Hidden City Entertainment’s licensing agent, M.J.A. Licensing, has brokered a deal with Imprima for Bella Sara-themed wall stickers in the French and Belgian markets. The sticker will come in four large-sized options and are set to release this fall.
According to a new Nielsen survey, reported by Reuters, more than 40 percent of retailers reduced the number of different SKUs on their shelves last year, and nearly the same number expect to make additional cuts.
According to Nielsen, these cuts can help retailers lower costs, but shoppers may leave stores without making a purchase if they cannot find a specific item. In the Nielsen survey, it was reported that 7 percent of shoppers who did not find their desired personal-care item said they would leave the store without buying an item in the category, with some shoppers saying they would leave the store without buying anything. Nielsen reports that if just 0.5 percent of grocery shoppers were to leave a store without making a purchase, retailers could lose sales up to $1.5 billion.
Walmart recently reported that its program to overhaul stores hurt sales. Last year the retailer removed slower-selling items from shelves, and replaced them with more popular items. However, the company found that not offering some items drove shoppers to other stores. In March, the company said it returned approximately 300 items to U.S. store shelves.
Toy Story 3’s opening weekend earned worldwide box office sales of $153.8 million, according to estimates issued by The Walt Disney Company.
Box office sales in the United States and Canada accounted for $109 million, a Disney-Pixar Animation opening record . The record was previously held by The Incredibles, which sold $70.5 million in May 2004. Only two other animated films, Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, have opened to sales of more than $100 million.
Toy Story 3 sales received a boost from 3-D screenings, which has a higher ticket price. It’s estimated that 60 percent of ticket sales were from 3-D screenings.
Spin Master, Ltd. has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Crayola, LLC and its intellectual property holding company, Crayola Properties, Inc.
The lawsuit alleges that Crayola knowingly, willingly, and unlawfully is infringing and intends to infringe on Spin Master’s Liv trademark with its Liv Crayola line of products that is targeted at young girls. The line launched last June.
Spin Master is seeking damages, attorney’s fees, and a permanent injunction barring Crayola from infringing on Spin Master’s “Liv” trademark.
Chorion has announced a range of new products featuring Spot as he celebrates his 30th anniversary this year.
In the U.S., BBC America will release Spot Goes to School in August and Spot’s Magical Christmas in October. Chorion has also signed a new licensing deal with Zoobies who will make a Spot product to be featured on QVC for “Christmas in July.” Master toy licensee Kids Preferred is expanding its Spot product line to include puzzles, backpacks, bath toys, and wooden toys, which will be released in 2011.
In the UK, master toy licensee, Rainbow Designs will introduce an expanded range of products including puzzles and wooden toys for 2011. Additionally, an exclusive birthday party is planned for August 5 in London for parents and children.
Additional book titles for Spot from Warne include a 30th anniversary special edition of Where’s Spot?, Spot’s Birthday Balloon, and Spot’s Little Library. Touch and feel books, a book and plush set, and an 18-button sound book are planned for the holiday season.
Timed with the release of Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, Disney Consumer Products has released John Lasseter Talks Toys Vol. 7: Mr. Potato Head on its YouTube channel, Disney Living. The video is the latest in a series of profiles on the Toy Story characters. The series was launched last fall, prior to the release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3-D.
Phyllis Brody, co-founder of Creativity for Kids, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association
(ASTRA). The award recognizes a person who has demonstrated a career of service to the toy industry and who has made a significant contribution to ASTRA’s mission of expanding and improving the specialty toy industry.
Brody co-founded Creativity for Kids more than 30 years ago with a mission to stimulate and encourage childhood creativity. Brody also helped to develop initiatives and programs for specialty toy retailers as a founding board member of ASTRA.
As a first step in the marketing of Kikaninchen, a new preschool brand by KI.KA, M4e AG has announced that Simba Dickie Group has been named the first partner for the toys/soft-toy sector.
Simba Dickie Group will produce an exclusive range of products via its many brands. Nicotoy will develop various Kikanichen soft-toys; Eichhorn will produce a range of wooden toys; Simba Toys will develop creative toys such as painting and handicraft boxes, finger paints, and Softknete modeling clay; Big will offer outdoor toys such as its Big-Bobby-Car, and a balance board; and Noris-Spiele will develop games and puzzles.
All of the products will debut at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in next February, and should be available at retail the following summer.
Stone America Licensing has announced that Pearson has been appointed the exclusive publisher for StinkyKids soft and hard cover story books.
StinkyKids is a doll line that was launched in fourth quarter 2009. The dolls are sold at 110 Nordstrom stores, Nordstrom.com, and FAO Schwarz New York. StinkyKids recently signed Madame Alexander to refill doll reorders, and to expand the program to additional specialty, mid-tier, and mass retailers.
Scholastic Media is bringing its children’s apps for the iPhone and the iPod Touch to the iPad. The apps are based on Scholastic brands Clifford the Big Red Dog and ISpy and launched June 16 for $3.99.
Clifford’s Be Big with Words, based on the Scholastic and PBS KIDS series, encourages the development of spelling, phonics, and vocabulary skills in young readers. Users spell words and are rewarded with pictures depicting the word’s meaning.
I SPY Spooky Mansion takes users on a hidden object adventure through a mansion, where they will escape by collecting keys through solving ISpy riddles.
Both apps were launched on the iPhone last fall. ISpy Spooky Mansion has ranked among the Top 10 Paid Kids Games and the Top 20 Paid Puzzle Games categories. CLIFFORD’S BE BIG With Words has been ranked among the Top 10 Paid Educational Games as well as the Top 25 Paid Kids Games since release.