Executive Changes

Stone Newman, ex-Genius Brands International, joins Pocket.watch as chief revenue officer…Eric Karp, ex-Crayola, named VP of Licensing at Buzzfeed, new post.

Contacts:

Pocket.watch,  Stone Newman, Chief Revenue Officer,  424-298-8324, stone@pcket.watch;  Buzzfeed, Eric Karp. VP Licensing, 212-431-7464

Coach “Refocusing” Kate Spade Licensing Program

Coach Inc., fresh from its purchase of Kate Spade & Co., is “refocusing” the brand’s licensing program on fashion apparel and accessories and home goods, Coach CEO Victor Luis told analysts, as Coach reported its results for Q4 ended July 1.

Coach bought Kate Spade and affiliated brands Kate Spade Saturday and Jack Spade in a deal that closed July 11. Kate Spade has 24 licensing agreements across multiple categories, including bedding (DWI Holdings), athleisure (Beyond Yoga), eyewear (Safilo), rugs (Jaipur), stationery (Lifeguard Press), furniture (EJ Victor) wallpaper/fabric (Kravet). The agreements expire at various times through 2025, Kate Spade said in its 10K filed with the SEC. Licensing also is part of Kate Spade’s joint venture in China with Walton Brown.

Some of the current licensing agreements won’t be renewed, Luis said. Many of the pacts are “short term” agreements with several having been signed in 2015, company executives said. “Each will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and we will reduce the number” of licenses in sharpening the program’s focus on fashion and home goods, Luis said.

Meanwhile, the Kate Spade brand is forecast to generate $1.2 billion in sales in the fiscal year ending July 1, 2018, down slightly from $1.24 billion a year earlier, Coach executives said. Coach will move to expand Kate Spade in international markets that accounted for 12.4% of the brand’s annual. Coach also will open 20-25 Kate Spade outlet stores in 2018, the bulk of them in international markets.

Overall, Coach’s net income in Q4 ended July 1 jumped to $151.7 from $82 million a year earlier as revenue declined slightly to $1.13 billion.

Contact: Coach Inc., Kevin Wills, Chief Financial Officer, 212-594-1850

VF Corp. to Buy Williamson-Dickie for $820 Million

VF Corp.’s proposed acquisition of  Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co., expected to close in Q4,  brings with it a host of licensing  agreements for its brands, including with Jerry Leigh (girls junior apparel for the Dickies brand), ID Overseas (a 10-year pact signed in 2014 for Dickies workwear in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), Cameo Knitting (Terra brand socks) and Groupe BBH ( Terra work gloves). It also has inbound licensing deals with DuPont to add Kevlar materials to workwear including jackets, vests and bibs, and with Realtree for camouflage prints and activewear.

Williamson-Dickie is projected to post $1 billion in annual revenue by 2021 in helping increase VF’s annual sales to $15.8 billion. The company is forecast to generate $200 million in revenue for VF in the fiscal year ending Dec. 31. The acquisition is among the first for VF since it sold its licensed sports group to Fanatics earlier this year.

Contacts:

Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co., Michael Penn, SVP Direct Channel and International Sales for Worldwide Licensing and Marketing, 817-336-7201, mpenn@dickies.com;

VF Corp., Curt Holtz, Pres. Workwear, Jeans and Sportswear Brands, 336-424-6000

Genius Brand Revenue Increases on Licensing Deals

Genius Brands International’s deferred revenue (defined by the company as money received for programming that hasn’t been delivered yet) rose 38% to $5 million in Q2 ended June 30, driven largely by content deals with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Netflix, but also including revenue from product licensing pacts for its Space Pop and Rainbow Rangers properties.

Sony, which also took an equity stake in Genius earlier this year, accounted for $3.5 million of the deferred revenue, stemming largely from an expanded agreement it signed earlier this year to handle distribution and worldwide marketing for the Kid Genius and Baby Genius labels. The remaining balance included minimum guarantee payments from Mattel (master toy licensee for Rainbow Rangers) and others. Nickelodeon has broadcast rights for 52, 11-minute episodes on Nick Jr., Genius CEO Andrew Heyward told analysts.  Genius also has licensing pacts for Rainbow Rangers with Global Handcraft (underwear), Taste Beauty (bath and beauty products), Bentex (apparel), Franco Manufacturing (bedding and home décor) and Her Accessories (fashion accessories).

Meanwhile, Genius says it will will deliver 30 episodes of Llama Llama to Netflix in 21 languages by year-end.  The bulk of the Llama Llama product licensing revenue will come in late 2018 when the series is delivered to Nickelodeon, Heyward said.

Meanwhile, Genius’ net loss in Q2 ended June 30 widened to 0.5% to $1.25 million despite an 11.2% increase in revenue to $196,132. Licensing and royalty revenue inched up 0.4% to $118,351, while those from television and home entertainment rose 38.6% to $64,766. The boost in revenue was tied to the company’s television and home entertainment businesses for Space Pop.

Contact:  Lloyd Mintz. SVP Worldwide Consumer Products, 310-273-4222, Lloyd@gnus.com