WowWee Group will increasingly bring its touch and motion sensor and other technologies deployed in its branded robots into licensing, says Head of Licensing Adam Fairless.

The Minions-based MIP Turbo Dave that launched earlier this year borrowed much of its technology – GenstureSense for responding to claps and swipes, Bluetooth and iOS and Android apps – from the original MIP robot introduced in 2015. An Elmo version is expected later this year.

Wow Wee also is seeking licenses for its Fingerlings, monkey-like toys that attach to a finger and have a built in microphone and touch and motion sensors.

While about 80% of the company’s revenue currently comes from its own brand, the goal is to have half come via licenses, says Fairless. “With our own brands we can test out a technology and make sure the play pattern works before modifying and translating it to licensed products,” says Fairless. “We are introducing licensing in there because it is incremental business on top of what we are already doing.”

The licensed versions of WowWee’s branded products will likely carry a premium owing to the royalty says Fairless. While a WowWee brand Fingerling sells for $14.95, a licensed version will be priced $5 more, says Fairless.

Contact:

WowWee USA, Adam Fairless, Head of Licensing, 310-770-3146, adam@wowwee.com