Are you hiring—or being promoted, changing jobs, retiring, launching a new company, or otherwise changing your employment? Email Jen at jen@plainlanguagemedia.com and we'll announce the news in our next issue of Who's News. ZAG appoints Marlin Prager as COO & CFO, David Ribardo as Chief Accounting Officer, and Cindy Elfenbein as VP Retail Business … [Read more...] about Who’s News — 11/27/2017
Mattel
Roundup: Robotics, Video Games, and the IoT
By: Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com Lucasfilm gathered Facebook, Fitbit, Industrial Light & Magic, Instagram, Twitter, and Google together to inspire the next generation of inventors at the first-ever Droidathon, an invention competition running from Nov. 15–Jan. 10. Using the littleBits Droid Inventor Kit as a starting point, teams of kid engineers, … [Read more...] about Roundup: Robotics, Video Games, and the IoT
Sports-based Brands & Goods Score a Goal
By: Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com Retail sales of sports-based licensed merchandise grew 3.5% worldwide in 2016—and in the U.S./Canada, growth exceeded 4% to reach $15.4 billion in licensed retail sales. Soccer is one of the fastest-growing segments, growing over 10% year-over-year in retail sales. Fanatics secures a $1 billion investment from Japanese … [Read more...] about Sports-based Brands & Goods Score a Goal
Toycos Detail Q3 Declines
Toys 'R' Us' bankruptcy is one reason for the hiccup to bottom lines of major toy companies, but they're also reporting soft interest in licensed products. Hasbro's revenue rose by 7% to reach $1.8 billion in Q3 2017. The toyco adjusted its projection for Q4 2017, lowering expectations to 4–7% growth over the same period last year. Despite an increase in gaming and franchise … [Read more...] about Toycos Detail Q3 Declines
New Content Generation & Experiential News
Hasbro opens a new film studio, Allspark Pictures, to be led by Greg Mooradian. Mooradian will begin overseeing the division's film and television production in January. Italian prodco Rainbow acquires a majority stake in entertainment media group Iven. The first collaboration is an untitled young adult TV series based on a graphic novel; the second a theatrical adaptation of … [Read more...] about New Content Generation & Experiential News
Looking Back: A History of the $100M+ Entertainment/Character Brand List
By Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com As we update our annual list of entertainment/character properties that generate over $100 million in licensed retail sales in the U.S./Canada, let's take a moment to look back through the history of the list and its major trends. Namely: The $100 million club is getting bigger, and The immense staying power of brands … [Read more...] about Looking Back: A History of the $100M+ Entertainment/Character Brand List
Who’s News — 10/10/2017
Disney's new President Business Operations EMEA is Rebecca Campbell, based in London. She replaces Diego Lerner, who is moving to Argentina and takes up an unspecified international role at the company. In the U.S., Disney Channel hires Dina Hillier as VP Original Series. Universal Brand Development welcomes Ben Braun as CFO to manage the financial planning and analytics team, … [Read more...] about Who’s News — 10/10/2017
Retailer’s Top Toys of the 2017 Holiday Season
By Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com The top toy lists from Toys 'R' Us, Target, Amazon, Walmart, and Kohl's are out! Just over one-third of the top toys of the holiday season are licensed offerings. This year, we've identified which toys are licensed, their respective manufacturer, and which are exclusive to the retailer. See the complete list below. In 2016, … [Read more...] about Retailer’s Top Toys of the 2017 Holiday Season
TRU’s Debt & Other Toy/Game News
By Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com In the face of a $400 million debt due in 2018, Toys 'R' Us has retained a law firm to help restructure its financial obligations. The toy retailer has not ruled out bankruptcy as part of its plan, and is also looking at obtaining additional financing. TRU is also continuing to work with financial advisory firm Lazard, which … [Read more...] about TRU’s Debt & Other Toy/Game News
M&A & Investments
Discovery Communications will buy Scripps Networks Interactive for $11.9 billion early next year. The deal includes the assumption of $2.7 billion of Scripps’s net debt. Hasbro ends talks to buy out Lions Gate Entertainment, reportedly because of price disagreements. This comes after ultimately failed negotiations to buy out DreamWorks Animation in 2014, which was ultimately … [Read more...] about M&A & Investments