August 2010

Saban Acquires Paul Frank Industries

Saban Capital Group, Inc. has acquired Paul Frank Industries (PFI) including all company assets, intellectual property, and its portfolio of more than 150 characters. The acquisition marks the second for Saban Capital Group; the company acquired the Power Rangers franchise in May.

Saban Brands, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, Inc., will manage PFI’s business strategy, while creative operations will remain based in PFI’s current headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif. Saban Brands plans to support the Paul Frank brand with new content and media strategies. The property will be showcased at Brand Licensing Europe, to be held September 28-30 in London.

She-Ra Celebrates 25th Anniversary With New Products

In honor of She-Ra‘s 25th anniversary, Classic Media has announced new DVDs and collectible products. Mattel will release commemorative collectibles on MattyCollector.com, including a She-Ra action figure. Additionally, the first season of She-Ra: Princess of Power (20 episodes) will be released on DVD, iTunes, and Hulu. A collector’s edition box set, She-Ra: The Complete Series 25^th Anniversary Edition, featuring all 93 episodes will also be released and will include collectible stickers, episode guides, and an iron-on decal. She-Ra: Princess of Power was an animated series that began airing in September 1985.

Spin Master Acquires Games from Imagination

Spin Master is expanding into the board games category with the acquisition of eight board games from Imagination Games. The acquired games are Quelf, Fact or Crap, Battle of the Sexes, Would You Rather, Beat the Parents, Urban Myth, Scabs ’N Guts, and Left Center Right.

Earlier this year, Spin Master was appointed partner for production, sales, and marketing for Stratego in North America by owner Royal Jumbo. That partnership is effective beginning in January 2011. Also earlier this year, Spin Master acquired rights to distribute the board game Hedbanz.

Wilson & Ditch Gets Second Season

The J im Henson Company announced yesterday that PBS Kids Go series Wilson & Ditch: Digging America will get a second season. The web show follows two gopher brothers as they travel across America learning about geography in their eco-friendly van.

In the new season, the brothers will explore locations such as Seattle, Wash.; Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.; and Chicago, Ill. The PBS Kids Go website will also feature five new songs from the brothers as well as two new games to play. Additionally, Wilson’s blog and highlights from past locations will be featured.

According to The Jim Henson Company, PBS’ children’s websites, including PBSKIDSGO.org, receive nine million unique visitors per month and its videos are streamed approximately 50 million times. The brother’s next stop is the Grand Canyon (September 9).

Travel Back to the Future With Looney Labs’ New Card Game

Looney Labs, creator of card game Fluxx, announced a partnership with Universal Partnerships & Licensing that will yield a new card game based on the Back to the Future franchise. The card game features scenarios from all three Back to the Future movies and has players working to un-invent the time travel.

Players use a quarter of the cards to construct a timeline of movie-related events. From there, players assume the role of the movie’s future descendants as they make sure key events occur. The game is set to release September 3, several weeks before the movie trilogy appears for the first time on Blu-ray in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first film. The anniversary edition of the films comes out October 26.

Report: Video Game Industry Aids Economy

According to a new study conduced by Economics Incorporated for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the entertainment software industry grew more than 10 percent from 2005 to 2009, which is more than seven times the growth rate of the U.S. economy. The study, Video Games in the 21st Century: The 2010 Report, also found that the computer and video game industry added nearly $5 billion to the U.S. economy in 2009.

Additionally, the report found that the computer and video game industry directly employs more than 32,000 people, an increase of nearly 9 percent annually since 2005. California remains the largest employer of computer and video game personnel in the nation, followed by Texas, Washington, New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

Free Shipping Day to be Held on December 17

The third annual Free Shipping Day, created by Freeshipping.org, has been scheduled for December 17. Free Shipping Day is a one-day shopping event that allows consumers to browse merchants who will offer free shipping and guaranteed Christmas Eve delivery. So far, said Freeshipping.org CEO Luke Knowles to InternetRetailer.com, 125 online merchants have signed up to participate this year. Knowles expects that more than 1,000 retailers will sign up for this year’s event. Last year, more than 750 merchants listed their free shipping offers on the website, and Knowles estimates that 35,000 purchases were made.

According to Knowles, any merchant can list its free shipping offer for free on Freeshippingday.com and all retailer logos will appear on the home page. For more information, visit www.freeshippingday.com.

Would you postpone your holiday shopping until December 17 to save on shipping?

July Retail Sales Increase Year-Over-Year for Back-to-School Season

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), as back-to-school sales start, retail industry sales for July (excluding automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) increased 3.1 percent unadjusted year-over-year. Retail industry sales also declined 0.2 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month.

July retail sales released by the U.S. Commerce Department show that total retail sales (including non-general merchandise categories such as automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) increased 0.4 percent seasonally adjusted from June and increased 5.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

Back-to-school related categories also saw year-over-year gains, according to the NRF. Clothing and accessories stores were up 4.7 percent over last July, but declined 0.7 percent from June. Electronics and appliance stores increased 8.1 percent year-over-year and declined 0.1 percent from last month. Furniture and home furnishing stores increased 0.4 percent from the same period a year ago and declined 0.3 percent from June.

A survey conducted by NRF, released in July, found that the average family of students in grades K-12 would spend $594.24 on back-to-school this year, an increase of 8.3 percent compared to $548.72 last year.

Ceaco Introduces Tricky Puzzle Series Called The Baffler

Ceaco is introducing a new puzzle series created by artist Chris Yates that is being described as “the most unique puzzle ever,” The Baffler. Each puzzle image in the series is randomly designed and cut into unique shapes so it is tricky to put it back together. The Baffler puzzles have no straight edges and no overlapping images.

Each of the three puzzles in the series has a unique piece count: 67 pieces, 69 pieces and 78 pieces. The puzzles featuring Yates’ creations include the “Spiral of Archimedes,” “The Nonagon,” and “Bindu Truss.” The puzzles will be available this October.

Toy Fair Nürnberg to Feature Green Area

The 2011 Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair Nürnberg will feature a “green oasis” area in the newly built central entrance (Eingang Mitte) that will focus on the toy industry’s environmentally aware movement. Under the motto of “Toys go green,” the area will focus on sustainability and various aspects of toys going green including material selection, packaging, transport, and logistics. Additionally, the fair team will present ideas and approaches to encourage toy professionals to run their business operations in a more sustainable way.

The Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair Nürnberg will be held February 3-8, 2011 in Nuremberg, Germany.