and PUMA create new line of footwear Porsche Design and PUMA have entered into a strategic partnership to bring a new line of high-end sportswear, footwear and accessories to the market starting in the Spring/Summer 2019 season.

The collaboration blends Porsche Design’s sophisticated, functional design philosophy with PUMA’s innovative performance technologies.

Combining the design heritage of the two globally renowned brands, the Porsche Design Sportswear Collection — available early March 2019 — features engineered products that will perform at the top level and stand for the fusion of lifestyle and performance wear.

This has resulted in a dynamic collection with its own identity, which is supposed to appeal to customers expecting uncompromising aesthetics and performance.

The new collection meets the needs of those accustomed to the best in high-quality sportswear. Both brands are rooted in the world of motorsport and bring complementary traits to this newly established partnership. Porsche Design brings its unique design philosophy, its engineering mind-set and strong expertise in the premium segment to this collaboration, while PUMA’s sports expertise can be seen in advanced cushioning systems, seam-sealing knits and lightweight fabrics.

“With PUMA we have found a qualified partner, who shares the same values related to technological innovation and functional design.

We are very much looking forward kicking-off this partnership and to lift the Porsche Design Sportswear Collection to new heights over

the following years. The new Spring/Summer 2019 Collection is just the starting point of this valued partnership,” says Jan Becker, CEO of Porsche Design Group.

Throughout the years, each brand has remained at the forefront of excellence in functional design and innovative technologies, while continuously staying true to their roots.

This winning philosophy has earned both companies numerous awards and is also perfectly reflected in the Porsche Design Sportswear Collection.

A collection ranging from active wear to sports-infused lifestyle wear, the full product range delivers technology, quality, sophistication and style with a clear vision: serving the 24/7 needs of the modern sportive urbanist.

According to Porsche Design and PUMA there is more to come in the near future.

Elvis picture book from Red Nose Studio debuts Elvis is King!, the newest picture-book illustrated by Red Nose Studio, was released on what would have been Elvis’ 84th birthday, January 8th.

An extraordinary visual telling of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s rise to a technicolor life, the Schwartz & Wade Books title written by Jonah King has already received critical acclaim.

Named one of “The Most Exciting Picture Books of 2019 by Brightly, it was featured as the cover image for the December 2018 issue of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Glowing reviews from BookList and Publishers Weekly Review, and starred reviews from Kirkus and Bulletin have been a thrill.

Red Nose Studio is represented for licensing

by Magnet Studios.

The United States Mint celebrate Anniversary of the Moon Landing The United States Mint is excited to introduce the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program marking one of the most ground-breaking events in American history—the first manned landing on the Moon.

A marvel of technology and American ingenuity, the epic event answered the challenge set forth by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to “achieve the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.”

The extraordinary goal was met on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 touched down on the PAGE 10

Moon’s Sea of Tranquility.

This year, The United States Mint is honoring that historic achievement with the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program, a collection of coins unique in construction.

The program comprises curved coins in gold, silver and clad. The design of the coins’ obverse is a nod to the space missions that led up to the Moon landing, while the reverse features a representation of the famous “Buzz Aldrin on the Moon” photograph.

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NEWS

Oxford University partners with Brandgenuity

All you need is Love...

The University of Oxford will partner with global brand licensing agency Brandgenuity to expand its licensing program across a range of lifestyle and authority categories.

As storied as England itself, Oxford embodies British heritage, education, and ambience.

While steeped in history, Oxford is thoroughly modern - continuously at the forefront of British thought, culture and sport throughout its long history and into the present. ​ The Oxford licensing program will channel the contemporary, classic British atmosphere and lifestyle that makes Oxford admired all around the world. Licensing partners will be invited to interpret the Oxford brand in fresh, forward ways, with the help of the vast collections housed across its many great institutions, including the University’s Bodleian Libraries, Ashmolean Museum, and Oxford Botanic Garden.

In addition to apparel, accessories, and home, the Oxford program will leverage the University’s unparalleled educational credentials to create toys, games, and back to school products that allow the next generation of consumers to sample Oxford for themselves.

“Following a careful review of the agency marketplace, it was clear that Brandgenuity brings passion, creativity, enthusiasm and of course impressive results to the business of brand licensing,” commented Chris Evans, Managing Director, Oxford Limited. “Together, we plan to reinterpret the undoubted potential of the brand of the University of Oxford, bringing together the power of our global reputation and nine centuries of heritage with the breadth

Alex and Ani, the Rhode Island-based lifestyle brand that creates meaningful, eco-conscious jewelry to positively empower and connect humanity, announced recently a partnership with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Sony/ ATV’s Global Licensing Agent, Epic Rights, to launch a new, musically-inspired capsule collection: The Alex and Ani x Lyrics by Lennon and McCartney Collection.

The 5-piece line includes color-infused jewelry pieces inscribed with iconic lyrics from some of the world’s most memorable songs written by the two legends.

Paying homage to the ‘60s, this never-before-seen collection reimagines powerful lyrics into everyday fashion. These pieces are a reminder of the inspiration and transformation these songs brought to popular culture and the music industry.

For the first time, Alex and Ani held a poll on their social channels to give fans the chance to be at the helm; letting them choose the next charm design. Showcasing two of the available epoxy colored backgrounds for the “All You Need Is Love” charm, fans chose between Indigo and Lavender.

of opportunity and role in the modern world that Oxford, as the world’s number one university, has to offer.”

“We are thrilled to be working with an iconic British brand whose beauty and excellence will help to produce truly timeless products,” said Teri Niadna, Managing Director of Brandgenuity Europe. “As a globally recognized institution, the University of Oxford has the potential to resonate with audiences on a worldwide scale.”

As the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford is a unique and historic institution. There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching has existed at Oxford since 1096.

Today there are 38 colleges and over 23,000 students at Oxford. In 2017 and 2018 Oxford was ranked first in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.

Cambridge Silversmiths and Robert Irvine to collaborate Leading kitchen and cutlery manufacturer Cambridge Silversmiths has announced the signing of a licensing agreement with Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine.

Under the license, Cambridge will be developing a full collection of kitchen prep, cutlery and hydration products including utensils, mixing bowls, cutting boards, and bar accessories all inspired by Robert Irvine. Cambridge will focus on creating products that simplify life and solve everyday kitchen and storage problems. The Cambridge license was created TOTAL BRAND LICENSING

by The Brand Liaison, Robert Irvine’s licensing agent.

“Every great meal starts with careful preparation and the right tools,” said Robert Irvine.

“I’ve spent countless hours working closely with Cambridge Silversmiths to create durable, eye-appealing kitchen products that make meal prep easier than ever and help users create restaurant quality dishes at home.”

Robert Irvine products from Cambridge will be available to retailers in spring. “We are excit-

ed to welcome Robert Irvine to the Cambridge family and introduce his new collection,” said Eric Fine, Vice President of Cambridge Home. “Robert’s focus on innovation in the kitchen, healthy living, and his support for our military, combined with Cambridge product design, development, and sourcing will be a winning combination.”

Robert Irvine is best known for his top-rated Food Network television show, Restaurant: Impossible, and his support of the US military. The Robert Irvine brand has already experienced tremendous success.

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NEWS

Tilray and ABG sign long-term revenue share agreement Tilray, Inc., a global pioneer in cannabis production and distribution, and Authentic Brands Group have announced that they have signed a long-term revenue sharing agreement to market and distribute a portfolio of consumer cannabis products within ABG’s brand portfolio in jurisdictions where regulations permit.

As the owner of more than 50 brands, ABG builds value by partnering with an expansive network of best-in-class manufacturers, operators and retailers.

With a global retail footprint of over 100,000 points of sale and more than 4,500 branded freestanding stores and shop-in-shops, ABG’s portfolio generates approximately US$9 billion in retail sales annually.

Reaching nearly 250 million social media followers across key digital platforms, ABG’s robust marketing arm drives growth and engagement for its portfolio, including connecting its brands with over 150 million targeted followers through Winston, its proprietary micro-influencer network.

Under the terms of the agreement the parties will leverage ABG’s portfolio of brands to de-

velop, market and distribute consumer cannabis products across the world, as and where legal, with an immediate focus on opportunities, including CBD, in Canada and the U.S. subject to applicable and brand appropriate regulations. Tilray will be the preferred supplier of active cannabinoid ingredients for such products. Tilray will initially pay to ABG US$100 million and up to US$250 million in cash and stock, subject to the achievement of certain commercial and/or regulatory milestones.

Tilray will have the right to receive up to 49% of the net revenue from cannabis products bearing ABG brands, with a guaranteed minimum payment of up to US$10 million annually for 10 years.

“We are thrilled to partner with ABG, a global leader known for expertly managing and marketing an owned portfolio of iconic brands,”

said Brendan Kennedy, Tilray President and CEO. “As we work to expand Tilray’s global presence, this agreement leverages our complementary strengths and will be accretive to our shareholders as we reach new consumers across the entertainment, fashion, beauty, home and health and wellness sectors. We look forward to working with ABG to bring unique and sought-after branded cannabis products to the marketplace.”

Daniel W. Dienst, ABG Executive Vice Chairman, said, “Tilray’s unyielding focus on science, product quality, operational excellence and innovation has allowed them to quickly emerge as a leader in the cannabis industry.

We see extraordinary potential for cannabis in the fast-growing health and wellness category – particularly for CBD products in the United States and around the world - and are excited about this long-term partnership.”

Spanish agent for Pantone and Tokidoki

Ironman arrives in India

Nottingham Forest has reach an agreement with Crazy Bell Agency to manage licensing rights of the lifestyle brands Pantone and Tokidoki.

Nottingham Forest will search for the best local partners to develop fashion and lifestyle products for both brands.

Pantone is an iconic brand whose colors matching system has become a global reference. Pantone is the language of color. Pantone means color in every language. Designers and architects from all over the world look at Pantone to be inspired. Pantone breathes elegance, sophistication and simplicity.

Tokidoki is a brand created by the Italian artist Simone Legno and inspired by Japanese culture. Tokidoki means “sometimes” in Japanese. It is composed by several character families very different in terms of design but in the end very similar as all of them dream of a better world full of Magic and Positivism.

Laura Garcia Ortega, Nottingham Forest Commercial Director adds: “Signing Pantone and Tokidoki brands is for us the consolidation of our turn towards more stable brands from the design and art worlds. Both have a special magnetism and we hope Spanish and Portuguese manufacturers will fall in love with them just like us”.

LicenseWorks, a full service strategic brand licensing agency has teamed up with Ironman, a Wanda Sports Holdings company, to extend the Ironman, Iron Girl and Ironkids brands in India to bestin-class manufacturers and retailers across all categories from apparel, footwear and fitness equipment to healthy food alternatives.

Through the agreement, LicenseWorks will develop a comprehensive execution strategy to enhance Ironman athletes’ and casual fans’ relationship with the brand beyond its events. This will allow consumers to engage and be inspired in new ways through the association with a world-class and highly aspirational active brand that celebrates human achievement and a well-balanced lifestyle.

Since the 1986 launch of the top-selling Timex Ironman watch, Ironman has developed an impressive licensing program that generates more than $300 million annually in global retail sales. The Ironkids brand, which promotes healthy and active lifestyles among youth, also produces a successful licensing initiative – including the popular Ironkids Gummy Vitamins. LicenseWorks will also be launching products geared towards fitness enthusiasts through Ironsport powered by Ironman, which was launched in 2018.

Ironman recently announced their expansion into India for the first time in company history with the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Goa, India triathlon which will debut on Sunday, October 20, 2019.

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PROFILE

Material Girl’s first Body Mist range developed for the European market has gained significant popularity since its release in 2018 and the brand is now building on that momentum via the launch of a new fragrance and gift set. The Material Girl brand was first launched in 2010 by MG Icon, a joint venture between Guy Oseary, Madonna and Iconix Brand Group, Inc. and has seen the likes of Georgia May Jagger, Rita Ora, Pia Mia, Sofia Richie, Kelly Osbourne, Zendaya and Serayah McNeill all front campaigns for the brand.

