The LEGO Group reports its highest revenue in its 85-year history; up 5.5% from 2015 to reach DKK 37.9 billion ($5.5 billion). Growth was primarily driven by the performance of core themes including LEGO City, LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Friends, LEGO Technic, and LEGO Creator, with licensed offerings such as Star Wars a significant portion of the 335 new lines LEGO released in 2016. Jakks Pacific sells $1.93 million worth of shares (or 3,660,891 shares) to Hong Kong Meisheng Culture Co. Ltd. The move will see the toyco expanding further into the Chinese market with two jointly owned ventures; Meisheng will distribute Jakks products in China; and new animation content will be developed by Jakks and Meisheng.
Silver Buffalo, a New York City-based housewares and home décor company, acquires the Snackeez brand and all its intellectual property assets from Ideavillage for an undisclosed amount. Silver Buffalo plans to expand the kid’s brand into new categories
The London-based Pentland Group acquires the SeaVee’s footwear brand.
China gives Donald Trump preliminary approval for a range of trademarks, clearing the way for him to put his name on everything from retail shops to vending machines in the country. The trademarks are held individually and not through The Trump Organization.
The Coachella Music Festival sues Urban Outfitters for trademark infringement after the apparel retailer sold “Coachella” branded apparel and used Coachella as a keyword trigger in online advertising, as well as in display URLs. Coachella currently has its own range of branded goods and services (including apparel) as well as licensing agreements with H&M (for jewelry and apparel) and Pandora AS (jewelry).
Saks owner Hudson’s Bay is rumored to be in talks to buy out Neiman Marcus (without taking on its almost $5 billion in debt). Hudson’s Bay was previously considering acquiring Macy’s.
Privet Capital acquires Vivid Toy Group in a deal calculated to accelerate the toy firm’s growth; namely, increasing the its collectibles output while driving the success of some of the market’s leading licenses. Vivid’s revenue is over £80 million, or $99 million.
Fandango debuts its Fandango FanShop, its first-ever online merchandise store, offering a curated collection of wearables, collectibles, experiences, and events tied to theatrical releases and movie franchises. Launching in April, FanShop’s initial offerings features Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Wonder Woman, Despicable Me 3, and others.
Canada Goose goes public with an IPO offering of 20 million shares, raising CA$340 million ($255 million) in capital. The company is valued at approximately $2 billion.
