Court Approves Toys R Us Canada Sale

A federal bankruptcy court judge approved the CDN300 million sale of Toys R Us Canada to Fairfax Financial Holders, potentially setting the stage for a revival in Canada. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Phillips, Richmond, VA, Tuesday approved the sale to Fairfax, which was the lone bidder for the 82 stores in Canada. Fairfax President Paul Rivett told the Toronto Globe and Mail he wants the stores “brought into the modern retail era” and become destinations for children to play with toys.  Also pending is the  €79 million sale of 93 Toys R Us locations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria to Smyths Toys (Inside Licensing April 23). MGA CEO Isaac Larian also has said he was preparing a new bid for about 200 U.S. locations after his initial offer was rejected. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in September and shifted to liquidation last month.

Food Network Licenses Kraft Heinz for Sauces, Meal Kits

Discovery Inc.’s Food Network grants a license to Kraft Heinz Co. for Food Network Kitchen salad dressings, cooking sauces and meal kits. Food Network, which was part of Scripps Networks Interactive prior to its recent sale to Discovery, has a long history in licensing that includes deals for wine (Wente Vineyards), kitchenware (Kohl’s), foodservice (Delaware North-operated Food Network Kitchen restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, FL) and a magazine (Hearst). For Kraft Heinz, the pact represents a renewed effort in inbound food licensing. Kraft previously had licensing agreements with Guinness (barbeque sauce) and California Pizza; the latter was sold along with rest of the company’s frozen pizza business to Nestle in 2010. The company, which was formed from the 2015 merger of Kraft and Heinz, also has licensing pacts in coffee, including one with McDonald’s for McCafe ground coffee.

Contacts:

Discovery Inc., Ron Feinbaum, SVP and General Mgr. Home Promotions and Consumer Products, ron.feinbaum@discovery.com

Kraft Heinz Co., Liz Rubin, Senior Associate Brand Mgr. for Meals, 412-456-5700, liz.rubin@kraftheinzcompany.

Xilam Gains Licensing Rights for Mr. Magoo Revival

French animation studio Xilam will have a licensing style book for Mr. Magoo in place by year-end as it readies a revival of the series, says Marie-Laure Marchand of Xilam. It expects to deliver about half the 78, seven-minute episodes to France 4 in France and CITV in the UK this fall. The new episodes add two new characters to a series that has its roots in American TV, starting with a short that was released in 1954 and later a TV series – “The Mr. Magoo” Show — in the 1960s. It was last revived in 2010 as the direct-to-DVD release Kung Fu Magoo. Xilam also has a distribution agreement with Cartoon Network Asia for the series. Xilam has licensing rights to all new Mr. Magoo content, while NBCUniversal/DreamWorks retains them for prior programs and films, and for interactive/videogames, live events and theme parks.

Meanwhile, Lansay Toys has launched sales in France of plush and figures tied to Xilam’s “Oggy and the Cockroaches” series, while Nazara Technologies has released a free-to-play mobile game in India, – “Oggy Go World of Racing” with plans to distribute it in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Xilam also has introduced a style guide for its “Zig & Sharko” show and signed Maurizio Distefano to represent the brand in Italy. Panini has licensed the IP for a sticker book in Italy and Xilam is seeking a publishing deal for France.

Contact:

Xilam, Marie-Laure Marchand, EVP, Global Consumer Products, + 33 1 40 18 72 51, mlm@xilam.com

Executives

Joseph Kim, ex-Sega Games, named SVP of Publishing, Worldwide Games and Digital Platforms at Universal Brand Development, new position… Nadine Iacocca, ex-Bacardi, named VP Global Marketing at Cherokee Global Brands.

NFL Players Inc. Lands First Experience Licensing Program

NFL Players Inc. is moving into experiential licensing, having signed an agreement with QuintEvents, which will develop packages around the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta. The packages, which will include, among other things, access to the NFLPA Legends Club Hospitality hosted by Barry Sanders, will be the first of a series of events that will be expanded to include the NFL International Series games.

The agreement with QuintEvents is the first dedicated solely to NFLPA experience events. The NFL Experience in New York’s Times Square does involve group player rights, says a NFL Players Inc. spokesman. QuintEvents signed agreements last year with Formula One, The British Open and Fashion Week to develop travel and experience programs.

Contact:

NFL Players Inc., Steven Scebelo, VP Licensing and Business Development, 202-572-7472, steven.scebelo@nflpa.com

QuintEvents, Brian Learst, CEO, 248-961-0725.

First Fingerlings-Licensed Products Come to Market

Commonwealth Toys (10-inch plush in five colors) and Cardinal Games (Treetop Fall game) have launched the first Fingerlings-licensed products. The Commonwealth products are available through Walmart.com and Toywiz.com, while the Cardinal game is being sold through Kohls.com. Fingerlings — toy monkeys, unicorns and sloths that cling to a finger – were a surprise hit last year for WowWee, which hired Striker Entertainment to handle licensing for the brand. There are no immediate plans for licensing a follow-up product – four Fingerlings-like Untamed dionsaurs – that launched in Canada, Australia and the UK in late March and will start sales May 18 at Walmart and other U.S. retailers.

Contacts:

Striker Entertainment, Russell Binder, Partner, 818-225-9355, Russell@strikerent.com

WowWee, Adam Fairless,  Chief Development Officer and Head of Licensing, 958-729-6580, adam@wowwee.com

ESL Investments Pushing Sale of Kenmore Brand

Sears majority shareholder Eddie Lampert’s ESL Investments is pushing the struggling retailer to sell off the Kenmore brand, potentially to the firm itself. In a letter released earlier this weektoday (Wednesday), Lampert said divesting all or part of the Kemore brand, Sears Home Improvement and the PartsDirect business would improve the retailer’s debt and cash position. Sears has more than $1.2 billion in debt obligations.Sears has been unable to find a buyer for the units despite a two-year search, Lampert said. Sears made a similar move last year, selling its Craftsman brand to Stanley Black and Decker.

Contact:

Sears Holdings, Jason Hollar, Chief Financial Officer, 847-286-2500, jason.hollar@searshc.com