Founded in 2010 by Iconix Brand Group, Madonna and her daughter Lourdes ‘Lola’ Leon, Material Girl first launched at the Macy’s flagship store in New York City. Madonna and fashion have been synonymous for decades, always pushing boundaries whether it be music, film, charity, business or reinvention itself. As the original Material Girl, Madonna shattered conventions and norms across so many dimensions that her legacy will live on for years to come.

Today, Material Girl is licensed across many global markets and is offered in a wide

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number of shop-in-shop and in over 80 stand alone stores across China.

The new addition to the Material Girl health and beauty range is the fragrance and gift set released exclusively in partnership with Boots UK. This fragrance has intense floral notes perfect for the trend-setting woman. This new rollout complements the eight original fragrances which were launched exclusively to Boots and Superdrug customers in the UK and Ireland in 2018, reflecting the attitude of the original Material Girl – bold, independent, edgy and fierce. The Instagram-friendly body mists are infused with delicious and exotic notes in attention-grabbing bottles with statement names.

The trend for perfume products which are lighter in strength, generally less expensive and more diverse in use has seen the body mist sub-category outperform the general fragrance category in recent years and is forecast to grow at an annual rate of nearly 8% through 2020.

To develop the Material Girl range, Iconix Europe LLC partnered with UK-based Corsair Toiletries Ltd., specialists in the toiletries field. The multiyear Pan-European licensing agreement will see the Material Girl brand expand into further health and beauty product categories targeted at young women.

Iconix’s Material Girl content marketing

strategy has seen the brand’s online content driven to a wider audience via engaging a range of up and coming trend-forward beauty and fashion influencers such as Misha Grimes, Scarlett London and Alicia Gardner. Their posts and reviews have garnered increased brand exposure as well as shaped the content strategy by highlighting which materials best engage the brand’s followers.

Daisy Laramy-Binks, Vice President Brand Operations, Iconix Europe commented. “We have seen rapidly increasing consumer interest in the brands in our portfolio which target the millennial audience. These consumers know what they want, have an appetite for exciting new products and are open-minded to trying new brand offerings. Corsair is an expert in the health and beauty sector and they are the perfect partner for us to develop the Material Girl offering within the fast-paced and competitive health and beauty sector. We have been delighted to see the success that Material Girl has enjoyed since its launch into this market as well as the five star consumer reviews this range has received.”

The Material Girl collection is available at select Boots and Superdrug stores.

Iconix Europe LLC is currently in discussions to extend the Material Girl brand out to further European licensing partners and product categories.

Iconix Europe LLC manages the European licensing and brand management activities of Iconix Brand Group, Inc. across 24 brands including Ocean Pacific, Starter, Ecko Unltd, Danskin, Rocawear, Ed Hardy, Zoo York and Mossimo.

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PROFILE

A campaign inspired by the entire history of humanity The British Museum’s unrivalled cultural collection was the foundation of a major licensing campaign that launched in 2015, one that quickly made inroads into global markets – most notably China. The success of the campaign in China has made the British Museum the market leader among UK museums in this region As a world-famous institution, the British Museum is enormously popular, attracting millions of visitors every year.

The Museum’s licensing campaign, launched in 2015, raises awareness of the British Museum, its collection and its work. It also offers an important source of funding for the Museum’s educational and outreach work, as well as contributing to the care of the Museum’s world-renowned collection of objects.

However, communicating the Museum’s values to a wide audience is not a simple task.

The British Museum is a cultural icon the

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world over, with a collection that spans the history of the globe.

The Museum is home to beautiful objects from ancient and modern cultures across the globe – everything from fabrics, glassware, ceramics, wall coverings and ancient tools to photos, shields, coins, art, tableware, and much more – that can inspire many licensing categories. From an early stage this was a major asset to the licensing campaign in the UK market.

For example, the Moorland Rug Company developed a range of British Museum rugs based on the world-famous works of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, whose print, The Great Wave, is one of the most iconic images in history. Wall art, greeting cards, wooden postcards, phone accessories, men’s accessories, home gifting items, bedding and stationery were among the many other categories that found their way to retail in the early years of the campaign.

But this is also a Museum of the world, for the world. Its licensing programme is now an international campaign for a globally recognised institution that regularly tours exhibitions overseas – from the United States and mainland Europe to China and Australia.

China, in particular, where there is an undoubted engagement and interest in arts and culture, was seen from an early stage as a promising market for the Museum’s licensing activity. Early in the development of the licensing programme, it became clear there was real interest in the British Museum – both from the Museum’s visitors from China and within China itself. In late 2016 the Museum successfully launched its licensing campaign into China, going on to establish a strong online presence in this exciting market and opening pop-up shops in Shanghai and Shenzhen in 2018.

In late 2016 the British Museum announced a landmark partnership with licensing firm Alfilo Brands and Alibaba Group, China’s largest online retailer. The aim was to bring a range of British Museum-branded products celebrating the history of humanity to consumers in China online exclusively through Alibaba’s online channel TMall, and in a range of British Museum-branded physical retail outlets throughout China. The programme also targeted a range of promotional opportunities with major brands in China.

A major boost to this alliance came in 2017, when the museum’s touring exhibition A History of the World in 100 Objects, was a hit with visitors to both the National Museum of China in Beijing and the Shanghai Museum.

Today, as a key partner in the British Museum licensing programme in Greater China, Alfilo Brands serves multiple roles, including IP asset development, merchandise development and retail operations for both online TOTAL BRAND LICENSING

PROFILE

and brick and mortar stores. “The British Museum licensed products we develop are inspired by various objects from the Museum’s wonderful collections. We typically include a small card in every packaging box and the card provides consumers with some brief information the object where the product design inspiration comes from. We hope our licensed products will inspire consumers to learn more about the Museum and its collection. ” says Yizan He, CEO of Alfilo Brands.

In addition to a British Museum-branded online store, the Museum has had a retail presence on a Museums and Galleries Collection online store that is based on the WeChat platform since August 2018 and the brick and mortar Museums and Galleries Collection store in Shanghai since Dec 2018. This is also managed by Alfilo Brands. More online stores (on the toutiao.com and JD.com platforms) are expected to follow.

Also in China, the physical retail side of the business has embraced the new experience-based retail format that is getting strong traction on a global scale, not least because it is an interactive shopping experience that engages shoppers in new ways that can’t be duplicated online. The first British Museum experience-based store in China was a popup store called A Journey Through Time. It opened on September 22 at the LC Mall, a brand-new shopping mall in Shanghai. In the store, Chinese shoppers and fans of the British Museum – over 6,600 of whom visited the store on day one – could purchase replicas and licensed merchandise in the store. The 400 square metre unit ran until early November 2018.

In October, another experience-based store opened – this time in Shenzhen on the 116th floor of the city’s landmark Ping An Financial Centre building. Called The British Museum Store in the Sky, it offered replicas of 70 collection objects, interactive displays and over 250 SKUs of licensed merchandise.

Large retail props, interactive displays and a VR booth supported the customer experience at both outlets. At the store in Shanghai, QR codes were attached to every replica, allowing shoppers to learn more by scan the QR code

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using their smartphone.

The success of the China programme has made the British Museum the clear market leader among museum licensing campaigns in this region. In the coming year the Museum expects to see further growth for the China campaign alongside a continued focus in other territories.

The US has already offered a number of opportunities, including a very successful partnership with a leading precious metal asset firm. Rosland Capital and the Museum have worked together on a series of strictly limited edition coins featuring highlights from among the countless masterpieces in the Museum’s collection, starting with helmets from ancient Greece, Rome, and Anglo-Saxon England. The first coin set, launched in May 2018, shows a beautiful, classical Greek helmet of Corinthian type in bronze, dated to around 460BC. The coins, made of pure gold and silver, have been selling incredibly well and more sets are planned.

Similarly, further activity in the UK is expected, along with more outreach into the European market. To enable the more intense focus this will require, the Museum has brought its licensing programme in-house.

This will enable its licensing team to work

directly with licensing partners and build on the success of the first three years of the programme.

In light of this success, the Museum is very much looking forward to 2019. “Since we first began working on licensing only three years ago, the programme has come a long way,” says Craig Bendle, Manager of Merchandise Licensing. “We have developed some amazing products, expanded into new markets and learned that the British Museum enjoys even stronger global awareness than we had thought possible.

“We are excited for the year to come and we feel that that there is much that can be done to build the programme further. In particular, we want to work more closely with licensees to help add value and further collaboration to our partnerships. And we want to continue to expand our licensee base across categories and across territories.”

But maintaining as well as reflecting the identity and values of the British Museum will be central to all activity. As Bendle says, “It is, after all, the identity and history of the British Museum that makes this licensing programme possible – the only licensing campaign inspired by a collection that tells the history of humanity.”

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NEWS

SMMEX celebrates 21st birthday Entry to SMMEX 2019 and the Seminar Programme is completely FREE; simply register your attendance online at: www.smmex.co.uk/register-to-visit

SMMEX International celebrates its 21st Birthday this March at London’s Iconic Wembley Stadium!

SMMEX International returns Monday 4th March 2019 at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Celebrating its 21st birthday, SMMEX 2019 unites Brand Licensors and Buyers altogether for this leading one-day trade show. On a mission to impress, SMMEX is dedicated to showcasing a vast range of Premium Suppliers and Manufacturers of Merchandise, Memorabilia and Souvenirs displaying everything from their bestselling to their latest products, services and technologies.

With a variety of exhibitors from over 20 different countries, SMMEX promises to deliver a complete range of products that can be branded with any company logo or design.

With everything from apparel, retail products, corporate gifts and sports kits to personalised Products, Marketing Services, Signage and everything in-between, SMMEX has quickly become one of the most valuable trade events for any professional brand licensor, buyer or merchandiser to attend.

Extra Information - smmex.co.uk/ Email: info@smmex.co.uk Register for a free ticket: smmex.co.uk/register Apply for one of the last stands: smmex.co.uk/apply-to-register Alongside their extensive exhibitor base, SMMEX is bringing back their seminar programme featuring leading professionals within brand licensing and buying.

SMMEX’s diverse seminar programme strives to provide inspiring and informative sessions covering integral topics within the industry which are beneficial to both visitors and exhibitors of the show.

A free to attend seminar programme held across two rooms in Wembley Stadium, SMMEX showcases guest speakers from prominent organisations including premium tetailers, sports clubs, associations and brands.

Already on the 2019 line-up are representatives from: e-Sports, Sports Traider, Leeds United F.C., Harlequin F.C., LIMA and a case study on TFL. Each session lasts 30 minutes with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end.

According to the organisers, there is no need to book a session in advance.

Hostess launches in new lines of cereals Post Consumer Brands is teaming up with America’s most beloved baked goods brand to offer Hostess Donettes and Hostess Honey Bun in tiny and sweet cereal form. The latest collaboration from Post can be enjoyed in a bowl with milk or straight from the box for a cereal everyone will love.

Post Hostess Honey Bun cereal delivers the delicious taste of America’s favorite breakfast pastry right to your cereal bowl. Each Honey Bun-shaped piece is glazed to perfection, for a tasty cereal the whole family will enjoy.

Inspired by the snack favorite, Post Hostess

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Donettes Cereal is the perfect addition to your breakfast table. Each spoonful features the Donette™ shape, rich taste and delicious powdered sugar coating of this cherished baked good that Donette fans will love.

“We are constantly innovating to bring the most delicious cereals to the breakfast table, and we can’t wait for Hostess fans to enjoy these

Edward Monkton from Fanatik After the worldwide success of Purple Ronnie, best-selling children’s author Giles Andreae went on to create The Interesting Thoughts of Edward Monkton, a humorous brand with a left-field take on love, life, friendship and happiness. Edward Monkton features bold, simple graphics and wistful, intelligent text that resonates with both men and women and the young and old alike. Genuinely original and instantly recognisable, the brand contains real emotion and warmth. Edward Monkton has one of the most successful and iconic ranges of greetings cards in the UK, with over 10 million sold since launch and is a brand with real depth and heart.

