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Panini, the largest manufacturer of collectible stickers and trading cards in the world, has sold in excess of 1.25 BILLION Harry Potter stickers and DeAgostini’s Harry Potter Chess Partwork has sold more than 23 MILLION copies to date in just over 2 years. Warner Bros. Consumer Products is now looking to welcome additional new partners into the stable, partners with the potential to draw inspiration from Panini and DeAgostini’s models of licensing excellence, partners who can add value and support Harry Potter, the No. 1 movie franchise of all time, as it moves towards its highly anticipated finale, 3 big screen movies and 3 DVD releases in 3 years and beyond. Says Bruno Schwobthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development, WBCP EMEA – “The roadmap for the Harry Potter brand has been set until 2012, an unbelievable calendar of events that includes three movies and three DVD’s in three years plus an exhibition tour and a theme park and it doesn’tend there. With a solid strategy we will ensure Harry Potter’s commercial position as an evergreen entertainment brand long after the final movie release.” Panini and DeAgostini are two outstanding partners who have recognised the long term potential of brand. Panini’s relationship with the brand grows from strength to strength. They have just released their new World of Harry Potter programme that will be followed by a Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince collection this Summer. DeAgostini has rolled-out the Chess Collection in over 25 territories to date and launched a new figurine collection with poster books in Italy last December 2008. Says Isabelle Giggins, Global Licensing Director, DeAgostini – “Harry Potter Chess has been one of our most successful collections over the last 2 years. Our partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products has enabled us to join forces to create a unique product that captured the imagination of millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide.” Peter Warsop, Group Licensing Director of Panini adds, “Panini have been involved with publishing Sticker Album collections throughout the movie life of Harry Potter and have found new markets for the franchise with each launch with over 70 International territories normally being involved. Sales volumes for each movie launch have been maintained to surprising levels with nothing like the expected fall off in sales which makes this the longest running movie franchise for our product category ever at this high level of sales. Panini looks forward to working on the final stages of the franchise and would be happy to cooperate with other licensees and partners on cross-promotional activities and opportunities.” Says Schwobthaler, “In line with the current market trend for retro and heritage brands, we’ll be using Bologna Book Fair as a vehicle to drive awareness for the Harry Potter brand and the vast bank of content that’s available to license. There’s still time to be part of the phenomena and we welcome discussions with licensees who compliment our long term partners and who help the brand find its position in the evergreen entertainment space.” |
