Congratulations to The Licensing Shop, an agency founded by husband-and-wife team Steve and Nancy Fowler in 2006, which is now marking its 15th anniversary.
Previously, Steve was the President of video game developer 3D0 Europe based in the U.K. and California, and Nancy was the Vice President of Worldwide Licensing for Viacom Consumer Products and President of DIC Entertainment’s Consumer Products division based in Los Angeles.
“We set out to become a ‘boutique’ agency meaning we didn’t want to grow so big that our clients weren’t working with us directly and daily,” said Steve Fowler. “So we really have to pick and choose the brands we worked on carefully.”
TLS has worked with iconic brands such as Pokémon, Shopkins, Star Trek, Skechers and Sesame Street. In 2016, TLS won a coveted “Award of Licensing Excellence” from industry association License International for Best Character/Toy brand program representing client Moose Toys. In 2018, Nancy Fowler was honored by the inaugural License Global Influentials List naming 19 women from 18 companies that they thought had greatly influenced the business of licensing.
“We are proud that we license imaginatively and always strategically into an extensive scope of product categories, consumer experiences and co-brand collaborations,” said Nancy Fowler. “Once we have created a brand’s licensing plan and have client sign-off, we find the appropriate licensees and retailers to partner with.”
The couple says it’s been an eventful 15 years since they started The Licensing Shop. “Beyond the usual categories (apparel, toys, publishing, home, etc.), we have developed brand extensions into mint bullion and stamp collections, lottery tickets, video games and mobile apps, art exhibitions, pop-up stores, saunas, barbells, craft beer, cereal, and even a municipal town!” Steve said.
Over the past decade and a half, the couple says TLS has managed licensing programs which have sold more than $3 billion of retail sales in the US and Canadian markets.