Edward Monkton contains that quintessential British sense of humour and that is why I thought it was so important to have all of our prints produced in the UK, not just the high-quality print itself but everything from the mounts and backboards to the bags, every single component is British made and assembled by FANATTIK at our Cheshire HQ – Anthony Marks, Chief Fanattik Previously the Edward Monkton prints retailed in Harrods, Selfridges and John Lewis but with this license renewal FANATTIK will be focusing on opening the range up to the wider market. With a typical retail price point of just £12 for a limited-edition high-quality print, mounted, bagged and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the brand the prints are perfect for all levels of gift retail. latest additions,” said Roxanne Bernstein, Chief Marketing Officer, at Post Consumer Brands. “With our new Post Hostess Donettes and Post Hostess Honey Bun Cereals, we have been able to provide the sweet flavor of these classic treats in tiny cereal form, for a truly unforgettable cereal.”

In order to spread the word of these new delicious cereals, Post Consumer Brands will be launching a tiny and sweet digital campaign through a series of online videos.

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NEWS

Bradford India sign to license Pac-Man Bradford Licensing India are actively promoting iconic game brand Pac-Man.From an arcade game to a cultural iconPac-Man’s popularity has crossed the globe for more than 35 years. Back in 2005 it received the Most Successful Coin Operated Game Machine award from Guinness World Records and in 2010 it was named as the Most Recognisable Video Game character.

Over the years, new games have been developed for numerous platforms including cell phones and other handheld devices.

The ‘Up for Whatever?’ Pac-Man was one of the Super Bowl’s most watched commercials of all time.

Pac-Man was th first video game that included an actual character and, as such, it succeeded

in appealing to both genders and to several age groups.

In addition Pac-Man was gaming’s first licensing licensing success spawning a wide ranging merchandising program including a successful song that sold over one million records and a TV series from Hanna-Barbera that enjoyed 56% market share in the US. Today’s Pac-Man games include one or two titles worldwide for multiple hardware such as portable game devices DS and PSP, and home video games (Wii, PS3, Xbox 360).

In terms of cellular and mobile games, multiple Pac-Man titles per year are launched for mobile phones and tablets.

In terms of recent highlights, Pac-Man collaborated with the world-famous fashion brand Coach for an Autumn/Winter 2016 collection and, staying with fashion, Pac-Man and designer Anya Hindmarch collaborated on a range of bags and coats. Opposuits created a Pac-Man suit and, on a different note, Level 257 launched a Pac-Man restaurant in Chicago.

Further licensees include Havaianas and Fred Perry and Bradford are now looking for licensees in apparel and accessories, footwear, bags and luggage, toys and games, back to school, home, new media and publishing as well as gifts and novelties.

Anheuser-Busch sign with SeaPak Shrimp & Seafood Anheuser-Busch InBev has teamed up with SeaPak Shrimp & Seafood Company to create a new line of Budweiser-branded beer-battered seafood. Broad Street Licensing Group brokered the deal on behalf of SeaPak, while CAA-GBG represented Budweiser.

The frozen seafood range was created in as a collaboration with SeaPak’s chefs and Budweiser’s master brewers. Initially, the product line will include Wild Caught Cod and Crab Poppers with a citrus tartar dipping sauce and Oven Crunchy Shrimp with citrus dipping sauce,.

The SeaPak/Budweiser seafood line will roll out at Sam’s Clubs in March and is available in the seafood freezer aisle at Walmart, Kroger and other retailers.

KFC unvail a line of Colonel Sanders figures from Funko KFC has unveiled a limited-edition line of Colonel Sanders Pop! vinyl figures in partnership with collectibles brand Funko and the initial limited-edition Colonel Sanders Funko figure sold out in eleven minutes.

One figure depicts the Colonel holding a bucket of fried chicken and will be available at select retailers. It was available for pre-order on Amazon. A second figure, showing the Colonel with his signature cane, was available exclusively at funko-shop.com, but sold out within 11 minutes.

The new figures were the first Colonel Sanders Pop! collectibles, but Funko previously partnered with the brand on a 50th anniversary edition of Colonel Sanders Wacky Wobbler bobblehead in 2002.

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KFC continues to unveil one-of-a-kind merchandise featuring the likeness of its iconic Colonel Sanders mascot. The partnership with Funko on Pop! collectible figures should help the fast-food chain boost brand awareness, as KFC is tapping into the Funko collectible craze and the company’s ability to capitalize on pop culture fandom.

Branded limited-edition merchandise, often with a quirky spin, has been a hallmark of KFC’s marketing over the past few years.

Recently, KFC introduced a gravy-scented candle. For the 2018 holidays, the brand partnered with Enviro-Log to create firelogs that smell like KFC fried chicken.

Since bringing back its Colonel mascot in 2015, KFC has also incorporated its brand

icon into many merchandise-focused campaigns. To promote its Hot Honey fried chicken items in September, KFC gave fans the chance to win a vintage-inspired, pull-string talking Colonel Bear, resembling the iconic bear-shaped honey bottles but with a white suit, glasses and goatee.

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TRENDS

The Business of

Cleaning Up The home organization market is predicted to be worth €11.8 billion by 2021.

The cleaning influencers are here to stay...

In a similar way that social media audiences will pour over cooking or beauty blogs, the cleaning and organization trend has now swept over Instagram and other areas of the internet and is seeing millions of hits.

Perhaps only recently have some of us become aware of the name Marie Kondo.

However, to her followers, and devotees of her TV show and book The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up, she is something of a sensation in the home.

The epic, and fast, rise of so-called ‘cleaning influencers’ comes hand in hand with the

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trend for wellness, and wellbeing. The phrase ‘tidy home, tidy mind’ is often bandied about but these influencers mean business. Thousands of followers pour over the TV show featuring Marie Kondo encouraging us to throw away anything that doesn’t ‘spark joy’, and Mrs Hinch – Sophie Hinchcliffe – who has well over one millions followers on Instagram, has lead the trend for people becoming #cleaning obsessed.

Retailers in the UK have reported a spike in sales of cleaning products – many of the consumers being young people. Minky, a cleaning product company, saw an increase in sales after Mrs Hinch mentioned one of their products in (unpaid) Instagram posts. Nicola Lewis – ‘This Girl Can Organise’- has found fame sharing her cleaning and decluttering tips. Lynsey Crombie has ammassed 68,000 followers with her household hints.

So the time must be ripe for companies to start tapping into the enormous potential for partnerships.

Marie Kondo is launching a suite of products through her company KonMari, a set of three organizational boxes called Hikidashi.

As well as surely the incoming raft of licensed, and therefore guru-endorsed cleaning

products that will inevitably be hitting shelves and e-commerce soon, there are ample opportunities for less-obvious and more creative partnerships.

On the flip side, there is also the enormous shift towards sustainable, non-chemical products, environmental awareness (all that stuff you chuck out from your home has to go somewhere!) and green cleaning. So, businesses wishing to tap into the cleaning trend need to also remain aware that their audience may very well be young, socially and environmentally conscious.

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THE DEFINITIVE ‘HOW-TO’ BOOK ON LICENSING NOW AVAILABLE Want to get into licensing but unsure how best to go about it?

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A history of successful properties, unique products and key people

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Point by point analysis of licensing agreements Buying and selling licensed products

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A review of key worldwide licensing markets.

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Most effective way of promoting your products

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Clearing, protecting and enforcing properties and products

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Plus... included in the book is a link to a collection of essential contracts and forms.

“This book is an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to successfully navigate through the licensing industry.”

“I was referred to Greg’s books on Licensing Agreements 15 years ago. He is the Babe Ruth of Licensing, his legal reference hits it out of the park every inning!”

“This book addresses an industry need for relevant information and instruction in a manner that serves both the novice and the expert.The comprehensive collection of materials from such an impressive group of industry experts is unparalled.”

“Hi Danny, I recently received The New & Complete Business of Licensing book and thought I’d connect. I’m finding it a crucial reference, even for licensing veterans like myself. I’m finding out a lot about the “why” behind many of the clauses in contracts.Thanks to you and Greg for writing this!”

Charles Riotto, President Emeritus, LIMA

Rick Van Brimmer, Past Chairman, LIMA

Mick Long, 1st Venture Catalyst

Chuck Earling / Brand Licensing Executive

COVER STORY

Heads Together for the Health Revolution HEAD by Gorenje combines sports and technological expertise...

Smooth Up Your Life!

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COVER STORY Leading sports goods brand HEAD and Gorenje, European manufacturer of household appliances, have joined forces to create a revolution for healthier lifestyles.

HEAD by Gorenje are a special line of small, yet action-packed, appliances – which also have the unique ability to be connected to a smartphone app, Smooth Up Your Life, which helps users create tailor-made smoothies and receive fitness tips.

“Due to the global trend of rising consciousness of what we eat and drink, we have decided to start this project and Gorenje has been the ideal partner for us...”

The 2-in-1 Nutri Sport Blender performs not only as a smoothie-maker but also as a nutrient and vitamin extractor, and a Gorenje-connectible kitchen-scale allows users to follow recipes with real-time instructions on the app – all extremely user friendly and simple to use.

Combining technology and healthy living has been taken to the next level by HEAD

by Gorenje, with over 30 HEAD athletes to be features on the app with their signature smoothie recipe.

Lifestyle choices and health-consciousness could not be more relevant in today’s world.

Using the brand reassurance brought by

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COVER STORY Sports stars sharing their favourite recipes on the app include: Aksel Lund Svindal - World Cup Rebel Hedvig Wessel - Freestyle Skier Sina Candrian - Pro Snowboarder Marin Cilic - Pro Tennis Player Robin Haase - Pro Tennis Player HEAD, with their expertise in all things sports and lifestyle, and the trusted technology from Gorenje, this partnership brings confidence, integrity and surety to this vast global movement.

More people than ever are aware of how important a healthy lifestyle is – and how everything they eat and drink is significant. HEAD

by Gorenje is perfectly tailored to meet these demands, in an age of technological sophistication.

The endorsement from experts in their various sporting fields has been a crucial element to the partnership of HEAD by Gorenje. This brings trust to the consumer, aspiration, and most of all – proves that it works! With the help from the HEAD roster of Ski Racer, Snowboarder, Free Skier, Pool Swimmer, Tri-

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COVER STORY HEAD aims to simplify the journey to a healthier lifestyle. Bohemia Healing Marienbad Waters (BHMW) has recently signed a multi-year licensing agreement with HEAD to launch a new range of sport drinks under the HEAD brand.

The line of new sport drinks contains mineral water (still and sparkling), isotonic drinks as well as Energy Drinks. BHMW owns several trademarks, belonging to the oldest in the world. In the beverage industry, they dominate the bottling of Europe’s most famous spa healing springs since early 17th century.

The Mineral Water is sourced from the famous Marienbad spa in Czech Republic, and the packaging and design is inspired by HEAD colors and tennis ball tube, with the debossed HEAD wordmark on the water bottles.

The entire production process is subject to strict quality control of the specialists from BHMW joint-stock company, which has been operating on the markets of beverage industry since year of 1664.

Mr Vojtech Milko, Director at BHMW says: “When working with HEAD it’s our duty to use the best water and ingredients to meet the most demanding demands of sports professionals.”

BHMW sponsored the farewell event of Czech Tennis Player Radek Štěpánek, which was supported by famous sports stars such as Novak Djokovic, Tommy Haas and Andre Agassi. athletes, Divers and Tennis Players, the recipes have been tailored to give results.

The Nutri Blender has many top features, including quick speed change, to-go and stayfresh lids, the 1.5 litre Tritan blending jug, and the extractor fast-turning 6-point blade.

The Bluetooth-connected kitchen scale combines ease-of-use, up to 10kg of weight, an LED display and is connected to the mobile app.

Commenting on the innovative partnership, Giuseppe Faranna, VP Licensing Division of HEAD says: “We are delighted to team up with Gorenje on this innovative and exciting project. Due to the global trend of rising consciousness of what we eat and drink, we have decided to start this project and Gorenje has been the ideal partner for us. Our knowledge

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of what athletes need and what performance means in terms of racing or e.g. winning tennis games, has been perfectly matched with the innovation power of Gorenje in small domestic appliances, considering also their long-lasting market experience.”

Of course, the brand of HEAD and its strong licensing division have been going from strength to strength. There are 57 Licensees around the globe based on long term license trademark agreements, generating over €150,000,000 in net turnover in 2017. Incorporating HEAD brand DNA into licensed products offers consumers innovation and assurance. As well as the sports branding expertise offered by the company HEAD is a top lifestyle brand, with strong links to lifestyle and fashion industries.

A brief history...

