Bulldog Licensing has signed yet another licensing deal for Shopkins – the red hot collectible brand that has already built a huge presence at UK retail since launching late last year.

Shopkins are cute little characters that live in Shopville and are irresistibly collectible. There are over 140 to collect in each series, including a ultra-rare special characters, and are sold inside adorable little shopping bags. Despite only being on the market for a few months the brand has sparked a fully-fledged craze, fuelled by an online presence that has seen over 13 millions hits on the Shopkins Youtube channel. Retailers across the UK are struggling to keep the line in stock and are having to airlift in new supplies to fulfil consumer demand.

The new agreement will see the introduction of NJ Screen Prints Ltd on board for all daywear articles offering a clockwork speed production environment to retail with the support of innovation in garment decoration. The deal covers the UK and Eire and comes hot on the heels of a raft of licensing agreements for the property, with Pedigree (annuals), DJ Murphy (magazines), Winning Moves (Top Trumps games), Pyramid (posters) and Whitehouse Leisure (amusement plush) all joining the licensing programme.

“Shopkins is one of the hottest collectibles out there at present and is topping the sales charts right across the retail landscape. This apparel range will have huge appeal and I’m confident it will be a strong seller when it hits the shelves,” says Bulldog Group MD Rob Corney.

The licensing campaign for Shopkins — the hit new girls’ collectible range that’s taking the UK retail market by storm — is expanding fast with the announcement of three more licenses: in games, posters and amusement plush.

Winning Moves, a leading maker of board games, card games, and puzzles, is set to launch their Shopkins range with Top Trumps card game in markets worldwide and will follow up with more exciting games for the EMEA and Asia/Pacific markets. Pyramid, a leading name in licensed images, will offer posters in all sizes for the UK and Ireland market and Whitehouse Leisure, the leading market innovator in amusement plush and redemption products, is to produce plush and key chains for the European amusement channels.The new licensees join a programme which already boasts the support of major companies including Pedigree Books, DJ Murphy magazines and Scholastic.

The games ranges will be available from Spring 2015 with the poster range available now. The Whitehouse range will reach the amusement market across Europe from mid-2015.

Distributed in the UK by toy powerhouse Flair, Shopkins are the super cute, super tiny, grocery-themed collectibles that are inspired by items from aisles in the grocery store and come with adorable shopping bags and baskets. With a strong programme of through the line marketing, over five million views on Shopkins YouTube in less than two months and over five million views on videos posted by independent toy reviewers, as well as a powerful social media presence Shopkins is looking to be the biggest brand ever produced by Australian company Moose Toys. In fact, Shopkins have proved such a hit with girls that some of them have been selling on Ebay for over £1,000!

The property is already hugely popular in Australia and the US and has now hit the UK — with retailers everywhere struggling to keep the line in stock and having to airfreight in new supplies to fulfil consumer demand.

Bulldog, which represents the brand in the UK market, is already in advanced discussions with licensees in back to school, stationery, apparel and many more with announcements regarding partners in multiple product categories due soon.

Bulldog Group MD Rob Corney says, “These three licensees are major names in their fields and their enthusiasm for the Shopkins brand is a strong vote of confidence in these funny, delightful and charming characters. We’re looking forward to a very busy 2015 for Shopkins!”

Moose Toys, adds, “We’re all thrilled with the success of Shopkins and the speed with which the brand has taken off in the UK. Shopkins is a fast becoming a licensing phenomenon to match its success in the grocery market!”

Less than two months after the launch of the property, Bulldog Licensing has announced further UK licenses awarded for Shopkins — the hit new girls’ collectable range that’s taking the UK retail market by storm.

Independent publishing house DJ Murphy is coming on board with magazines for the UK and Eire markets, while market-leading Annuals publisher Pedigree books is planning Annuals for the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South African markets. The two new additions to the burgeoning programme for the hit brand join a programme already supported by publishing heavyweights Scholastic who will be bringing a range of titles to market through 2015.

DJ Murphy will be launching its Shopkins magazines in early spring. Aimed at girls aged from five upwards, they will be widely available across newsagents, supermarkets and other outlets. The magazines will include stories, games cartoons and competitions based on Apple Blossom, Strawberry Kiss, Pineapple Crush and the other Shopkins that have already been hits in the collectables market and online. DJ Murphy has been publishing magazines for over 60 years and has a particularly strong children’s portfolio, with magazines dedicated to some of the best-known toy and TV brands.

The Pedigree Shopkins Annuals will include not only the traditional winter book available from October but also seasonal activity editions and bumper packs for the spring and summer market. These will be available from Spring 2015. The Shopkins publications will be packed full of profiles, brand information, activities, games, quizzes, colouring and lots more. Pedigree Books has been the UK’s market leader in Annuals, yearbooks and related activity formats since 1993.

Distributed in the UK by toy powerhouse Flair, Shopkins are the super cute, super tiny, grocery-themed collectibles that are inspired by items from aisles in the grocery store and come with adorable shopping bags and baskets. With a strong programme of through the line marketing, over five million views on Shopkins YouTube in less than two months and over five million views on videos posted by independent toy reviewers, as well as a powerful social media presence Shopkins is looking to be the biggest brand ever produced by Australian company Moose Toys. In fact, Shopkins have proved such a hit with girls that some of them have been selling on Ebay for over £1,000!

The property is already hugely popular in Australia and the US and has raced to the top of the sales charts in the UK with retailers everywhere struggling to keep the line in stock and having to airfreight in new supplies to fulfil consumer demand.

A number of licenses across not only publishing but also games, posters, plush and novelty accessories have already been awarded. Bulldog, which represents the brand in the UK market, is also in very advanced discussions with licensees in back to school, stationery, apparel and many more categories.

“The brand only debuted a short while ago at Brand Licensing Europe show and is already making major waves in the UK licensing market,” says Bulldog Group MD Rob Corney. “These publishing licences awarded to two of the most respected and successful names in the business will play a major part in spreading the word and meeting strong demand.”

Pedigree says: “The cute, charming and instantly recognisable Shopkins translate perfectly into the highly visual, fun and story-led format of Annuals and activity books. Retail and consumer demand for bringing Shopkins to these formats is clearly very strong and we’re delighted to be playing a part in meeting that demand.”

Moose Toys adds: “Each Shopkins character has a strong identity and appeal that makes the range as a whole ideal for publishing. We are especially pleased that Pedigree and DJ Murphy, two companies with such strong track records in their respective fields, have so enthusiastically embraced this brand.”