Toys R Us UK Files for Administration

Toys R Us filed for administration in the UK and will close its 106 stores there. The chain in UK operates separately from the U.S. operation and has struggled with debt, most recently failing to pay a £15 million tax bill. Toys R Us has about 5,500 employees in the UK.  In the U.S., Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy last September and recently moved to close 182 stores.

Contact:

Toys R Us, Michael Short, Chief Financial Officer,  973-617-3500

Fashion Deals: Inter Parfums Gains Guess License, Perry Licenses Inspecs Group for Farah Eyewear

Inter Parfums signs a five-year agreement for Guess, with plans to bring its first fragrances to market in early 2020. Coty has held the license for nine years. The agreement takes effect in April and Inter Parfums will purchase Coty’s remaining inventory of Guess products, says Inter Parfums CFO Russell Greenberg.

Meanwhile, Perry Ellis International licensed Inspecs Group for Farah eyewear, adding to its roster that also includes deals with i-Opitics Holding (Rafaella) and Color in Optics (Laundry by Shelli Segal).

Contacts:

Inter Parfums, Russell Greenberg, Chief Financial Officer, 212- 983-2640, rgreenberg@interparfums.com

Perry Ellis International, Stanley Silverstein, Pres. International Development and Global Licensing, 305-592-2830

Executive moves:

Daniel Siegel, ex-WME-IMG, named Head of Licensing for Activision Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch League…Peter Lops, ex-Viacom Media Networks, appointed Sequential Brands Group CFO, replacing Sequential Pres. Andrew Cooper, who also had been serving as interim CFO since Peter Klein left last August.

Agents:

The Brand Liaison is representing Moon Shine Camo. Moon Shine previously handled licensing internally and has built out a portfolio of 15 camouflage patterns across six brands including Harvest Moon, Wildfire, Undertow, Toxic, Lifestyle Camo and Muddy Girl. The latter two account for the majority of the company’s more than 200 licensing deals across 1,000 products ranging from guns, bows and pepper spray to lifestyle apparel, purses and seat covers… Genius Brands International is taking licensing for its “Rainbow Rangers” series into international markets and signed agreements with agents Centra IP (Australia and New Zealand) and Alicom (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland).

Contacts:

The Brand Liaison, Steven Heller, Pres., 855-843-5424 x702, steven@thebrandliaison.com

Moon Shine Camo, Brett Erb, Licensing Mgr., 800-466-6674, brett@moonshinecamo.com

UglyDolls Getting Makeover

UglyDolls is getting a makeover. Three years after signing to produce an UglyDolls film, STX Entertainment is rolling out a licensing program in advance of its planned 2019 release. Hasbro has been tapped as the master toy licensee, capping the effort that began with STX forming an animation division in 2015 along with a consumer products, licensing and merchandising division. STX also is planning to develop UglyDolls digital and television programming.

Contacts:

Hasbro, Samantha Lomow, SVP, 401-431-8697

STX Entertainment, Adam Fogelson, Chairman of STXfilms, 310-742-2300

Discovery Communications Gets DOJ Clearance for Scripps Purchase

Discovery Communications received U.S. Department of Justice approval for its $14.6 billion purchase of Scripps Networks and expects to close the deal by late March, company executives told analysts. The acquisition would combine Scripps’ nine networks, including Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel brands with Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC and others. Meanwhile, Discovery in preparing to absorb Scripps, sold a majority stake in Discovery Education to private equity firm Francisco Partners for $120 million and will license the brand to the new business. Overall, Discovery’s swung to a $1.1 million net loss in Q4 ended Dec. 31 from a $309,000 profit a year earlier as it took a $1.3 million impairment charge for its European operations, which were restructured late last year. Discovery’s Q4 revenue grew 11% to $1.86 billion.

Contact:

Discovery Communications, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Chief Financial Officer, 240-662-0000

Kevin James Files for The Jamestown Clothing Co. Trademark

Actor Kevin James is moving into the licensed clothing business, having filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Jamestown Clothing Co. By Kevin James” and “The Jamestown Clothing Co.” The trademark is being sought to cover more than a dozen products, including messenger bags, back packs, gloves, hats, sneakers and polo shirts. The application was filed in December with KJ Brands listed as the trademark owner.

Contact:

The Brand Liaison, Steven Heller, Pres., 855-843-5424 x702, steven@thebrandliaison.com