Head Sports Inc. founded in 1948 in Maryland, USA, by Howard Head.

In 1950 the first metal laminated skis were introduced - the HEAD Standard Ski. The 1968 the HEAD Tennis Division was formed. HEAD introduced the first metal tennis racket in 1969 at the US Open.

The Licensing Division has been established since Johan Eliasch bought HEAD in 1995. 57 licensees around the globe generated over €150,000,000 in 2017.

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SPORTS “People are increasingly treating their pets as humans, relying on them for companionship and gaining a sense of fulfilment from needing to be needed as they look after their pets. They want their pets to feel cared-for, comfortable and mentally stimulated. So there is driving demand for added-value products, often mirroring mainstream human styling and healthcare trends.

As a result people are prepared to pay more for their petcare products and to replace them more often.”

Jane Westgarth, Senior Market Analyst, Mintel 2015

Well over half of the households in the United States own a pet – over 80 million homes!

Man’s best friend might be the most iconic, but consumer’s tastes in pets is both varied and dynamic. But whether it’s a dog, cat, horse, bird, fish, or lizard – pets need to eat.

They need to be kept clean, and have a place to sleep. Pets need to be cared for – and with over 300 million pets in the US that makes for a booming business.

But it’s not just the basic care requirements of our non-human family that is driving strong growth in the pet industry. Strong economic conditions, the demographics of our (human) population, and a growing body of medical research pointing to the health benefits of pet ownership are all contributing to continued strength. And perhaps as important as all of these is the fact that people do not just care for their pets – they pamper them.

As of 2017, 68% of households in the US own at least one pet, and the pet industry is made up of the products and services that keep these pets alive, healthy and happy – food, toys, daycare, training, beds, cages, medical services and a lot more. And an increasing number of these products and services are licensed.

Of course, the pet industry in the United States is keeping pet owners happy as well.

After all, no dog feels sad without the latest

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Juicy Couture sweater – but some some of their owners might. While pets are found in households of all economic levels, high-income households account for about 60% of the total spending.

According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), revenue was over $69 billion in 2017, an increase of more than 4% over the previous year. In fact, the average annual growth rate since 2002 is 5.4%, and

revenue has been growing steadily for well over 20 years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, above average job growth is expected for the industry – 11% growth between 2014 and 2024.

Logically, food is the largest spending segment, followed by veterinary care. Within each segment, however, there is quite a degree of variability in the type, quality and price of

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PET PRODUCTS goods and services.

There are a number of trends supporting strong growth in the industry and they show no signs of slowing down.

Part of the Family Many types of pets have long been considered part of the family, but in recent years that has started to translate to actually treating pets more like people – a trend called “humanization.” Pet owners are seeking out higher quality foods, more high-end accessories and more expensive medical treatments.

Upscale spend Premiumization is the creation of higher end or specialty products and services to cater to these requirements for our pets. Organic and natural treats and foods, high-tech medical therapies and medicines, luxury services and even spas. Businesses that cater to these niche products and services are booming!

All American Licensing recently announced the signing of a representation and consulting agreement with Chicken Soup for the Soul for new branded pet products.

As part of the agreement, AAL will license a comprehensive new portfolio of pet products related to the Chicken Soup for the Soul Pet Food brand. The new licensing agreement represents a significant expansion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, which has been providing wholesome, healthy pet food for over 15 years.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Pet Food began in 2003, and offers a variety of dry and wet cat and dog food for all stages of life, as well as dog treats. The pet food is made in the USA with wholesome, healthy ingredients. Beginning in January 2019, Chicken Soup for the Soul Pet Food will sponsor a new animal focused TV series hosted by actress Eva LaRue airing every week on The CW, entitled Chicken Soup for the Souls Animal Tales.

The new line of products will include traditional toys, collars, and beds, and a variety of other products.

“We are thrilled to be working with All American Licensing,” stated Chris Mitchell, CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Pet Food. “The expertise they have within the pet industry and their understanding of our brand make for a great partnership. We have been interested in expanding our offerings within the pet space and building on our successful dog and cat food products for a while.

Through our new partnership with AAL, we will provide even more quality products for pets.”

Michael Gottsegen, Co-Founding Partner of All American Licensing, adds, “We’ve worked with the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand in the past, and have always greatly enjoyed the experience, as well as the mutual success our joint efforts have generated. Today, we are excited to now significantly expand the brand’s Pet Food line beyond its current food offerings, so that it will soon include a full-range of traditional pet categories for in and around the home.”

Health and Welfare Another driving force is a greater appreciation – based on scientific research – of the bond between people and their pets. According to the Human Animal Bond Research Initiative Foundation, “People are happier and healthier in the presence of animals.

Scientifically-documented benefits…include decreased blood pressure, reduced anxiety,

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and enhanced feelings of well-being.”

Though the results are preliminary, a HABRI study has indicated a potential $11.7 billion savings to the US healthcare system that can be tied to pet ownership.

Demographics Current US demographic trends also favor continued industry strength based on two PAGE 25

PET PRODUCTS groups: baby boomers and millennials.

Baby boomers are launching their real kids into the wild and replacing them with pets and they are pampering them. In almost all spending categories, spending declines once a person reaches 55 years of age – but pet spending is peaking between the ages of 55 and 64!

Millennials – people born between 19852010 – are probably the first generation to grow up thinking of pets more like humans than animals. They are finding their independence and have disposable income – and they are buying pets and spoiling them.

Economics Pet industry revenue has shown growth even during times of economic trouble, including the recent recession, so it only makes sense that the current relative economic strength bodes well for continued industry strength.

Competition Competition is fierce – even with so many pets requiring so many things, there are a lot of businesses to deal with them. Large companies like Petco leverage their buying power to offer low prices, while individual people can easily offer affordable dog walking and sitting services.

So what are the key opportunities?

Niche or specialty offerings give the best opportunities. Among some are stores selling foods with special ingredients or health benefits, training services and grooming services.

And, of course, licensing is playing an increasingly high profile within this sector.

More and more licensors are working with pet product companies that generate hundreds of millions in revenues. For example, Rubie’s Pet Shop Boutique has a multitude of licensed costumes - for dogs, including Superman, Princess Leia, Batman, Wonder Woman, Minions, Scooby Doo, Tigger, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Captain Kirk, Donald Duck and Cinderella.

On the brand side, last year Sequential Brands saw the launch of Martha Stewart’s new quality, functional and innovative products in association with partners Design Lab

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Those Licensing People recently confirmed that it has brokered an agreement, believed to be the first of its kind in the pet licensing category, on behalf of its client A&B TV, the IP owners of classic British TV series Roobarb & Custard. Those Licensing People has developed a direct-to-consumer product line, which will see a range of premium dry pet foods produced in the UK under a brand called Two Near The Bone.

Launching in early April, there will be three different flavoured dog food SKU’s - under the product label When Roobarb Made a Dog’s Dinner. Those Licensing People have worked closely with A&B TV to bring to market the first licensed dog food brand that is ethically and sustainably produced under stringent factory conditions in the UK. Two Near The Bone’s dedicated consumer-facing website will appeal to dog owners aged 20+ familiar with Roobarb & Custard and with an interest in providing their pet with high quality, nutritious food. The dog food range will be delivered direct to customer’s homes in specially sourced, recyclable-ready bags from Law Print Packaging.

The launch will be supported by a consumer marketing and PR campaign delivered from March onwards by the agent’s recently appointed agency, Grapevine Global PR, with whom it has a long-standing partnership.

Adam Sharp at A&B said, “Initially we will deliver direct to consumers in line with today’s retail trends. Two Near The Bone’s dedicated website enables us to engage with our customers on our brand proposition, USP’s and other SKU’s, although we certainly haven’t ruled out bricks and mortar retail partnerships in the future. TLP were given a tough brief and we’re absolutely delighted with the direction and care they’ve taken.

We’re looking forward to getting these great products to market and believe that the nation’s dogs and owners will give us their paws and thumbs up!”

The global deal, which has been signed for an initial three years, is expected to expand into cat food associated with the Custard, Roobarb’s feline friend from the TV series, and is already in the early stages of development.

Inc and Fetch for Pets. And Stewart sums up what many consumers think. “I consider my pets part of my family, and it is important to me that they are well taken care of. With this line, I am excited to provide pet owners quality, innovative products to ensure their pets are happy, healthy, well cared for and sensibly and very beautifully dressed.”

And technology is playing an increasing part.

The Wagz Smart Collar enables owners to create virtual fencing anywhere, right on their phone. And Wagz are not the only provider of technology aimed at the pet market.

Regardless of the economic situation, pet products, in common with children’s products, will

continue to see growth across all sectors of the market. And, from a licensing standpoint, that can only bode well for the coming years.

And it’s not just the US that is mad for their pets. The pet products market in the United Kingdom was estimated to be worth $4.5 billion in 2016 and is forecast to grow steadily for the next five years, with recent experience showing that the industry is recession-proof.

Owners regard their pets as members of the family and will not neglect or deprive them any more than they would their children.

As a result, they invest precious amounts of money to keep then healthy, happy, wellgroomed and very well fed.

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PROFILE

National Geographic

Space, Explorers and Animals The National Geographic licensing strategy in the UK is, like the brand, wide-reaching.

However, the foundation on which it is built is straightforward. It is led by three ‘core missions’: sustainability; educating children; and more notably the National Geographic commitment to exploration and protecting our planet.

But within these missions this approach also allows the brand and its partners to embrace many associated themes.

Space, Explorers in training and Amazing Animals are themes which the brand will expand throughout consumer products this year. Exploring space, for example, is a hot topic on the National Geographic TV channels and in its magazines this year, thanks not only to the fiftieth anniversary of the first moon landing, but also to TV hits like MARS and Mission to The Sun. Sustainability, meanwhile, is being strongly highlighted through Planet or Plastic? – National Geographic’s multi-year effort to raise awareness about the global single-use plastic crisis. Planet or Plastic?

is attracting sustainability-focused partners in areas as diverse as water bottles, luggage, bedding and beauty products.

As part of protecting our planet and the wildlife within it, National Geographic is focusing on a plethora of animal-related, and sustainably sourced kids’ products launching this year, leveraging the brand’s strength and authority in relation to the animal kingdom.

Arriving in February is an ‘Amazing Animals’ sticker collection from Topps. This is the first of two collections, both being sourced from recycled paper. Topps is also working closely with a National Geographic Explorer in the field to launch the collection. The second collection, later in the year, will highlight space.

This multi-year deal will cover both EMEA and Latin America.

National Geographic is also looking forward to the arrival of its gender-neutral kids’ clothing range launching at John Lewis in March 2019. The John Lewis range combines exciting animal imagery with stylish, colourful and ethically sourced apparel and the educational component that informs much of the brand’s output for children.

Soon after this, a global, multi-year partnership with Clarks shoes – launching on Earth Day in April 2019 – uses a collection of photographs by Joel Satore to produce footwear (for both kids and adults) using bio-mimicry technology to influence the design of a collection that aims to drive awareness of endangered species. Satore is the founder of the Photo Ark, a ground-breaking effort to document all animals in captivity before they disappear. So far 8,754 species have been photographed. It will take a further 25 years to complete this body of work. This campaign perfectly combines elegant footwear with a strong message, one that also ties in

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neatly with the arrival of the sixth annual Big Cat Month on the popular channel, NatGeo WILD, showcasing the world’s most extraordinary big cat species. National Geographic will work closely with their ‘Big Cat’ explorers in the field to bring the campaign to life.

Again, this Clarks licensing partnership involves sustainable or recycled materials: sixteen pairs of the shoes in the collection will be made from 100% recycled bottles, using recycled cardboard and natural vegetable dye for the packaging.

National Geographic had a strong start to its retail activation last September with Sainsbury’s, promoting across 16 book titles. The promotion was such a success that a second will take place in March this year.

Of course, much of this activity aligns directly with the National Geographic mission to educate children through the National Geographic brand, which also builds on the company’s strong kids’ magazine (the number one kids’ subscription magazine in the UK) and book business.

However, the brand appeals to all ages. As Mark Williams, Buyer, Books for Sainsbury’s and Argos, said of the recent joint book promotion: “I genuinely believe there is so much untapped potential and that we can really make a success of this – not just on the kids’ side but adults’ publishing too.”

It’s a potential that will find further expression though a growing number of proposals, product launches and promotions during a very busy year for a brand whose strong associations with entertainment, education, exploration, the environment and much, much more are proving a hit with consumers – both adults and kids – as well as licensing partners.

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DTR AND LICENSING

How DTR licensing is reshaping the global retail industry

By Yizan He, Founder & CEO of Alfilo Brands.

The rising level of competition among retailers in recent years has sparked a significant rise in the number of private labels launching, as retailers look to attract young shoppers to their stores. According to AC Nielson, sales from private labels grew 3 times faster than national brands in 2017.

The challenge for brands is that we’re now reaching a saturation point in the private label arena where more innovation and creativity is needed for private labels to stand out from the crowd. This is particularly challeng-

ing because private labels are traditionally less developed and less creative than fully-fledged brand counterparts, as the primary focus is on cutting costs rather than creative marketing or design.

One big trend we’re seeing is for brands to remodel direct-to-retail (DTR) strategies by incorporating licensing partners, given them access to creative IP and marketing resources that brings innovation and unique stand-out to their products, while keeping the retail model flat.

European fast fashion retailer Primark have been champions of this kind of DTR licensing strategy, which has allowed them to become the largest retailer partner for Harry Potter-themed products in the world. The knock-on effect of this partnership has been to boost Primark’s cultural relevance and appeal, while giving the Harry Potter franchise access to a huge mass market.

Similarly, international Japanese retailer Uniqlo has made deals with the likes of the Museum of Metropolitan Art (MoMA), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and iconic graffiti artist Futura, whose cultural IP elevates the fashion retailer to a whole new level and allows them to reach new consumer groups. For Uniqlo, these deals add layers of sophistication and, again, cultural relevance, reaching new audiences and adding aspirational weight to the brand.

If Primark and Uniqlo had followed a more traditional model of creating private labels in-house, they would have only reached the consumers already shopping in their stores.

Instead, strategical DTR licensing deals, where unique cultural IP provides increased appeal, brings the brand to more consumers and broadens the appeal of the brand through association with partner brands.

The increased sophistication that these kinds of relationships are bringing to brands is changing the whole dynamic of the private label sphere, signalling what some are calling the shift from ‘private labels’ to fully-fledged ‘private brands’. This is a welcome change because in the past private labels have often been seen as the ‘poorer cousin’ to primary brands, as quality and creativity was perceived to be lesser. However, new DTR licensing strategies enable them to compete at all points of the market, from budget lines continue to be in demand, to more aspirational product lines that have the potential to be market leaders.

DTR licensing can also be a lucrative way to enter new markets, both emerging and established. While private labels account for up to 40% of retail sales in Europe, in the US that statistic is much lower, at 15%, while in China it currently stands at 5%. Despite the lower penetration of private labels in these markets, demand for them there is growing.

At Alfilo Brands, we’ve secured exclusive licensing rights to some of the most well-

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DTR AND LICENSING the retailers get a continual supply of unique, aspirational products to sell at competitive margins.

The possibilities and opportunities to create and develop private labels using DTR licensing partnerships are seemingly endless.

This is set to continue, as long as retailers and licensors remember that consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The winners will be those who provide them with a product that not only delivers on cost but also gives them a memorable experience that leaves them wanting more.

About Alfilo: known cultural institutions in the world, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the V&A, the National Gallery and The British Museum, who license their IP directly to e-commerce giant Alibaba in China. To make the most out of these relationships, our creative teams in Los Angeles and Shanghai develop annual creative themes, related to real fashion and lifestyle trends, and use these to create uniquely crafted designs to elevate their private label merchandise. The themes are used to create a portfolio of prints and patterns inspired by museum artefacts, and supplemented with narratives about the museum objects.

For example, we recently launched the 2020 themes for The British Museum: Electric Egypt, East Side Story, Greek Legends and Pop Voyage.

ically, the cultural institutions enter a new market via a very established platform, while the retailers can offer consumers a stream of unique products. When done correctly, DTR licensing partnerships can be a winwin situation for all parties involved as well as consumers, who get access to high quality and unique products.

There are other positive knock-on effects that come out of these partnerships. For example, the retailers are able to benefit from design inspiration and increased shop traffic thanks to the collection and brand name of the museums.

Meanwhile, the licensors get more exposure of their brands and receives royalties while

Alfilo Brands is an industry leading consumer products company that holds exclusive licensing rights to many of the world’s leading art, cultural, fashion & entertainment properties.

The global company has demonstrable expertise developing cutting edge, innovative & unique merchandising programs for licensed museum & gallery properties.

They have partnered with many of the world’s leading consumer brands & retailers, allowing them the ability to share their intellectual property with fans of museums & galleries around the world.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with 3 support offices in China (Shanghai, Beijing, & Guangzhou), Alfilo Brands offers their unique design and intellectual property opportunities on a global scale to consumer brand and retail clients.

It’s the first time that the world’s leading museums are offering crafted art themes to retailers, who can subsequently use these IP assets to spice up their private label merchandise. Many of these retailers are market leaders in various market segments such as Amazon, Nestle and MI who launched a new smartphone inspired by 16th century Italian Maiolica pottery from the British Museum, which quickly became the most sought after smart phone label in May 2018.

This kind of partnership is mutually beneficial. It allows the partners to engage a younger generation of shoppers in one of the world’s largest marketplaces. More specifTOTAL BRAND LICENSING

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SPORTS AND LEISURE

Admiral

A Renowned British Sports Brand

Admiral is a renowned British sports brand with over 100 years of sporting heritage.

Admiral is credited with creating the branded replica and football kit market in the early 1970’s. This was through the sponsorship of Leeds United Football Club. Admiral continued to work with the biggest football teams and started producing the England National football kit in 1974. During the 1982 World Cup Admiral produced one of the most iconic football kits of the of the 21st Century and is still rated as an England fan favourite kit design. The shirt was worn by English legends including Kevin Keegan, Glenn Hoddle and Peter Shilton.

Throughout the 70’s and 80’s Admiral dominated football around Europe continuing to make iconic kits for the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs, Belgium National team along with many more. Towards the end of the 70s Admiral worked with teams in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The New York Cosmos won the 1978 title wearing an Admiral kit designed by Ralph Lauren. The Leeds United connection flourished again in the 90’s when they were the last team to win the Division 1 title, the PAGE 30

prelude to the Premier League, whilst wearing Admiral.

The Admiral brand has also had prominence in cycling winning the Tour De France with the TI Raleigh team. Admiral also pioneered the replica kit market again, within cricket, working with the England Cricket team. England went on to win their first Ashes Series in nearly 20 years, whilst wearing Admiral.

2018 was another successful year licensing for Admiral continuing our relationships with Sainsburys and Cisalfa Sport (Italy). Sains-

burys have made use of the Admiral Gold category and saw great success throughout the World Cup. England’s victorious run in the World Cup helped both sales and brand coverage selling true replicas of classic styles through our licensee ScoreDraw. Cisalfa Sport continued to release product under the Admiral Style range showing the brand continues to have international recognition.

The greatest success of the year came through Admirals collaboration with Represent Clothing. Represent are a Manchester based fashion house specialising in high-end streetwear. The collaboration took archival imagery and reflected the brother’s love of Manchester. Represent took Admiral’s iconic hourglass design worn by Manchester United in the 1970s. Reworking the vintage silhouettes and giving the fabrication a modern update, creating a nostalgic nod to the past whilst adding a modern view of traditional British design through a contemporary lens. The collection is modelled by Leo Mandella, the capsule brings an all British made football inspired capsule collection into the fashion industry.

First Shown at Milan Fashion Week 2018, the two brands look to continue the collaboration into 2019.

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SPORTS AND LEISURE

The importance of

Athleisure The consumer desire for the active lifestyle, coupled with creative partnerships, has lead to this massive trend....

The gap between sports and leisure brands is closing – so much so that the term ‘athleisure’ has been used for some time now.

The trend toward athleisure wear has been growing steadily over the last few decades, but in recent times it has exploded. Sports wear worn in the day-to-day activities of the individual is increasingly popular – indeed, there was a statistic, (perhaps exaggerated) making the rounds that around 80% of sports wear sold is never used for the activity that it was designed.

Indeed, the most successful crossovers of sport and leisurewear seem to be veering towards the lifestyle and comfort, rather than intense sport practicality.

There is a global trend towards health, fitness and wellness, and this is shown in the most

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popular fashion and lifestyle brands.

Lululemon is a brand well-associated with this trend. The athletic apparel retailer is a ‘yoga-inspired’ clothing company that has used clever partnerships and celebrity influence to help grow the brand. Two years ago, Lululemon teamed with with shoe brand Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) to create sneakers featuring colors exclusive to the yoga retailer. It has also partnered with celebrity trainer Taryn Toomey to create yoga pants and tops for women.

The company has recently signed a partnership with Francesca Hayward, the principal dancer of the Royal Ballet of London, for pieces inspired by the Royal Ballet archives.

Lululemon products are also frequently spotted being worn by popular celebrities, and influencers, which accounts for a spike in sales.

Times really have changed – a couple of decades ago, donning sportswear for daily life was not the ‘norm’, but fast-forward to today, and the athleisure market has grown by a rate of 20-25% annually, with the women and children’s sector reporting the strongest growth, according to the report published

by Allied Market Research titled, Activewear Market by Product and Fabric: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast.

Brands such as Prana, which markets ‘sustainably made clothes, for climbing, yoga, and travel, and The North Face, which has capitalized on the market for outdoor adventures, really sell themselves as total lifestyle brands as

well as practical apparel wear.

The sport and leisure style has become one of the largest categories in the ‘sneaker space’ in the U.S. According to the NPD Group, demand for sport leisure styles has surged by 17% in a year, with sales of ‘running-inspired’ sneakers jumped 39% and casual athletic styles rose 24%.

Partnerships and brand extensions have certainly contributed to this. Matthew M. WilTOTAL BRAND LICENSING

SPORTS AND LEISURE

liams, the designer behind ALYX 1017 9SM, joined forces with Nike for the Nike x MMW capsule collection, which features athleticism from its climbing-inspired pants to rollercoaster-inspired buckles.

Similarly, Y-3 is a collaboration between adidas Originals and Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, with one of the most famous modules in the collection being the Qasa footwear silhouette.

Another interesting offering is NS. Going beyond sportswear, NSW is a leader in Nike’s performance apparel offer, with the tweaks making it accessible for everyday wear.

The athleisure lifestyle trend shows no signs of abating.

Nicolas Loufrani identified the market growth opportunities in this sector around five years ago, and evolved the new product segment ‘Smiley Sports’, to meet the demands of activewear apparel collaborations.

“As the lines between street and sports fashTOTAL BRAND LICENSING

ion blurs, so does the growth opportunity in the sports leisure style space for licensed brands like Smiley,” says Loufrani, CEO of The Smiley Company. Loufrani added: “With the global activewear market expected to grow by 6.5% annually over the next 5 years, many brands and retailers must continue to feed this trend.”

This message has been key in the successful sell in of this concept and so far results have been successful for Smiley, with a Smiley x ChinaTown Market basketball created by Puma being given the glowing endorsement of ‘Best Basketball of 2018’ by High Snobiety. Meantime Smiley has also strategically developed a line of funky gym inspired apparel with Tikiboo, one of the UK’s leading online retailers in this sector, whilst SJ Trends in Korea are successfully selling Smiley golf wear for men and women into the Asian market.

Another Smiley partner in Asia, XTEP (which has a distribution network of over 6,000 stores across 31 provinces in China), has already shown how to successfully evolve a complete sports and leisure line from Smiley, after initially launching a capsule sports footwear collection, this has now evolved into a line of over 50 styles across most apparel and accessories categories. Loufrani adds: “I don’t see this hot trend for sports and leisure apparel cooling anytime soon, as on-the-go, time pressed consumers seek a more active lifestyle, whilst wanting to look good all the time.”

Ascot Racecourse recently announced a multiyear deal with luxury British accessories brand, Radley London. The relationship sees the brands launch an exclusive collection of occasion bags for Royal Ascot and the summer season, in a deal brokered by IMG. The new collection will reflect the sartorial elegance, traditional touches and British heritage that Royal Ascot is renowned for, alongside the quality and craftsmanship that the Radley brand is recognised for worldwide.

