TRU to Leave Times Square
According to multiple published reports, Toys “R” Us is not renewing its lease for its Times Square flagship location. The retailer will vacate the space in February 2016. However, Toys “R” Us may be considering a move to another Times Square location. Read the article here from observer.com’s Commerical Real Estate section.
LIMA Announces Licensing Show Keynote Panel
The Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association (LIMA) and UBM Advanstar announced its executive keynote panel of speakers for Licensing Expo 2015. The keynote session, focusing on retail, takes place on Tuesday, June 9 from 8–9am and marks the start of Licensing Show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
The hour-long discussion, “Where Is Retail Headed, and How Will We Get There?” will feature:
• Richard Barry, executive vice-president, CMO, Toys “R” Us, Inc.—A 30-year veteran of TRU, he’s currently responsible for all merchandising initiatives for the company’s U.S. operations.
• Dow Famulak, president, Global Brands Group Holding Ltd.—Famulak is president and an executive director of Global Brands Group (GBG) since May 2014, responsible for managing GBG’s business operations globally. In 2000, he joined Li & Fung and assumed various senior management roles in Asia, Europe, and the United States before moving into his role at GBG.
• Mike Fitzsimmons, founder and CEO, Delivery Agent, Inc.—A recognized expert on commerce and convergence, Fitzsimmons is a trailblazer in shopping-enabled media, powering contextual commerce for major television networks, device manufacturers, recording artists, and hundreds of brands and advertisers.
• Lisa Harper, CEO, Hot Topic, Inc.—A career retailer, Harper leads the company’s 950 Hot Topic and Torrid stores across the U.S. and Canada. She previously was board chairman of Gymboree Corp., and, prior to that, held various merchandising and design positions at several apparel chains.
LIMA’s senior vice-president Marty Brochstein will moderate the keynote discussion, which is open to all registered Licensing Expo attendees. Full bios of all the panelists as well as the schedule of additional events are available on the LIMA and Licensing Expo websites.
The Passing of Isaac Heller, Co-Founder Remco
The Toy Industry Association announced the passing of Isaac Heller, co-founder of Remco Industries. He was 88. Heller, who had a prolific career in the toy industry, is survived by his wife, Helaine, four daughters, a brother and a sister, 10 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Read his profile here.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V to Air in Germany
4K Media announced that the latest installment of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, will air on Yep! on the ProSieben Maxx platform in Germany and German-speaking Austria and Switzerland beginning in March.
It’s World Monopoly Day
Monopoly is celebrating its 80th anniversary and World Monopoly Day today. In celebration, Hasbro is unveiling the results of the Monopoly Here & Now Vote. This year, Hasbro asked fans around the world to vote for their favorite cities. The cities receiving the most votes will be featured as property spaces in the new Monopoly Here & Now games.
The top 22 U.S. cities will be placed on a U.S. game edition and the top 22 global cities will placed on a global edition game. The No. 1-voted upon cities will be honored by replacing the Boardwalk space on the new Here & Now games. In the U.S. the winning city is Pierre, S.D. and globally the winning city is Lima, Peru. Hasbro says the Here & Now campaign received more than 3.5 million votes in more than 180 countries.
Here are the winners of Monopoly Here & Now U.S. Edition:
• Dark Blue: Pierre, SD; Minneapolis, MN
• Green: New York, NY; Virginia Beach, VA; Los Angeles, CA
• Yellow: Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Charleston, SC
• Red: Detroit, MI; Boston, MA; Milwaukee, WI
• Orange: Cleveland, OH; Asheville, NC; Denver, CO
• Magenta: Atlanta, GA; Little Rock, AR; Seattle, WA
• Light Blue: Portsmouth, NH; Charlotte, NC; Dallas, TX
• Brown: Waconia, MN; Chesapeake, VA
Here are the winners of Monopoly Here & Now: World Edition:
• Dark Blue: Lima, Peru; Hong Kong, China
• Green: Riga, Latvia; Lisbon, Portugal; Istanbul, Turkey
• Yellow: Warsaw, Poland; Mexico City, Mexico; Santiago, Chile
• Red: Belfast, Ireland; Athens, Greece; Belgrade, Serbia
• Orange: London, England; Moscow, Russia; Tokyo, Japan
• Magenta: New York, NY, U.S.A.; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Sydney, Australia
• Light Blue: Queenstown, New Zealand; Cape Town, South Africa; Taipei, Taiwan
• Brown: Giethoorn, Netherlands; Madrid, Spain
Trending on TTPM: Frozen & Frozen Fever Toys
TTPM is showcasing what’s trending in Disney’s Frozen franchise. TTPM has all the latest toys from the original Frozen film as well as from Frozen Fever. Frozen Fever is a seven-minute animated short that was released last Friday, March 13, airing in theaters prior to Cinderella. See what’s trending in Frozen & Frozen Fever Toys.