Hearst Agrees to Buy Rodale

Hearst agreed to Buy Rodale Inc., potentially adding a line of health and running magazines with licensed properties to a stable that includes Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and others. The family-owned Rodale announced in June it was putting the company up for sale and Hearst was reported to be competing with Meredith Corp. to buy it. The purchase is expected to be finalized in January, Hearst said. Hearst underwent a restructuring of its licensing group in the spring with the hiring of former Fox Network executive Steve Ross as global chief licensing director. IMG handles licensing for Hearst in international markets, while Joester Loria Group represented it for some brands in North America (Road and Track, Car & Driver). Rodale is represented by Wildflower Group in North America and Golden Goose in Europe. It has had licensing programs for several of its publications including Runner’s World, Women’s Health and Men’s Health, the latter including a deal with Chef’d for a meal delivery service in North America and more recently, ABP UK, for lean pork sausages and chicken chipolatas that are being sold through Asda stores in the UK.    Contact: Hearst Corp., Steve Ross, VP and Global Chief Licensing Dir., 212-649-3259, sross@hearst.com

Rooster Teeth Launches Licensing for RWBY Chibi

Rooster Teeth is launching a licensing program for its RWBY Chibi anime series that’s aimed at children younger than the teens attracted to its mainstay RWBY program, says Rooster Teeth’s Gary Haddock. Rooster Teeth is selling RWBY Chibi Bioworld t-shirts and Jazwares figures through its website as it seeks broad distribution of products tied to the show, which recently completed its second season and has 48 episodes. The series was first aired in 2016. “The line has the look and feel of the main show, but we are doing designs that that appeal to a younger audience,” says Haddock. “With RWBY Chibi we wanted to make sure the audience had a place to retreat when, after three years, the main show started to mature. The main show for three years had a younger sensibility, but it was growing up with the audience.” RWBY Chibi and RWBY require separate licensing agreements. Contact: Rooster Teeth, Gary Haddock, Head of Animation, 512-480-9336, gary@roosterteeth.com

Electronic Arts Shuts Down Star Wars Development Studio

Electronic Arts shut down its Visceral Games studio, pushing back delivery of new Star Wars titles indefinitely, the company said. Visceral had been working on an action-adventure title based on Star Wars since 2013, when Electronic Arts reached a multi-year licensing agreement with Disney. The videogames company is making a “significant change” to the title, meaning it won’t be released in late fiscal 2019 as originally planned, Electronic Arts’ Patrick Söderland said in a statement. Electronic Arts’ fiscal 2019 runs from April 2018 to March 2019. “Throughout the development process, we have been testing the game concept with players, listening to the feedback about what and how they want to play, and closely tracking fundamental shifts in the marketplace,” Söderlund said. “It has become clear that to deliver an experience that players will want to come back to and enjoy for a long time to come, we needed to pivot the design.” Contact: Electronic Arts, Patrick Soderland, VP, 650-628-1500

Mattel Launching WWE Fashion Dolls Through Smyths Toys

Mattel will expand sales of 12-inch fashion dolls tied to World Wrestling Entertainment female wrestlers through 255 Smyths Toys stores in the UK and Ireland later this year as distribution extends to international markets, says WWE’s Casey Collins. The collection, which includes the wrestlersNikki and Brie Bella, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Alicia Fox and Eva Marie, launched with pre-orders at Toys R Us in the U.S. in July. The line is being merchandised with the WWE Women’s Championship belt and Sasha Banks’ “Legit Boss” rings and action figures with accessories. Contact: World Wrestling Entertainment, Casey Collins,EVP Consumer Products, 203-352-8600 casey.collins@wwecorp.com

Harry & David Takes Nestlé License for Moose Munch Popcorn

Harry & David is giving Moose Munch Premium Popcorn a taste of licensing for the first time. The company is selling Nestlé Butterfinger and Nestlé Buncha Crunch Moose Munch popcorn online and through the 46 Harry & David stores and 20 pop-up locations that are opening this fall. The Nestlé ingredients are being added during the manufacturing process. The Harry & David brand moved into inbound and outbound licensing following its sale to 1-800-Flowers.com in 2014. 1-800-Flowers.com hired Joester Loria Group earlier this year to handle outbound licensing for the brand. Contact: Harry & David, Blake Izor, Sales Dir. Food, Drug, Mass, 248-505-9394, bizor@harryanddavid.com

Sainsbury Cutting Up to 2,000 Jobs

UK supermarket chain Sainsbury is joining rival Tesco in cutting costs, unveiling plans for trimming up to 2,000 jobs in the wake of its merger with Argos. About 1,400 of the jobs will be in payroll and human resources, but another 600 positions could be affected, Sainsbury said. The reductions are part of Sainsbury’s bid to reduce expenses by £500m amid rising food costs and fierce competition. Sainsbury employs nearly 200,000 people in total. Tesco earlier this year cut 1,200 positions at its head office. Contact: Sainbury. Kevin O’Byrne, Chief Financial Officer, +44 20 7695 6000

Meyer Launches Sales of Aeysha Curry Cooking Product at Target

Meyer Corp. launched a 54-SKU collection of Food Network host Ayesha Curry’s cookware at Target with plans for expanding to J.C. Penney in November, a company spokeswoman said. Curry, wife of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and host of the Food Network’s “Ayesha’s Home Kitchen” show, signed a licensing deal with Meyer in the spring. The line ranges from skillets, sauce pans and six-quart Dutch ovens priced at $69 to bakeware and kitchen utensils. Curry’s move into licensing comes as she readies for the opening of the International Smoke restaurant in San Francisco as part of a venture with chef Michael Mina. Contact: Meyer Corp., David Trigani, Senior Sales Dir., 214-750-7535, davidt@meyer.com