Star Trek

Movie Park Germany will open the first Star Trek roller coaster in the spring, deepening the theme park’s ties to the licensing business. The rollercoaster, under construction for two years and designed around the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” TV series, will be located near the entrance to park and feature a Federation Plaza with a Star Trek store. Movie Park Germany, owned by Parques Reunidos, also operates a Nickland section that features SpongeBob Squarepants and other rides. The park itself opened as Warner Bros. Movie World Germany in 1996 and only featured Warner-themed rides until it was sold to StarParks in 2005 and renamed Movie World Germany.

DHX Media

Master toy licensee Character Options has sold 750,000 units of Teletubbies plush toys in the UK since launch last January as licensor DHX Media plots a 10-15-year strategy for the property, DHX CEO Dana Landry told analysts Monday. Character Options expanded sales into the U.S. in late 2016 through distributor Spin Master Corp., following the launch of the 60-episode, 12-minute series on Nick Jr. on May 30.

DHX’s consumer product sales in Q2 ended Dec. 31 rose to $7.8 million from $4.34 million a year earlier on strength of $3.9 million in revenue from its international “The Next Step Wild Rhythm” dance tour. Minus the tour, DHX consumer products revenue slipped to $3.9 million from $4.3 million a year earlier, consisting largely of minimum guarantees for Teletubbies, In the Night Garden and Twirlywoos, the company said.

DHX’s CPLG unit posted a 35% decline in Q2 revenue to $4.6 million. The prior year’s Q2 revenue benefitted from strong sales of products related to Despicable Me and Minions. Overall, DHX’s fiscal Q2 net income declined 50% to $5.7 million as revenue dropped 3% to $78.8 million.

Pyramid International

Pyramid International is reviving licensing for doormats. Pyramid struck agreements with Nintendo (Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda) and Disney (Star Wars (Darth Vader), Deadpool, Captain America) for 17×29-inch products that will launch in the spring through 300-600 GameStop and ThinkGeek stores, says Pyramid’s Andrew Lawrence. The doormats will carry a $19.99 retail and $8.50 wholesale price. Meanwhile, Pyramid is expanding its assortment of notebooks, having secured a license for Star Wars and other properties as it seeks to fill a niche for $15 product, says Lawrence. Moleskine also has a Star Wars license, but at $30 and up price and Pyramid product is priced above licensed spiral-bound notebooks.

Genius Brands

Mattel’s master toy agreement for Genius Brand International’s “Rainbow Ranger” children’s TV series, will trigger “a whole array of additional licensees coming to the table,” Genius’ Andy Heyward told analysts. Those additional licensees will produce “multiple millions” of dollars in guarantees, Heyward said. The Mattel deal alone contains the largest guarantee in Genius’ history, said Heyward, who declined to disclose details. Rainbow Rangers products will be introduced in 2018 under the Fisher-Price brand and include role play items, plush, ride-on vehicles, action figures and other products.

Genius, which unveiled Rainbow Rangers in September, expects to have a broadcast agreement “in the coming months” with a goal of launching 52, 11-minute episodes in spring 2018. Any new carriage pacts will be in addition to the program’s airing on Genius’ Kid Genius Channel which is on Comcast’s cable system.

Nathan’s Famous

Nathan’s Famous’ license royalties in fiscal Q3 ended Dec. 25 jumped 10.4% to $3.9 million due largely to John Morrell & Co.’s sales of branded hot dogs through Sam’s Club, the company said in an SEC filing. Total royalties tied to sales through Sam’s Club rose 10.8% to $3.5 million. The increase was due to a 4.9% increase in volume and a higher average net price. Nathan’s also has a licensing program for frozen French fries with Lamb Weston.

Vandor

With the hiring of a new CEO, Vandor will expand into non-entertainment licenses, seeking to forge agreements with designers to bring the company into tabletop and kitchen accessories, Vandor’s Lynn Keller told us. The goal is to have its first designer-licensed products available by early 2018. “We have tent pole opportunities with our entertainment licenses, but it would be nice to smooth that out,” says Keller. “You can bank on Disney, Marvel and Star Wars, but you can never be too sure.”

The move into new categories follows Vandor’s hiring earlier this year of Sarah Devoll as its new CEO, replacing Tom Russo. Devoll worked with designers in the past, including Heidi Swapp at American Craftsman. “With Sarah’s experience at American Crafts, which is so strong in design, it really ties into what we want to do here,” says Keller. “She has a more creative aspect than perhaps Tom did.”

Vandor also is expanding its licensing with Disney, adding licenses for the upcoming Beauty and the Beast live action movie as well as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pixar films, Frozen and The Little Mermaid, says Keller. Vandor previously had a license for classic Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters.