GameStop in ‘Exploratory Discussions’ About Sale of Company

GameStop, faced with declining sales in its core videogames business, confirmed Tuesday it was in “exploratory discussions” with unnamed third parties about a potential deal. Reuters reported Monday that the chain was in talks with private equity firms after receiving buyout interest. There’s been a downturn in GameStop’s videogames hardware and software business, fueled by consumers downloading games directly to their devices and bypassing retail stores.

Former Microsoft executive Shane Kim was named interim CEO in May, replacing Michael Mauler, who left after three months on the job.

GameStop, which operates 7,341 stores including 5,899 selling videogames, has been publicly traded since being spun off from Barnes & Noble in 2004.

Contact:

GameStop, Mike Loftus, Global Controller, mike.loftus@gamestop.com

Perry Ellis Founder Buys Company

Perry Ellis International agreed to go private in a deal valued at $437 million, capping Founder and former Executive Chairman George Feldenkreis’ four-month bid to acquire the company.

The board approved the sale based on a recommendation of a special committee that was formed after Feldenkreis made his first offer in February. Feldenkreis and his son Oscar, who is the current CEO, owned a combined 18% of the company as of May and are paying $27.50 per share.

Oscar Feldenkreis will continue as CEO, while his father returns to active management.

Perry Ellis posted a 19% decline in net income to $10 million in Q1 ended May 5, due partly to $1.3 million in costs tied to the board’s review of Feldenkreis’ offer. Q1 revenue rose 5.1% to $255 million as men’s sportswear and swim sales rose 7.4% to $199.6 million due partly to a licensing agreement for Nike swimwear. Royalty income jumped 18.1% to $19.8 million. At the end of the quarter, Perry Ellis had 163 licensing agreements for its brands. The deals carry $170 million in minimum guarantee payments, $39.5 million of which is due in the current fiscal year ending in February.

Contact:

Perry Ellis International,  Jorge Narino, Chief Financial Officer, 305-592-2830, Jorge.narino@pery.com

NHS Inc. Launches Mars Attacks/Santa Cruz Skateboards

Topps’ Mars Attacks is landing on skateboards. NHS Inc. launched Santa Cruz 31.8-inch skateboards featuring designs from 50 different artists and combining its graphic designs and Mars Attack IP. The boards, which were launched in late May, are wrapped in plastic and sold as “blind bags” so the buyer doesn’t know which design has been chosen until after making the purchase. The blind bags are sold in nine different variations including glow-in-the-dark, blacklight, glitter and other designs. Production of the boards was limited to 250 units and initial inventory sold out on NHS’ website. NHS’s pact for Mars Attack was its second with Topps, following “Garbage Pail Kids” skateboards that shipped last fall.

Contacts:

Topps, Ira Friedman, VP Global Licensing, 212-376-0596, ifriedman@topps.com

NHS Inc./Santa Cruz Skateboards, Paul Merrell, Licensing Mgr., p.merrell@nhs-inc.com

Executives

Angela Santomero named Chief Creative Officer at 9 Story, the company that earlier this year acquired the company she co-founded, Out of the Blue… Megan Wain, ex-Rocket Licensing, joins Winning Moves as Licensing Manager… Sarah Leonard joins licensee Boelter Brands as Marketing Manager… Tony Rogers, Walmart Chief Marketing Officer, named Chief Member Officer at affiliate Sam’s Club, new position.

Contacts:

Boelter Brands, Sarah Leonard, sleonard@boelter.com

9 Story Entertainment, Angela Santomero, Chief Creative Officer, 212-764-0266, angela.santomero@9story.com

Winning Moves, Megan Wain, Licensing Mgr., +44 207 262 9696

Agencies

IMG is handling licensing the late South African leader Nelson Mandela’s licensing arm, House of Mandela, says IMG’s Sven Thierhoff. IMG will seek licensing deals for apparel as South Africa prepares to mark what would have been Mandela’s 100th birthday in July. Mandela died in 2013…. Maurizio Distefano is representing Asterix and Obelix for licensing in Italy. Asterix and Obelix, originally a comic book series by artists Albert Uderzo and Rene Goscinny, was fashioned into a French live-action film franchise… The Brand Director and Ingrid Selburg Consulting are handling first licensing efforts for Paper Owl Film’s autism-inspired “Pablo” series, which combines live action with 2D animation. The 52-episode, 11-minute series is the first to feature an all-autistic core cast and launched on Cebeebies in the UK and RTEJr. in Ireland last October. With 104 new episodes in production and a second season due in 2019, the licensing program will focus on publishing and toys that will ship the following year. The series was commissioned by Cebeebies in 2015… The Point 1888 is representing Bright Star Character’s Popcorn the Bear as Debbie Howard’s illustrated book series moves into animation with a 52-episode, 11-minute series in development. The Copyrights Group previously handled licensing for the property.

Contacts

The Brand Director, Tim Collins, +44 7813 095617, tim@thebranddirector.com

IMG, Sven Thierhoff, VP International, +49 30 300 131 704, sven_thierhoff@img.com

Maurizio Distefano, Maurizio DiStefano, Owner, +39 (0131) 481501,  maurizio@mdistefanolicensing.com

Paper Owl Films, Gavin Halpin, Managing Director, +44 28 9590 1631

The Point 1888, Will Stewart, Managing Director, +44 1277 410 165, will.stewart@thepoint1888.com