Magic Chef Extends Licensing Program

MCA Corp. landed three licensees for its Magic Chef brand, the first since rolling out a new outbound licensing program with Global Icons 18 months ago. Best Brands Consumer Products (kitchen gadgets, storage and bakeware), Iko Imports (cookware) and NewAir (water dispensers and air fryers) will ship the products in the spring. The products are the first to emerge since MCA ended the last of its Magic Chef licensing pacts (kitchen gadgets) expired in late 2016, MCA’s Ted Kochowicz, who joined the company in July 2016 to head up the licensing program, told us.

Contacts:

Best Brands Consumer Products, Mark Simhon, EVP, 212-684-7456

Global Icons, Kim Steadman, Executive Dir. Licensing, 310-873-3552, kim.steadman@globalicons.com

Iko Imports, Isaac Salem, 212-365-6680

MCA Corp., Ted Kochowicz, Senior Licensing Mgr., 630-238,0600 tkochowicz@magicchef.com

NewAir Compact Appliances, Jordan Tanner, VP Sales, 657-257-4349

Rainbow Rangers TV Series Secures 20 Licensing Deals in Advance of Nickelodeon Debut

Genius Brands International’s “Rainbow Rangers” TV series has secured 20 licensing agreements in advance of its debut on Nickelodeon later this year and is in discussions on another four to seven pacts, Genius’ Andrew Heyward said in a letter to shareholders. The agreements reached thus far cover toys (Mattel is the master toy licensee), publishing and apparel. The additional deals would cover games and puzzles, electronics coloring books, Halloween costumes and novelty toys, Heyward said. Meanwhile, “Llama Llama” licensee Penguin Random House last week released the first book stemming from the series, which debuted on Netflix in November.

Contact:

Genius Brands International, Lloyd Mintz, SVP Consumer Products, 310-273-4222, Lloyd@gnus.com

Dollar Tree Sharpening Focus of Private Brands

Dollar Tree will expand its assortment of private label brands this year to include homegoods, housewares and general merchandise, CEO Gary Philbin told analysts. The new additions will build out a private label line that already includes auto (Driver’s Choice), hardware (Tool Bench), Catawba (candy, salty snacks) and Chestnut Hill (prepared meals). Meanwhile, the company It had 6,650 Dollar Tree and 8,185 Family Dollar outlets as of Feb. 3. Dollar Tree’s Q4 net income rose to $1 billion from $321 million a year ago as it recorded a $562 million benefit from the new federal tax law. The earnings also included $35 million from a settlement of a legal battle with Sycamore Partners over the latter’s actions with Dollar Express, which was formed when Dollar Tree sold off some Family Dollar stores to meet anti-trust concerns about the purchase of Family Dollar.

The company’s Q4 total sales increased 12.9% to $6.36 billion. That included a 14.5% sales rise at Dollar Tree ($3.32 billion) and 11.1% increase at Family Dollar ($3.04 billion). Same-store sales jumped 2.4%, with Family Dollar up 1% and Dollar Tree up 3.4%.

Contact:

Dollar Tree, Kevin Wampler, Chief Financial Officer, 757-321-5000