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26
Apr, 2016
Bulldog Links Up With The Enid Blyton Estate

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Bulldog Licensing has announced it now represents the estate of much-loved children’s author Enid Blyton.

Her work needs little introduction, as book series such as The Famous Five, Brer Rabbit and The Secret Seven have delighted successive generations of British children and have sold hundreds of millions of copies. Enid Blyton’s books sell in huge numbers and she regularly features in the top ten list of the best-selling authors in the UK. Her books also have global appeal – according to UNESCO, she is the most translated children’s author in the world.

The licensing programme will launch next year and initially concentrate on The Famous Five, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2017, using a style guide featuring the original illustrations by Eileen Soper. Bulldog will then look to expand across The Secret Seven and other titles in the estate.

“Enid Blyton occupies a very special place in British culture and her work is familiar to millions, across all age groups,” says Bulldog MD Rob Corney. “This gives us a very strong platform and we’re looking to develop ranges that appeal to adults who grew up with the books, as well as children discovering them for the first time.”

Commenting on the partnership, Katie Price, Licensing Director at The Hachette Children’s Group says: “working with Bulldog, we intend to extend the charm, friendliness and magic of Enid Blyton beyond her classic books to other licenses. Next year’s 75th anniversary of The Famous Five provides the perfect moment for Bulldog to launch an initial range of nostalgia products for the adult gift market using Eileen Soper’s iconic artwork, which naturally lends itself to categories including vintage gifts, stationery, greeting cards, calendars and home wear.”

19
Apr, 2016
Shopkins Season 4 Sales Success!

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The popularity of top girls’ property Shopkins is soaring with the recent launch of Season Four. This new launch has followed the trend of its predecessors, with sales significantly up on Season Three.

Season Four features the Shopkins cute pets –Petkins! –The adorable little pets come with their own pet bag. Season Four also features new themes garden, party, pet shop and accessories. This adds to the hundreds of existing characters, which include ultra-rare, special edition and limited edition figures.

The statistics surrounding Shopkins are staggering – more than 200 million characters have been sold, over 59 million views have been recorded on Shopkins YouTube channel and fan videos featuring Shopkins have recorded more than 360 million views.

This popularity has been replicated in the licensing world and Bulldog Licensing, representing the brand for United Kingdom and EIRE, has secured deals across multiple categories. These include Gemma (party goods), Fashion UK (apparel), BCI (nightwear and underwear), Spearmark (lunchware, tableware, drinkware and lighting), Topps (collectible and trading cards, sticker products and accessories), VMC (headwear, scarves, sunglasses and more), Aykroyds (apparel), Autumn Publishing Bonnier (publishing), Character World (bedding, inflatable chairs and beanbags), Flair (toys), RMS International (arts and crafts), Pedigree (annuals), DJ Murphy (magazines), Winning Moves (games), Pyramid (posters) and Whitehouse Leisure (amusement plush).

‘The buzz surrounding Shopkins is incredible,” comments Bulldog Licensing Manager Vicky Hill. “The brand is absolutely sizzling at the moment and the release of this new range is only adding to the excitement!’

11
Apr, 2016
Bulldog Announces Sweet New Deal For YO-KAI WATCH

Bulldog Licensing has revealed that confectionery specialist Kinnerton is developing a range based on new anime YO-KAI WATCH.

Tipped to be the biggest boys brand for Back to School 2016, YO-KAI WATCH follows an average boy, Nate, who gets a special watch empowering him to discover mysterious beings called “Yo-kai.”  Yo-kai are everywhere, causing little nuisances in our daily lives.  Nate’s ongoing quest is to discover the reason for the Yo-kai’s mischievous behaviour, with hopes of talking them out of it.  Each time Nate needs to solve a problem – a problem often caused by another troublesome Yo-kai – he uses his watch to call upon a friendly Yo-kai to aid him.  Adventure and high jinks ensue, to the great delight and amusement of the millions of YO-KAI WATCH fans across Japan, and soon across the world.

The anime series has already enjoyed huge success in Japan, where it dominates the television, merchandise, gaming and toy markets, generating retail sales of over €2 billion in less than two years. In the UK the show broadcasts on Cartoon Network.

Kinnerton will produce a varied range, including Easter eggs, mealtime sets, mug and egg sets, advent calendars and chocolate lollies. Distribution will be through chain stores, department stores, mass merchants, catalogues and speciality stores.
The deal follows hot on the heels of a publishing agreement with Centum, and adds to existing licensees Hasbro (Master Toy) and Nintendo (Video Games).

“Despite only recently launching in the UK, this brand is attracting a huge amount of interest,” says Bulldog Licensing Manager Vicky Hill. “We are in talks with many other partners, so watch this space – YO-KAI WATCH is going to be huge!”

6
Apr, 2016
Bulldog Bags Book Deal For YO-KAI WATCH

Group_art_01Bulldog Licensing has announced a new deal for brand new anime YO-KAI WATCH – with Centum Books on board for a wide-ranging publishing programme.

Already generating massive interest across UK licensees and retailers, YO-KAI WATCH follows an average boy, Nate, who gets a special watch empowering him to discover mysterious beings called “Yo-kai.”  Yo-kai  are everywhere, causing little nuisances in our daily lives.  Nate’s ongoing quest is to discover the reason for the Yo-kai’s mischievous behaviour, with hopes of talking them out of it.  Each time Nate needs to solve a problem – a problem often caused by another troublesome Yo-kai – he uses his watch to call upon a friendly Yo-kai to aid him.  Adventure and high jinks ensue, to the great delight and amusement of the millions of YO-KAI WATCH fans around the world.

The anime series has already enjoyed huge success in Japan, where it dominates the television, merchandise, gaming and toy markets, generating retail sales of over €2 billion in less than two years. In the UK, kids’ powerhouse broadcaster Cartoon Network will debut the show this April with partners Hasbro and Nintendo coming to market shortly thereafter with an amazing toy line and interactive offering respectively.UK representatives, Bulldog, are working closely with master European brand heads Viz Media Europe to deliver a full, cross-category programme to a very receptive retail environment.

Centum is set to release a full publishing offering including storybooks, sticker books, chapter books, joke books, annuals and more.

“Working with Centum on a wide range of publishing product for such a hot property is hugely exciting,” says Bulldog’s Licensing Manager, Vicky Hill. “Their reputation for marketing support and strong product lines is driving a real point of difference in the sector and there’s lots more to come from the brand. We are dealing with huge amounts of interest across many different categories and expect to be announcing other deals very soon.”