Juliet Slot, Commercial Director at Ascot, welcomed the new relationship: “While racing is at the heart of Ascot, the fashion component is fundamental for us and our customers. It is part of the day that helps create the sense of occasion that our customers feel is so strongly associated with Royal Ascot.

“We are delighted to be working with Radley

London who share so many of our own values when it comes to quality and innovation. We have developed an exciting collection of occasion bags that are available to racegoers and on the high street this summer.’’

In another example of the huge trend for sporting and leisure partnerships, The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf ) has announced a multiyear agreement with OEG Sports as its global master licensee and licensing agent for consumer products.

The rights deal makes OEG Sports, a leading football licensing agency in North America, the first official and exclusive master licensee and licensing agent of Concacaf.

OEG Sports will develop comprehensive consumer products and merchandising programs across all major consumer product categories for distribution in stadiums, online and at retail throughout the Concacaf region. The portfolio of licensed products based on the Concacaf brand includes apparel, accessories, sporting goods, novelties, food and beverages, personal care, gaming and apps, music, and premiums.

Christian Louboutin has entered the performance sneaker market with a new line called “Run Loubi Run.” Built for speed, there are neoprene sock-style uppers while technical foams in the soles allow for maximum cushioning. The designer, wanting to prove the shoes were not just for show, put them though their paces with a high-octane dance performance in L’Oratoire du Louvre starring French actor Kevin Mischel.

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FEATURE

How Licensing Can Help Food Manufacturers Fight The Private-Label Threat

By Jeff Lotman, Founder and CEO, Global Icons

Over the past decade, a new type of food has been quietly disrupting grocery stores across America. Both retailers and consumers have embraced these goods with gusto, yet manufacturers have been slow to adapt.

You likely know these foods as “private-label brands,” “store brands” or “house brands.”

They’re the equivalent of buying acetaminophen instead of Tylenol. You can find them in Costco’s Kirkland Signature line, Walmart’s Great Value department and Target’s Archer Farms offerings.

What most people don’t know is that most of this stuff is made at the same factory, on the same manufacturing line, as the high-priced goods — just with a white label on it. (For full disclosure, I run a brand-licensing agency that brokers relationships between brands and manufacturing partners.)

Today, these once-distinct lines have become almost fully blurred. Private-label brands have transformed into full-fledged brands of their own. According to research, traditional brands are seeing a 3% annual growth, compared to a 10% growth for private-label brands. According to another source, 8 out of 10 people make a private-label purchase on every shopping trip.

1. Lower Innovation Costs The larger a company is, the harder it is to innovate. Size shackles swiftness. By the same token, a small company may be nimble but lack the resources to commercialize its ideas.

Innovating isn’t cheap.

Instead of trying to develop an entirely new product, a manufacturer can team up with a licensee to develop an extension. The result?

A unique flavor of an existing product.

Of course, a new flavor by itself isn’t terribly exciting. But a unique flavor that’s derived from and built on a beloved brand? That’s how empires are erected. For example, Nestle teamed up with Hostess, a client of ours, to unveil Twinkie, CupCakes, Sno Balls and Ding Dong-flavored ice cream. The symbiosis works: Hostess licenses its trusted name to Nestle, which manufacturers the desserts. Nestle reaps the rewards of a hot new product, yet doesn’t have to spend a fortune creating it.

2. Cheaper Marketing Expenses The costs of introducing an entirely new product are never-ending, but licensing can help minimize these marketing expenses. For example, earlier this year, Oreo licensed the Peeps brand to create marshmallow-flavored creme cookies. In this way, Mondelēz, which manufacturers Oreos, gained a new audience for its treats without the dollars and difficulties of hawking something from scratch.

The manufacturer is now making Dunkin Donuts and Good Humor Oreos. It takes time to unlock a consumer’s heart, but by

Traditional consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers like Kraft, General Mills and Nestle are well aware of this new reality.

While some are trying to compete by increasing advertising spend or couponing, others are going the licensing route. Here are three reasons why manufacturers might want to consider licensing:

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FEATURE

Jeff Lotman

piggybacking on another brand’s built-in recognition, you can expedite the possibility of zooming into a consumer’s wallet.

3. Better Positioning Of Shelf Space The way supermarkets display their merchandise is anything but random. Product placement is often the direct result of negotiations and “slotting fees” paid between retailers and manufacturers. And because retailers own the stores, manufacturers typically need to press every advantage to put their products in the best positions.

The situation gets especially sticky when retailers have their own brands. Under this regime, manufacturer brands get squeezed.

Nowhere is this issue more contested than shelf space, the holy grail of retail. The difference in sales between food that’s located at eye level and food you have to stoop or stretch for is well-known — not for nothing is eye level called the “buy level.”

Indeed, the smallest change can have a significant effect. For example, private-label brands are often situated to the right of the comparable manufacturer brand because this space generates more sales and can have a higher margin for the retailer.

Private Labels Are Big Business In Every Business It’s no secret that CPG giants face strong headwinds today. Every year, a new startup promises to disrupt the industry. There’s always another marketing medium to master.

Meanwhile, shareholders constantly demand ever-higher quarterly earnings.

To combat these pressures, comestible conglomerates would do well to look at retail from a macro level. Here, they’d see a distinct pattern: From Amazon to Aldi, and from Trader Joe’s to Whole Foods, today’s retailers are becoming manufacturers. The statistics are staggering: 16% of Kroger’s sales come from its private labels. For Costco, that number is 20% — and 50% if you only consider wine.

Albertsons’ O Organics portfolio hauls in a billion dollars per year, while Target’s Cat & Jack roster is on pace to generate twice that.

Amazon’s opportunity is even more massive: Its panoply of private labels is estimated to rake in $25 billion over the next four years.

To be sure, private labels are not a magic cash register. The products still need to be marketed, distribution and manufacturing still need to be negotiated, a sales force still needs to be educated, and so on. And that’s to say nothing of consumer preferences, which are notoriously fickle. There are no shortcuts to success.

Jeff Lotman is a well-accomplished business veteran who has led his company to the forefront of the licensing industry through his years of experience and savvy entrepreneurship. He and his team have crafted a successful formula they call Elevated Branding, which has achieved stunning results. Over the years, Global Icons has established an impressive reputation and client roster that includes Hostess, Lamborghini, Magic Chef, Fireball, Turtle Wax, USPS, Sunkist, and Vespa, among others.

Jeff has been a featured guest speaker at many leading industry events including Entertainment Marketing Conference, Young Presidents’ Organization, SPLICE, Licensing Show, Restaurant Industry Conference, LA Roadshow, UCLA and others. He has also been profiled numerous times, most notably in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, CNBC, and FOX; and he is a distinguished member of the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) and the Licensing Executives Society (LES).

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ART AND DESIGN

TOTAL Art Licensing May Gibbs Partnership with Kip & Co Renewed Merchantwise’s May Gibbs has yet again partnered with celebrated lifestyle brand, Kip&Co for a new collection of bedding, adult, children’s and baby apparel celebrating the very best of May Gibbs’ Australian flora, fauna and magical little creatures.

The range which has just hit retail is the fourth collaboration between the two brands, first launching in October 2016. Following this sold-out range, the May Gibbs brand partnered with Kip&Co in January and July 2018, again with sold-out success.

This new collection revisits a couple of the favourite original collaboration prints plus a few new ones filled with May Gibbs’ magical little creatures and beautiful Australian flora, fauna and wonders from under the sea!

This collection also includes the irresistible addition of little leggings for kids, and a PJ onesie. As always, a collection to hand down to the next generation.

“We are extremely pleased to be partnering again with Kip&Co on a must-have May Gibbs collection. Yet again, Kip&Co has brought May Gibbs’ much treasured inherently Australian illustrations to life with this beautiful bedding and apparel collection. If

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the past ranges are anything to go by, this new collection will be a sell-out success,” said Merchantwise’s May Gibbs Brand Manager, Rosalie May. “Back by popular demand, we are thrilled to be launching our fourth collaboration with the May Gibbs brand. Our Kip&Co fanbase absolutely adores May Gibbs’ beautiful illustrations and the success of past collaborations is indicative of the demand for this brandnew range. We are sure it will more than please both May Gibbs and Kip&Co fans,” said Kip&Co’s Co-Founder, Kate Heppell.

Born in 1877 in the UK, May arrived in Australia at the age of four. She drew and painted as a child and went on to study art in Western Australia and in the UK before settling in Sydney as a children’s books author and illustrator.

On her passing in 1969 she bequeathed 50% of the copyright of all her works to The Northcott Society and 50% to Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

Through her foresight and generosity, proceeds from the sale of May Gibbs products have supported thousands of Australian children with disability and their families.

Pottery Barn debut new line of Home Decor Pottery Barn, a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands, recently debuted a new assortment of home décor and entertaining essentials with celebrated stylists and designers, Emily Current and Meritt Elliott. The new Emily & Meritt for Pottery Barn collection captures the essence of spring with a fresh color palette, graphic stripes, florals, and bunny accents, reflecting Emily & Meritt’s signature design sensibility – a whimsical, timeless take on classic Americana design.

“We were so excited to design a springtime entertaining story and bedroom, a collection that nods to classic American charm, with a smattering of nostalgic floral prints and embroidery, vintage brass and touches of whimsy and edge,” said Emily Current and Meritt Elliott. “The soft layers of stripes are inspired by loved and worn denim, pops of colorful flowers feel optimistically like vintage Victorian, and washed black textiles add in a rough and tumble modernity that offers a beautiful balance and irony. Inspired by traditional springtime icons and creatures, our tablescape is a mash up of sweet charm, humor and new takes on nostalgic tradition - from bunny serving boards to brass baskets.”

“Emily & Meritt bring a unique design sensibility to Pottery Barn that our customers love,” said Monica Bhargava, Executive Vice President of Product Development and Design, Pottery Barn. “They infuse whimsy and charm into classic designs that seamlessly layer into any home. The new collection signals the arrival of spring with its soft color palette, cozy textures and bunny accents.”

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ART AND DESIGN

Tea Forté Launch New York Botanical Garden Line Tea Forté’s new limited-edition Jardin Collection brings forth an elegant assortment of organic teas curated in collaboration with The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG).

Tea Forté was granted exclusive access to the Rare Book & Folio Room of the Botanical Garden’s celebrated LuEsther T. Mertz Library, and given the opportunity to hand-select each of the rare floral prints that define this collection. A percentage of sales through retail outlets support NYBG’s work in plant research and conservation, horticulture and education.

“Delicate botanical ingredients from around the world, from tea leaves and spices to fruits and flowers, are an integral part of Tea Forté’s mission and heritage,” says Tea Forté vice president of marketing Julia Khodabandah.

“We are thrilled to support the conservation efforts of the New York Botanical Garden by bringing the unique sensorial experience of the Garden into our customers’ homes

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through this exquisite collection of teas.”

With Jardin, Tea Forté’s signature packaging receives a floral treatment featuring a custom-designed mélange of original botanical artworks by renowned Belgian botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté. An official artist in the courts of both Marie Antoinette and Josephine Bonaparte, Redouté’s artful and stunningly accurate depictions of plants make him one of history’s most lauded botanical illustrators.

The Jardin collection includes five organic tea blends, each packaged with a custom botanical artwork meant to inspire enjoyment from first glance to last sip. Four of the teas are bestselling Tea Forté blends featuring ingredients inspired by the Botanical Garden’s living collections, while the fifth is a brand new organic oolong blend, created specially for the partnership.

Selections from the limited-edition Jardin Collection include the Jardin Gift Set which

features a 10-infuser Petite Presentation Box as well as an exclusive limited-edition pink Café Cup and tea tray; a standalone Petite Presentation Box featuring 10 infusers; and KATI Loose Tea Steeping Cup with Stainless Steel Infuser – all featuring a custom combination of Redouté’s historical prints applied on a soft pink background, ideal for Mother’s Day and other spring and summer celebrations.

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ART AND DESIGN

meaning of being a team and work hard every day to meet aggressive deadlines and always put their customers’ needs first.

Penny Lane Fine Art & Licensing is excited to be celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2019. As with any company reaching this major milestone, they are reminiscing fondly about the past, while keeping an enthusiastic eye on the future.

