Glu Mobile Spends $17 Million on Royalty Advances in First Half

Glu Mobile spent $17 million on royalty advances in the first half of this year as it prepares for the launch of a Taylor Swift mobile game in November, according to the company’s SEC filings. The company has forecast spending $26.2 million this year. (Inside Licensing May 9), up slightly from $26 million a year earlier. Licensed games for which royalties are being paid include games with Swift and Kendell and Kylie Jenner as well as the ongoing “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood,” ”MLB Tap Sports Baseball” and “Restaurant Dash with Gordon Ramsay.”

The Kardashian title has been the most successful to date, having generated more than $100 million sales since launching in 2014. But Glu also has struggled with licensed games, having taken a $29.8 million write off for minimum guarantees in last year’s Q3.

Meanwhile, Glu also has scrapped the global launch of “Car Town Racing” and will take $1.5 million charge in Q3 ending Sept. 30 in closing the Long Beach, CA studio that developed it and cutting 24 jobs, the company said. Car Town Racing, which features hundreds of licensed automobile brands, was released for Apple iOS in late July in Canada, Singapore, Philippines, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark, but won’t be extended beyond that. The charges also cover Glu’s trimming 24 positions at its San Francisco headquarters including those involved in Android mobile game development.

Contact:

Glu Mobile, Eric Ludwig, Chief Financial Officer, 415-800-6100

Learfield Licensing Readying High School Sports E-Commerce Site

Learfield Licensing rebrands its high school sports licensing business as K12 Licensing in readying a new e-commerce platform to sell licensed goods from some of the 5,600 schools it represents, says Learfield’s Chad Philips. K12 Licensing, previously LRG Prep, is working with a third-party licensee to launch the site in September, says Philips, who declined to identify the licensee. “The program needed to be refocused and energized and rebranding was part of that,” says Philips. “This gives us a chance to come up with a brand clearly focused on the K12 space. It is a market that is highly fragmented and we want to bring order to it.” The new site will compete with other high school-oriented ecommerce platforms including spiritshop.com. In addition to e-commerce, Learfield licensees sell high school licensed products through mass retailers including Walmart, Target and Dollar General.

Contact:

Learfield Licensing, Chad Philips, VP Omni Channel Commerce, 331-444-3248, cphillips@learfieldlicensing.com

Candy Retailer Sugarfina Enters Licensing with Sanrio

Sugarfina enters licensing, signing a deal with Sanrio to ship candy collections next month that will include six Sanrio characters – Hello Kitty, Gudetama, Bad Badtz Maru, Keroppi, My Melody and Chococat – each featured in separate Sugarfina co-branded bottle containing jelly beans, gummy bears and caramels. The collection will be sold in three- ($30) and two-pack gift boxes ($20) through Sugarfina’s 25 stores as well as at 48 Neiman Marcus stores, says Sugarfina’s Sephora Noormand. The licensing agreement is the first for Sugarfina. The pact also comes as Sugarfina prepares to open another 10-12 stores in the U.S. by year-end and sets the stage for international expansion after having raised $35 million in a recent funding round.

Contact:

Sugarfina, Sephora Noorman, Brand Marketing Dir., 855-784-2734 x118, sephora@sugarfina.com

Inventure’s TGI Friday Chips Post gain in Sales

Inventure Food’s indulgent specialty snack food business, on improved sales of TGI Friday’s chips, posted a small gain in net revenue to $10.1 million in Q2 ended July 29. Sales of TGI Friday’s snack foods rose 2.4% in Q2, bolstering sales in a division that also includes licensed Nathan’s Famous and Vadalia products. Overall, Inventure’s Q2 net loss widened to $917,000 from $278,000 a year earlier as sales declined 11.2% to $51.3 million.

Contact:

Inventure Foods, Steve Sklar, SVP, 623-932-6200, steve.sklar@inventurefoods.com

IMG Extends, Expands Pepsi Apparel Licensing Program Across Europe

IMG, having renewed its two-year-old agreement to represent Pepsico in Europe, extends it to include to accessories, bags, gift items and homeware. The new pact follows IMG having secured a direct-to-retail agreement for women’s apparel with 1,705-store retailer LLP, which operates stores under the Cropp, Reserve, Mohito, House and Sansay in Poland and Eastern Europe. At the same time, licensee Brand Design will bring Pepsi-branded apparel to retailers Sabor SRL (Italy) and Carbotex (Eastern Europe). The agreement covers the Pepsi brand along with its 7UP and Mountain Dew labels.

The new distribution will follow DTRs that IMG struck this year with the 300-store Undiz chain, which largely operates in France, for women’s apparel, says the IMG spokeswoman. Apparel supplier Junkyard also has developed a 10-piece collection that it is selling through its website and select retailers in Italy and Scandinavia.

Contact:

IMG, Matthew Primack, SVP, +44 20 8233 530, matthew.primack@img.com