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There’s No Time Like Snow Time

Peri_FrontWell, that’s just about it for the week. Here in the New York area and stretching far in any direction, there’s a lot of snow scheduled to come down. That means sleds, parkas, and toys… many of which are licensed. But mostly it means a lot of fun.

From the Drip Drops and all of us at TLB, have a happy and safe weekend.

We’re Back!

Oomph! It’s been a long time since we posted around here, but we promise that we’ll be more thorough more often. We just got through finishing up the inaugural edition of The Halloween Insider, a new mini-mag that will knock your socks off. At least, that’s what we hope! Now we’re working on our Toy Fair issue, and pounding away to make sure the best info is in your hands in less than a month. It’s another quick turnaround, but we’re ready enough for it that posting here every day shouldn’t be a problem. 2010 is the year of us bringing our magazine presence online, and then some. Check back here every day!

Welcome to Cyber Monday! And welcome to our blog!

Good morning, readers!

Today marks the first day we’ll be updating The Licensing Blog, our new, up-to-the minute take on the licensing world. Here we’ll try to get you the information that’s too urgent for our print issues and needs a little more context than we can give it on Twitter or Facebook. Whenever something happens in the licensing industry, come here to put it in context. Or just stop by to see what we’re working on. Either way, we’re glad to have you reading.

The big news today for e-tailers is that it’s Cyber Monday. The bad news is that it’s getting harder and harder to make any sense of Black Friday figures. While there was a small increase over last year’s figures (.5%), there are a few variables. On the positive side, that number might have been punished by rain in the Northeast, says Consumerist. (Which could bode well today). On the negative side, it’s possible that in order to keep sales high, large retailers were willing to take a loss, says Hot Air. And it’s likely that such an increase did not pace inflation, meaning there was actually a small loss. But if this really is the low point of the recession—or, at least, the lone Black Friday to fall within the crater caused by the subprime bust, etc.—these numbers shouldn’t be seen as a long-term problem. We were expecting this.

Latest Deals

  • Licensing University Explores Brands in a Digital Age

    The International Licensing Industry Merchandiser’s Association (LIMA)’s Licensing University contains a lineup of seminars that focus on maximizing a brand during the digital age. The sessions are digital- and interactive-themed sessions that explore how the digital world impacts licensing and are part of more than 35 Licensing University programs held [...]

  • CafePress.com Becomes Almost Naked Animals Official E-commerce Partner

    9 Story Entertainment appointed CafePress.com as the official e-commerce partner for Almost Naked Animals.  The agreement was brokered by The Licensing Shop, Inc. This is one of several announcements planned in the coming weeks as 9 Story unveils plans to develop a robust digital platform for the TV series Almost [...]

  • Activision and Fox Consumer Products to Debut Family Guy Video Game

    The Griffin family and their friends from Quahog are coming to gaming consoles this fall in a new Family Guy video game from Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products and Activision Publishing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard Inc. Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse will offer gamers an [...]

  • The Joester Loria Group Brokers Mountain Dew Cap Deal

    The Joester Loria Group has brokered a deal to align Mountain Dew’s Green Label Exclusives with lifestyle brand Diamond Supply Co. and hip-hop artist Mac Miller to develop a limited-edition snapback cap. The cap will be sold exclusively on the Karmaloop e-commerce site, beginning May 28 via a Mountain Dew-branded [...]

  • Target Secures Marvel’s The Avengers Merchandise

    Target Corp. has partnered with Marvel Entertainment, LLC to bring merchandise from Marvel’s The Avengers to its shoppers. Through this deal, Target will offer an assortment of Marvel’s The Avengers-themed toys, clothing, and bedding, as well as a selection of Marvel Super Hero movies in stores and online at Target.com/Avengers. [...]

  • Aéropostale To Release Battleship and G.I. Joe Apparel

    Hasbro, Inc. and Aéropostale, Inc., a mall-based specialty retailer of casual and active apparel for young women and men, have partnered for the creation of an exclusive T-shirt collection featuring the Battleship and G.I. Joe brands. The new Hasbro-Aéropostale line includes both Battleship and G.I. Joe men’s graphic T-shirts and [...]

  • Sandow Media Acquires Fred Segal Rights

    Sandow Media announced its recent acquisition of the worldwide rights to the iconic Fred Segal brand. The acquisition includes the rights to all intellectual property, the development of a new e-commerce platform for fredsegal.com, new retail stores worldwide, and the development of Fred Segal-branded apparel and products. Leveraging its global [...]

  • Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products Appoints New Executives

    Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products has named entertainment marketing executive Nabil Kazi to the position of vice president, and global promotions and digital marketing expert Morgan Chess to the position of vice president of digital strategy and commerce. In his new position, Kazi will define and set the global licensed [...]

  • Walmart Teams with Marvel’s The Avengers for Exclusive Experience

    In support of Marvel’s The Avengers, Walmart customers will have access to the Super Hero Augmented Reality (AR) game featuring their favorite Avengers. This app, available at the iTunes App Store and Android Market, gives players instant access to Hawkeye. As they wander the aisles of Walmart, players can “unlock” [...]

  • Shane&Shawn Team With KangaRoos For Footwear Line

    Shane&Shawn have partnered with KangaROOS to create a line of footwear for men, women, and children. The design duo plans to pay homage to the original line, while incorporating recent trends, such as fur lining and innovative pockets built into every shoe. ROOS will launch its men’s line in August, [...]

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