The last 25 years have been remarkable for the art publishing company based in New Carlisle, Ohio. Rewarding, fun, challenging, exciting and fruitful are just a few adjectives that come to mind when describing the road that their company has paved to reach its 25th anniversary.

Penny Lane Publishing was established

by John and Stephanie Jones in the fall of 1993 and offered its first line of prints in January of 1994. Everything seemed to fall right into place as the company was getting started. Initially, the owners were the only employees, but they soon had to hire more people to keep up with the demand. Through hard work and determination, the company experienced tremendous growth and had to relocate to bigger facilities on three different occasions.

day business and knew they could count on Zach to build on the legacy they developed while evolving the company to stay relevant in today’s market.

Today, Penny Lane is proud to offer artwork from over 80 talented artists, each of whom demonstrates their own unique style.

Originally, their catalog was geared toward the North American country and primitive market, but over time their offerings evolved to include every type of art imaginable including contemporary, figurative, calligraphy and photography.

The company’s main objective is to create artwork that depicts an everyday lifestyle with warmth, style and quality while attracting a large cross-section of the art buying public.

Their goals are to identify upcoming trends, recognize new artists and, of course, focus on maintaining customer satisfaction.

Around 2007, Penny Lane Publishing made a change to their name by officially calling themselves Penny Lane Fine Art & Licensing. Although the change was slight, the new name fully encompassed every aspect of their business while putting a spotlight on a very successful Licensing Department that remains a huge part of the company’s success.

In 2013, John and Stephanie sold the business to their son, Zach Jones. John and Stephanie wanted to step back from day-to-

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Of all the things that has made their company successful, their biggest asset is their wonderful employees. They exemplify the

They consider their most significant achievement to be the strong relationships they’ve built over the years. They pride themselves on their solid partnerships, not only with their wonderful customers, but also with the 80 plus amazing artists that they represent.

“Those relationships are what this company was built on” says Zach Jones, President and Owner “without them, we have nothing.”

From Target and Hobby Lobby to Wal-Mart and At Home, their wall art has been sold

all over the world as well as being featured on countless licensed products. They are extremely proud to provide the same great service and satisfaction to their smaller customers as they do to their larger ones.

The future looks bright at Penny Lane! They are intent on staying relevant and productive in an ever-changing industry. They aim to continue building those relationships with customers and artists that have been so important to the success of their business. The last 25 years have been good to Penny Lane, but everyone at the company is eager for the world to see what they have in store for the next 25 years!

Penny Lane Fine Art & Licensing can be found online at www.pennylanepublishing. com. You can follow them on Instagram and Facebook @pennylanepublishing.

They can be contacted by email at info@ pennylanepublishing.com or phone at (937) 849-1101.

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ART AND DESIGN

Prima Maria Brand creates a Festive Atmosphere!

Late last year art creations entitled “The Wondrous Beasts” - part of the Prima Maria brand - became the main talking point of Christmas on the Podil holiday event in Kiev, Ukraine.

This is one of the major annual events in Kiev with a rich program of activities and events

that take place in the historical center of the Ukrainian capital during the Christmas and New Year holidays. In the licensing industry this type of promotion is a unique example of a brand’s integration into a large-scale national event. And, if proof was needed, this is confirmation that art brands can be popular and commercially successful.

Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Van Gogh - these names do not just represent Mexico, Spain and Holland. They are cultural phenomena that have already united million fans of art around the world.

The artist Maria Primachenko became a similar symbol of art as well as a whole cultural identity for the second half of the 20th century in the Ukraine.

Based on its original creativity, Ukrainian licensing agents Art Nation developed the Prima Maria licensing brand in 2016.The brand translates into universal human values: life force, self-expression, the energy of the earth, peace and kindness. Prima Maria char-

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acters are creatures from a wizarding world which are also close to human nature.

Although she is recognised worldwide, in the Ukraine Maria Primachenko was eatablished as a cult artist not that long ago. Her fantastic beasts were recognizable, but not many people know who their creator was or, in fact, where these marvellous animals came from.

In order to grow the Prima Maria brand Art Nation company initiated several promotional campaigns focused on the popularization of the artist. One of the most recent, and certainly the most wide scale, was Christmas on the Podil.

By the 110th anniversary of Maria Primachenko, the characters of Prima Maria from the The Wondrous Beasts collection came to life in the historical center of Kiev. Art objects based on the artist’s creations adorned the pedestrian area of Sagaydachnogo Street. In one installation, a Christmas tree and a main scene on Kontraktovaya Square were decorated with The Wondrous Beasts. The Christmas on the Podil with Prima Maria characters became the epicenter of tourism and the main selfie-zone during the Christmas and New Year holidays - from December 15th to January 20th.

The result of all this was that an art brand became the main hero of a major national event. Significant activity in social and mass media served to confirm the attention award-

ed to the fantastic world of Prima Maria. For three weeks The Wondrous Beasts brought together tens of thousands of people of all generations and from many different cities.

With the help of such a promotional campaign, Art Nation achieved the solution to two issues at once. Firstly, they took one more step towards the popularization of Maria Primachenko, and reminded people about the name of the artist and what she meant. Secondly, the event enabled the team to enlarge the brand’s audience and created a strong emotional connection between the artist and Prima Maria fans.

In the future, Art Nation producer Eduard Akhramovich plans to strengthen the integration of Prima Maria images into urban spaces. In spring he will begin to implement the idea of an art space entitled Prima Maria Art Boulevard in Kiev. The visual environment of the boulevard will consist of sculptures and murals, based on the artist’s paintings, but recreated by modern-day authors. Meanwhile, the art objects created for The Wondrous Beasts will come to life again at the Christmas and New Year celebrations in other Ukrainian cities. Based on the artist’s creativity, Art Nation also plans to create a cartoon series as well as a mural at one of Kiev’s metro stations.

Without doubt, Prima Maria is a brand with a great history and an ambitious future.

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ART AND DESIGN

The World of

Sigis Vinylism

Matteo Antonio Vaccari Sigismondi, aka Sigis Vinylism is a well-known artist who began his artistic career in the early 90s as a professional dj as well as a sound designer / producer.

In 2007, his music became art through vinyls taking unique shapes giving three dimensions to his artistic thoughts thought.

Today, Sigis gives immortality to vinyl through art: lips enclosing a soul, a past, and a deafening silent protest. The discs change appearance without ever breaking.

In recent activities, Milan-based Team Entertainment, who handle the licensing for Sigis report that he participated in October at the famous Factory Fabrica Del Vapore. A popart contest was held for modern artists and

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the guest of honour was Philippe Daverio. In all around 150 artworks were exhibited and Sigis created new work for the show.

In November, Sigis appeared at the Arcadia Art Gallery where he presented a whole new series of around 20 pieces transforming the iconic Mickey Mouse into pop art full of colours and variety. Obviously his trademark vinyl mouth is present in each piece. This exhibition allowed Team Entertainment to develop apparel and accessories line aimed at teens and adults. Success was immediate with several pieces sold within the first two days of the exhibition. Maria Romanelli of Team Entertainment believes that the pieces all had the ingredients of success - pop art combined with the iconic Mickey Mouse.

Later in November, the sixteenth edition of MiDance took place at the famous Sio Cafe in Milan where DJ’s, producers, musicians, promoters and productions houses get together. Sigis was present as a DJ, sound designer, producer and artist and showed a limited selection of his art pieces. Soundmit was the MiDance partner along with Silver Music Radio live and Fabric Live as a TV partner. Production houses that attended include Energy Production and Bang Records, Juicy Music, Just Entertainment, Total Freedom Recordings, Black Lizard and Under Town Music.

Finally a special program dedicated to artists of this century aired a program on Sigis on Channel 5 in Italy - one of the major Mediaset channels.

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FEATURE

Space Archives and Rock n Roll from V.I.P in Germany

Hamburg-based V.I.P. Entertainment & Merchandising AG has been appointed to represent the vast imagery contained in the International Space Archives (ISA) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The Mission Patches, photos, films and video contained in the archive come from a variety of sources including NASA and the international space programs of Russia, Japan, China, India and the European Union.

“Apollo 11 is certainly of particular interest” believes VIP´s Michael A. Lou, as in July this year it celebrates the 50th anniversary of the landing on the moon. “But also the large amount and the variety of other official space mission emblems and digital material offers almost countless possibilities for apparel, collectibles, stationery items, tech and electronic gadgets,”continued Lou. Worldwide supervising agent LMI Ltd. already reports an impressive group of licensees from around the world including New Era from South Korea, Sanrio from Japan, H3 sportswear from the US, Sahinler from France, Mistyarn from Australia, Westminster Collection from the U.K. and others.

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On a different note, Rockoff Retail Ltd., Liverpool, a leading wholesaler of Merchandising Products, has appointed V.I.P. as its exclusive sales agents for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Apart from about 100 world-renown bands and artists (AC/DC, Bob Marley, David Bowie, Elton John, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, KISS, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Prince, Queen, Rolling Stones, to name but a few) Rockoff also stocks Disney, Star Wars, DC-Comics, Marvel and other popular character products.

Starting from shirts, caps, jackets and hoodies over bags, mugs and stationery products to jewellery, key rings, metalware and collectibles.

With almost 30.000 SKU´s and over 2.5 million article in stock Rockoff claims to beone of the largest suppliers of Merchandising Products in Europe. “For sure we are having the largest stock, hence instant delivery,” assures Rockoff MD Gary Blain.

As a long established licensing agent in the German-speaking market, V.I.P will try to leverage its contacts with leading licensees and other prospects to further expand Rock-

off´s business. V.I.P.´s CEO Michael A. Lou is confident that the large variety of designs and materials along with the immediate availibility will be of significant advantage in his market.

As reported in MusikWoche in November, Germany´s leading trade magazine for the music industry, Lou does not consider falling record sales as any danger for the music-based merchandising business. Quite the contrary, he believes that the increasing digitalization even helps because music becomes easier accessible for an even broader target group.

“For instance, the Beatles have sold about 1 million records over 50 years,” he explains.

“But during the three years that Beatles songs have been available on streaming platforms they have been streamed more than 3 billion times. In addition their Social Media presence (43 million Facebook Fans, 2,88 million Twitter followers and over 1 million. on Instagram provides an excellent marketing platform.”

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FEATURE

Six Strategies

By Pete Canalichio

to Grow Brand Value Over the past 100 years consumers have gone from purchasing products from people they know well to purchasing from people who work for companies that they have never met. As consumers have had to make this transition, they have looked to brands to help them decide which products and services they prefer. Due to this “assumed” role, the growth of brand value has become increasingly important for a brand’s lifecycle. This has made brand value growth a necessity for all companies which own a brand, or which are in the process of building one.

Growing your brand’s value can help drive revenue growth through higher consumer demand, improve gross margin by commanding a premium on prices, and reduce business costs through improved supplier agreements.

One method of valuing a brand is to take the market value of a company (total shares of stock outstanding multiplied by the company stock price) and subtract the value of its

assets (found on the balance sheet). Using this methodology, Coca-Cola ranks as one of the world’s most valuable brands. Consumers choose Coca-Cola billions of times per day because of its authenticity, refreshment, originality, consistency, and taste. The more The Coca-Cola Company can improve consumer demand for its brands, the more consumers will consume their products. For Coca-Cola, more consumption translates into more revenue and more profit.

Navigating how to grow your brand’s value can be a daunting task. So, to help start you on the path of brand value growth, here are my six strategies: 1. Improve your understanding of what a brand means.

Take my first example; there are a variety of reasons why people choose to drink Coke.

Many people drink Coke or wear Coke shoes because of the way they are perceived by oth-

ers when drinking it. It offers a certain “coolness” factor. Others drink Coke because they know they will gain social acceptance. Some drink Coke for the increase in energy it gives them. Still, others drink Coke for its refreshment and great taste. By keeping abreast of how consumers perceive their brands, Coke continuously meets their consumers’ expectations. This enables the Coca-Cola brand to maintain tremendous brand value.

2. Innovate your products to meet your consumers’ unknown needs.

When Nintendo launched the Wii, they revolutionized the way people play video games.

Nintendo created a product consumers hadn’t even dreamt of playing. In doing so, Nintendo not only delighted avid video game players, but they also converted millions who never played video games into Wii players.

