Here’s some of what we saw and heard on the second day of New York Toy Fair:

Hasbro Readying Location-Based Entertainment Program

Hasbro is showcasing its breadth of products and brands at its showroom in the New York Times Center, but an increasingly important role in its outbound licensing business is being taken by location-based entertainment (LBE), with about 200 projects in some stage of development extending over 10 years, says Hasbro’s Casey Collins.

While LBE currently accounts for about 20% of Hasbro’s licensed consumer products revenue, that’s targeted to increase to 35% over the next few years, he says.

For example, licensee M101 Holdings is opening the first 225-room Monopoly Mansion Hotel in Q2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, capping discussions that began at the 2016 Licensing Expo. A 20,000-sq.-ft. Monopoly Dreams indoor/outdoor family entertainment center (FEC) will open this fall in the Galleria Peak mall in Hong Kong featuring interactive augmented reality (AR) and hologram games based on Monopoly cards such as Chance and Community Chest. And a Transformers World is slated to be part of Universal Studios Beijing – itself scheduled to open in 2021 – in 2024. The LBE projects are be led by a Burbank, CA-based Hasbro group headed up by Matthew Proulx, who began working on them five years ago, says Collins. Also on tap are Play Doh FECs — the first five of which will open in China this year — and Nerf FECs.

Collins said the while there are only a limited number of quality theme park opportunities, “We are spending a lot of time in the FEC space because you have these high-end beautiful malls that are dying for traffic, entertainment and family brands and they are spending a lot of money to keep people there,” says Collins.

While the FECs and other installations serve as brand statements in their own right, they also present an incremental opportunity to sell core and licensed products. An experiential Nerf branded FEC, for example, gives visitors the chance to use the blasters, but also to see and engage with core and licensed accessories – and to buy them. 

Hasbro is readying its first outbound licensing program for Power Rangers; it takes over the toy business (which had been with Bandai for more than two decades) on March 1. The company is trying to bring younger children into the brand in its toy line, which also incorporates a Transformers-esque look. It has licensees for backpacks (Bioworld) and apparel (Hybrid Apparel, Mad Engine) for the “Power Rangers: Beast Morphers” that launches on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on March 2. 

“We will bring them in at preschool and then age them to Transformers, Star Wars and Marvel,” says Collins.

Hasbro will extend the Power Rangers licensing to back-to-school and apparel products this fall with the program further expanding to include collectibles, gifts, novelties and other products in 2020. The bulk of Power Rangers contracts Hasbro inherited in buying the property expired in late 2018 and the company is negotiating new deals, says Collins.

“We are taking a long-term approach because we own it now and we are going to be behind it for many years to come,” says Collins.

Spin Master Readies Bakugan Licensing

As Spin Master relaunches Bakugan after an eight-year absence, it is readying a licensing program for year-end starting with apparel and publishing, says Spin Master’s Chad Donvito. The licensing, which is being handled in most markets by Cartoon Network, follows the launch of “Bakugan Battle Brawlers” on the cable channel on Dec. 23. 

Meanwhile,  the company will ship its new DC action figures and other products for mass retailers in 2020, while McFarlane, whose agreement starts the same year, will field figures targeting specialty dealers. Spin Master will feature more “evergreen” products, starting with Batman, in addition to figures and other items keyed to film releases, says Susie Lecker, EVP Global Licensing.

Spin Master will sharpen the focus of Hatchimals licensing this year on international markets, which have lagged the U.S. in terms of product introductions, says Juli Boylan, Head of Global Licensing and Promotions. Spin Master has about 100 Hatchimals licensees, including 60-65 in the U.S. The international markets have been about a year behind the U.S. in licensed products. 

Spin Master is centralizing its games and Gund plush business at Cardinal Industries’ Long Island City, NY headquarters effective late March, a spokeswoman said. Gund, which Spin Master acquired last year, had been based in New Jersey, while the games group (Hedbanz and other internally developed products) was in Los Angeles.

McFarlane Toys Launching Direct-To-Consumer Program

McFarlane Toys is reviving some its heritage brands as part of a direct-to-consumer ecommerce business that will launch later this year, says CEO Todd McFarlane. The service will start with Movie Maniacs (a McFarlane toy line from the late 1990s that features film characters such The Crow’s Eric Draven and Chainsaw Massacre’s Leatherface) and Tortured Souls (a toy line created by horror author Clive Barker). McFarlane, which will fill orders from its Arizona office, will use the platform to test sales of new products and have items that may only be available as limited editions, says McFarlane. McFarlane also has started a distribution business, bringing to the U.S. market products from Canadian toy supplier Import Dragons (Major League Baseball and National Hockey League figures).

Just Play Weighing “Hairdorables” Brand for Licensing

Just Play is weighing seeking licensing deals for its Hairdorables dolls that were launched a year ago as the company’s first internally developed IP, says Senior Marketing Director Jimmy Chang. The dolls currently are featured in a YouTube series on WildBrain’s network, and Just Play is introducing a product co-branded with YouTube star JoJo Siwa, who counts the company among her licensees.

Contacts:

Hasbro, Casey Collins, SVP General Mgr. Global Consumer Products, 401-280-2311, casey.collin@hasbro.com

Just Play, Jimmy Chang, Senior Marketing Dir., 267-989-3036, jchang@justplayproducts.com

McFarlane Toys, Todd McFarlane, CEO, 480-491-7070, tmcfarlane@mcfarlane.com

Spin Master, Adam Beder, VP Licensing, 416-364-6002 x2256, adamb@spinmaster.com