BBC Studios, which recently merged with BBC Worldwide to form a singular commercial entity, will showcase a range of brands including Doctor Who, Top Gear, BBC Earth, Hey Duggee, Something Special, and Strictly Come Dancing.

Doctor Who will debut a new season, which will include Jodie Whittaker as the first female doctor in the series. Renewed licensees include Titan for for figurines, apparel, and gifts and novelties in the U.S., Canada, and the UK; Funko for Pop! Vinyl figurines and novelties in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand; Lady Sandra for home goods, comforters, pillows, and more in the U.S. and Canada; and Rabbit Tanaka for lighting, mirrors, clocks, and wall décor in the U.S. and Canada. New deals for Doctor Who will be announced in coming months. Read the rest of this entry »

Authentic Hendrix, Epic Rights, and Perryscope Productions will launch the new Authentic Hendrix global retail program at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas from May 22 to 24.

Retailers, manufacturers, and licensees can view the new Authentic Hendrix brand guide with new photographs, logos, lyrics, album, and fashion inspired by Jimi Hendrix. The program will include fashion apparel, headwear, footwear, tops, figures, wall art, accessories, jewelry, home décor, digital products, collectibles, and never-before-licensed products  handed down from Authentic Hendrix and Experience Hendrix.  The new merchandise will be available at retail beginning this summer.

The 2nd Annual Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) Cares Charity Bike Ride will take place on Sunday, May 20. The event features a 28-mile bike ride through the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, with a 15 mile option also available.

The charity event will help to kick off Licensing Week and encourage attendees to become more involved with the industry’s Charity of Choice, the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation (CBTF). Last year, 33 licensing colleagues raised more than $3,000 for CBTF. Read the rest of this entry »

Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year with a food and beverage (F&B) theme. BLE 2018 takes place from October 9 to 11 in Olympia, London.

“F&B is one of the fastest-growing and most robust categories within licensing. But it’s also incredibly innovative and dynamic, reinventing itself continuously in line with new trends and lifestyle choices. Health and fitness has been a huge influence over the sector since the ’80s, but most recently the whole well-being and clean-eating phenomenon has had a huge impact on the category with no signs of fading any time soon,” explained BLE brand director Anna Knight.

Licensing Expo announced its Licensing Week lineup, which will include educational and experiential components designed to complement the offerings on the expo floor and help attendees create new connections and ideas. Licensing Week runs concurrently with Licensing Expo, which takes place May 22 to 24 in Las Vegas. For more information and to register as media, visit licensingexpo.com/press/register. Read the rest of this entry »

Following the Licensing Expo Japan’s debut last year, this year’s show will take place from April 25 to 27. Exhibitors include brands, character, and content licensing businesses from China, Hong Kong, Spain, Taiwan, the UK, and the U.S. Additionally, the international fashion trade show (IFF Magic) will be collocated with Licensing Expo Japan for the second consecutive year. For additional information and to register, visit: licensingexpojapan.com/en/. Read the rest of this entry »

The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) invites industry experts to participate as presenters in its range of professional programming, including webinars, seminars, and roundtable discussions, as well as its annual Licensing University program.

LIMA’s speaking engagements provide experts from across licensing, retail, advertising, marketing, and beyond the opportunity to share their expertise with executives from major entertainment studios, top IP owners, professional sports organizations, leading agencies, and more.  Read the rest of this entry »

The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) recently appointed representatives in Brazil, France, and Russia, and named an industry veteran as the new head of LIMA India.

The representatives for the new LIMA offices include
Marici Ferreira, LIMA/ABRAL (Brazil); Laurent Taieb, LIMA France; Jiggy George, LIMA India; and Marina Semenikhina, LIMA Russia.

Additionally, on Tuesday, winners in 20 categories were announced during LIMA’s annual Awards Ceremony, held during the 2017 Licensing Expo at Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas.  Read the rest of this entry »

The global consumer products program for 14-year-old singer, dancer, performer, and social media influencer JoJo Siwa will include products across multiple categories in the U.S. and markets including the UK, Australia, and Canada. Select items in the JoJo Siwa consumer products line are available in stores now in the U.S.

Danskin will introduce its first kids’ co-branded dance, athleisure, and accessories collection. The collection will launch next spring and will feature leotards, tights, dance skirts, tutus, legwarmers, fashion tops, sweatshirts, hoodies, leggings, skorts, joggers, sportsbras, biketards, crop tops, dance bags, backpacks, totes, purses, and headwear. Read the rest of this entry »

Global sales of licensed products and services continued to grow last year, rising 4.4 percent to $262.9 billion in the U.S., according to this year’s International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association’s (LIMA) Annual Global Licensing Industry Survey.

Entertainment/ Character licensing remains the largest industry category, accounting for $118.3 billion in the U.S., or 45 percent of the total global licensing market. Corporate/Brand Trademarks was the next biggest property type, generating $54.6 billion in retail receipts in the U.S. for 20.8 percent of total revenues, followed by Fashion, with $31.1 billion in the U.S. (11.8 percent of the total), and Sports at $25.3 billion in the U.S. (9.6 percent). Read the rest of this entry »