With games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit that enhance both skills and fitness, Nintendo eliminated the inactive aspect of video games – one of its biggest negative perceptions – and, in turn, permitted consumers hours of guiltless entertainment. Talk about a brand value builder!

3. Stay solution focused.

Product engineers and marketers are notori-

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ous for creating all kinds of new features for existing products. If the features, however, don’t provide a specific benefit that the consumer needs or are not intuitive, those features may end up hurting the brand. Remember how hard it used to be to program a clock radio? Now we have Alexa to wake us up. All we have to do is ask. Conversely, a feature that meets a need can provide tremendous value to a brand. When the makers of Sharpie finally developed a retractable Sharpie (the feature) that could be operated with one hand and not dry out (the benefits), they delighted millions of brand loyalists enhancing their already high brand scores.

4. Pay attention to the details.

There is nothing more exciting for consumers than when they buy a product that exceeds their expectations. That is why I love driving my Acura MDX. It is an SUV that drives like a car and offers so much more. The instrument panel is simple to read and easy on the eyes making driving safe and enjoyable. The four-wheel drive keeps me moving in all types of terrain. The Bluetooth audio provides perfect communication clarity. The vehicle seats seven comfortably or the rear two rows of seats can be folded down to haul as much stuff as a pickup truck. I could go on and on about my MDX, but more than anything it is the attention to detail put into each of these features that makes me thrilled to be an Acura owner.

world, people consume McDonald’s burgers and fries millions of times a day. The fries they eat in the morning taste just like those they eat at night. The Big Mac they buy in Beijing is delivered to them in the same amount of time as the one they buy in Baton Rouge. The menu board, the restrooms, and the seating area look the same in every restaurant. For this, consumers reward McDonald’s with their patronage more than any other fast food restaurant. While McDonald’s food usually does not rank first in taste, they consistently rank first in market share and revenue. When consumers can trust that their brand experience will be the same every time, they will value that brand more and more over time.

6. Stay Passionate.

The last strategy is to let your passion shine through in everything you do. Consumers love brands whose owners are as passionate as they are. That “never rest on your laurels” attitude translates into exciting and superior products that continue to wow and delight consumers. One of the reasons people love the Apple brand so much is because of the passion expressed by Apple employees.

With each new product they come out with - the latest iPhone or iPad, the iWatch, or Apple TV - Apple enjoys going toe-to-toe with Microsoft, Google and Samsung. As a consequence Apple consumers revel in the controversy. As a result, there is no other computer or mobile technology brand as loved as Apple.

The use of brands are changing how companies operate and the strategies that they employ in their attempt to grow and increase brand value. Consumers are becoming more and more reliant on brands, at a younger and younger age, to help them make purchase decisions about products and services. Therefore, growing your brand’s value helps cement its relationship with consumers and makes it practicably irreplaceable. When this happens consumers will not only insist on your brand, they will become brand advocates. When that happens, your company and your brand will prosper.

5. Be consistent and reliable.

In thousands of restaurants all around the

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PROFILE

Getting to know you ...

Becoming a licensing partner of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is by no means a simple process. If that is achieved, however, a trusted partner may work with the RHS on a number of product launches.

resources include not just Lindley Library artwork but a vast range of expert advisory images, portraits of rare and unusual cultivars and photographs of the RHS shows and gardens.

In late 2018 the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) announced a brand-new RHS collection from licensing partner Moorcroft, a renowned producer of heritage art pottery.

Not all partnerships go back a long way. One of the remarkable feats of the RHS licensing campaign has been to bring the RHS brand into new and diverse categories: everything from womenswear and cushions to fragrances and gin. That has meant assessing many potential new partners in previously untried areas.

This is the third announcement involving Moorcroft. An art pottery line appeared in 2017 and was extended in early 2018. The latest beautiful collection of art pottery, The RHS Beatrix Stanley Collection, offers designs based on the floral watercolour studies of the gardener and painter Lady Beatrix Stanley as well as the iris that celebrates her name.

The RHS partnership with the Gourmet Candy Company also began in 2017 and was extended in 2018. In 2019, additions to the RHS/ Gourmet Candy Company confectionery range will include Treacle Toffee, Salted Caramel Toffee, Milk Chocolate Bunnies, Milk Chocolate Hedgehogs and Milk Chocolate Butterflies, all presented in classic RHS design gift boxes and packaging, with packaging designs inspired by the RHS Lindley Library, the world’s finest collection of botanical art.

Quality confectionery was a feature of another announcement in late 2018 when Amelie Chocolat, a producer of luxury continental

chocolates, announced additions to Chocolates by Nature, its range of RHS confections. Gift products and fashion accessories specialist Shruti, meanwhile, made an impact in 2017 with an elegant range of RHS scarves and plans a spring 2019 launch for the new RHS Irises & Hellebores range of fashion products.

Even longer-term partners include Frances Lincoln Publishers, an RHS licensee since 1993, whose offering includes gardening books, diaries and address books, and award-winning manufacturer of garden and agricultural tools Burgon & Ball.

Multiple launches from trusted partners are a feature of the RHS licensing campaign. However, actually establishing a relationship with the RHS in the first place means meeting the very high standards set by RHS Licensing Manager Cathy Snow and her team. “If that is achieved,” she says, “a trusted brand may be supported by the RHS for a number of product launches.”

But standards always remain high. Even choosing partners for the Society’s core area of expertise – gardening – is not a simple process, not least because of the high environmental standards the brand espouses. In all cases, as well as ensuring quality products, Cathy Snow says, “a good partner must appreciate the brand and have some knowledge of our shows or gardens and an interest in gardening itself ”.

But the best partners will make the effort to gain the approval of the RHS. This is, after all, Britain’s oldest and best-known gardening society. The reward for a trusted partner is a very high level of consumer awareness – and, of course, the possibility that it too will join Moorcroft, Frances Lincoln, Shruti, Burgon & Ball and others in a mutually beneficial long-term relationship.

The RHS has no shortage of potential partners. The RHS is a leading – indeed, award-winning – heritage brand, with a strong media presence and an excellent support system for licensees, which was developed when the licensing campaign was rebooted in 2015. Its unmatched style PAGE 46

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New year, new partnerships for the

Natural History Museum It may only be a short time since the launch of a fresh strategy for the Natural History Museum’s licensing programme, but the licensing department has already built up many strong partnerships.

The team, led by Head of Licensing Maxine Lister since 2016, has even more to look forward to in 2019. Following a hugely successful Brand Licensing Europe in October 2018, a number of exciting projects are underway, along with a raft of ongoing conversations, ensuring an exciting (and busy) year ahead.

Even at this early stage in 2019, the team has been able to announce two new partners that have recently joined the Natural History Museum family.

UK Heritage Rugs will develop a range inspired by some of the collections – such as insects and minerals – held within the Museum’s archives. Heritage Rugs’ expertise in designing and creating beautiful rugs of exquisite quality, all handmade and completely unique, has already served it well, gaining it partnerships with other key museums in the UK heritage sector.

The Museum’s resources and quality rugs are an ideal combination, as Brian Sales, owner of UK Heritage Rugs, explains. “Using lustrous silken highlights on a robust wool ground allows us to celebrate the beauty to be found in nature, whether it is a close-up of a butterfly’s wing or a display of iridescent

feathers,” he says. “Our Natural History Museum rugs will compliment any interior scheme and be a lasting pleasure to own.”

Another new licensee, and one set to address the many younger supporters of the Natural History Museum, is My Icon Story, a company that enables consumers to create a personalised art print that is unique to them. Using My Icon Story’s eye-catching and beautifully simply icons, these build-your-own graphics tell a story or bring a memory to life.

The company’s founder, Laura Lane, explains: “We believe there is an icon story in all of us. For children visiting the Natural History Museum, it’s the story of their trip, favourite discoveries and memorable experience, offering a unique way for children to capture the magic of their museum visit.”

My Icon Story has already worked successfully with another socially and culturally notable brand in the form of Transport for London.

However, this new deal with the Natural History Museum will be its first license specifically aimed at a younger demographic.

“We are looking forward enormously to working alongside both UK Heritage Rugs and My Icon Story to further demonstrate how flexible the Natural History Museum brand can be in creating inspiring product ranges that span different audiences,” says Maxine Lister.

January also saw a product launch, in the form of a brand-new collection of Natural History Museum greeting cards, the result of a new collaborative partnership with Alison Hardcastle, a design studio and independent stationery company that produces stylish, clever and playful stationery. This collection of 18 cards, which offers a fresh and contemporary interpretation of the Museum

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and its contents, focuses on four main topics: gems, minerals and crystals; flora; butterflies and bugs and the Museum’s architecture. The range launched at Top Drawer, and can be found online at alisonhardcastle.co.uk.

Rugs, prints and cards constitute an impressively diverse product mix, but the Natural History Museum has already enjoyed success across many categories, including fabric collections, crafting, print on demand, wooden prints, apparel, seed ranges, science kits, dinosaur cut-outs and most recently womenswear. Expect many more announcements, therefore – and even more diversity – throughout the year.

Not that Maxine Lister and her team will be relaxing. They will soon embark on the development of two brand-new style guides, which will be available to all existing licensees by the summer and will be officially launched at BLE 2019.

Lister explains, “With one guide targeting an adult demographic, and the other a younger audience, these new visual assets will be a fantastic addition to the existing set of style guides and our vast image bank of assets.” She adds, “Licensing partners are delighted with the support this programme offers – and we are delighted with the quality of partners it attracts.”

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INFORMATION

The Useful Page...

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Bologna Licensing Trade Fair ................................................................................... 2 Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards ........................................................................ 3 Business of Licensing Book.................................................................................... 19 China Licensing Expo ............................................................................................ 51 German Day of Licensing....................................................................................... 41 Head Sports ............................................................................................................. 1 Iconix Europe .......................................................................................................... 5 India Licensing Expo ............................................................................................. 31 Licensing World Russia .......................................................................................... 47 LIMA ..................................................................................................................... 52 London Portfolio ................................................................................................... 36 Penny Lane ............................................................................................................ 39 Pink Key .................................................................................................................. 7 SMMEX.................................................................................................................. 49

UPCOMING SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS Surtex Feb 3 - 6 www.surtex.com

Bologna Licensing Trade Fair 1 - 3 April www.bolognalicensing.com

National Stationery Show Feb 3 - 6 www.nationalstationeryshow.com

Kazachok April 3 - 4 www.kazachok.com

Spring Fair Feb 3 - 6 www.springfair.com

Licensing Japan April 3 - 5 www.licensing-japan.jp

Magic Feb 5 - 7 www.ubmfashion.com

Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards April 25 www.brandlicensingawards.co.uk

Pure London 10 - 12 Feb www.purelondon.com Pure Origin 10 - 12 Feb www.purelondon.com Kidscreen Summit Feb 11 - 14 www.summit.kidscreen.com/2019 New York Toy Fair Feb 16 - 19 www.toyfairny.com Australian Toy Hobby & Licensing Fair March 3 - 6 www.toyfair.com.au London Book Fair March 12 - 14 www.londonbookfair.co.uk

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Blueprint May 20 - 23 www.blueprintshows.com Licensing Expo June 4 - 6 www.licensingexpo.com Pitti Immagine Uomo 11 - 14 June www.pittiimmagine.com

Did you know…?

To go with our Pet Feature, here are some little known facts...

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear, humans only have 6.

A young, healthy, average-sized cat can jump about six times their length or over eight feet in a single bound.

A dog’s sense of smell is so precise, it could detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water, or the equivalent of two Olympic-sized pools worth.

A dog’s nose print is unique, much like a person’s fingerprint.

One in three families in the United States owns a dog A single pair of dogs is capable of producing a whopping 66,000 puppies in 6 years, if none of them are spayed or neutered.

Dogs can hear about 10 times better than people can Greyhounds in racing condition can reach speeds of up to 43 miles per hour Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible.

Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born and develop their spots as they grow older.

It’s rumored that, at the end of the Beatles song, “A Day in the Life,” Paul McCartney recorded an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, just for his Shetland sheepdog.

Three dogs (from First Class cabins!) survived the sinking of the Titanic – two Pomeranians and one Pekingese.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear, humans only have 6.

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