The Smiley company return to Licensing Market Munich

The Smiley Company returns to Licensing Market Munich on the 8th November to present the unique and innovative opportunities that Smiley has to offer in the German market. The Original Smiley Brand will also be showcasing its exciting new brand extension of Rubik's, as it continues its new venture in turning the world's best-selling toy, Rubik's Cube, into a complete licensing program. Today Smiley has 136 licensees selling in Europe across 13 categories that include fashion, fashion accessories, footwear, jewellery, technical accessories, tableware, back to school, toys & games, publishing & stationary, home decor, food & confectionary, gifts & novelty and promotions, with many success stories in Germany. Smiley CEO Nicolas Loufrani will be present at this LIMA organised event to meet the trade and also showcase Smiley's significant growth in Europe as well as exciting opportunities to partner with Smiley for 2017.Nicoletta Minella, Smiley's German country manager will also be holding a keynote presentation at 10:15 - 11:15 am at the premier exhibition held at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Muenchen.

The brand continues to expand its cross category licensing partnerships with some of the industry's most recognised companies around the world. In Germany alone, 2016 saw the launch of Lidl's SS16 Smiley collection that featured in 5000 stores across Europe with more that 30 skus. The brilliant collection featured classic SmileyWorld tees as well as nightwear for women, men and kids.

Simba Dickie has recently joined the licensee roster to launch a range of collectibles in blind packs, as well as a pocket money range of toys and games set for launch at Nuremberg Toy Fair in January 2017. Whilst Smiley continues to go above and beyond to support its partners. Smiley has planned an exciting bespoke 360 degree marketing launch for Simba that will feature a bespoke microsite, exclusive digital content and thorough social media campaign to Smiley's 4.4 million fans on social media.

Smiley joined forces with Butlers earlier this year for an exciting new range of homeware and lifestyle products, sold through 160 Butlers stores throughout Europe. Creating a complete range of Smiley Happy Decor products, featuring 68 different products lines, from a range from chic, modern lighting, vibrant door mats and dining sets to stylish bags and accessories.

Smiley's gift collections have also enjoyed a great 2016, with NICI continuing to grow 64% year on year. Nici have been setting the standards for Smiley in the gift and accessories market for several years and Smiley were delighted to see the launch of their latest SmileyWorld collection for 2016, continuing to deliver bold and emotive gift and plush ranges packed full of fun, and fruity Smiley emoticons that featured on their trademark pillows, key rings and other gift items.

SmileyWorld and Herlitz have enjoyed a relationship since 2011, based on the continued success of SmileyWorld at retail in Germany, where the brand has grown its turnover at retail by 60% since 2015. With SmileyWorld's products permanently available at retail in all of Germany's key retailers including Galeria Kaufhof giving SmileyWorld standout visibility at retail always.

Today Smiley can boast 17 licensees globally for its branded range of food products, which cover a broad range of confectionary, chilled food, beverages, snacks, biscuits and tartelettes, and even frozen food and treats. In the German market, snack giant Intersnack's Smiley Snacks and crisps have been a huge hit at retail, leading them to introduce new flavours and sizes as well as a range of DTRs including one with Leclerc's Tokapi brand. Gunthart have also created an extensive range of SmileyWorld edible cake decorations and chocolate gifts.

It's been a phenomenal 12 months for Smiley in the world of Licensed Promotions. In 2016, SmileyWorld teamed up with EU Promotions to create a retail loyalty promotion for Coop Kiel in Germany built around this summer's European Championships. Featuring collectable clip chips which were distributed in stores, with a collector album and Smiley Stickers, along with the chance to earn loyalty points and purchase Smiley plush footballs. This exciting campaign was supported by a print and online advertising, complete with video content, whilst millions of chip clips were collected throughout this promotion.