SHOPA expos new contenders to dethrone '94's hot licenses - School and Home Office Products Association

Discount Store News, Jan 2, 1995 by Pete Hisey

NEW ORLEANS -- Hot new licensing opportunities and school supplies with more play value were the stars at SHOPA '94, held here last month.

Retailers were on the lookout for licensed products to replace megahits like The Lion King and Power Rangers once those two cool off. And there were candidates galore.

A leading contender is Casper the Friendly Ghost that will star in Steven Spielberg's latest special effects-fest, due for release in May. Plymouth showed a line of Halloween construction paper, doodle pads, tablets and notebooks featuring the character (video release is projected for Halloween 1995) and drew a steady stream of retailers, including Richard Martin of Bill's Dollar Stores, who said the character "looks strong; and we'll be bringing it on board."

James River's Creative Expressions Group debuted a line of party supplies based on Casper.

James River is also backing "VR Troopers," the hit television show that follows in the steps of the Power Rangers' steamroller success.

The Cartoon Network is the fastest-growing cable entity worldwide, and an embryonic licensing opportunity. A line of pencil boxes and book covers featuring top cartoon characters and the network's distinctive checkerboard graphics were debuted by General Box Co.

Mead continued to roll out new binders in its year-old Nike license, including several new skus aimed at girls and women that key in on Nike's 1995 activewear collection. The heavily stitched construction methods, reminiscent of Nike's sports shoes and apparel, were also incorporated into new lines of NBA, NFL and NHL licensed binders.

One of the most interesting licensing programs involved McDonald's, or more to the point, the fun-packed toys the restaurant operator includes with its Happy Meals. Sanford was the first to introduce products under the license; it presented several McMarkers with built-in play value.

Stuart Hall, which has invested heavily in the megasuccessful Looney Tunes license, will support the McDonald's program as well with a line of juvenile art products due later this year.

Other emerging licenses include the obvious, like Disney's upcoming Pocohontas and the redhot The Mask (which is set for a sequel), and the less-than-obvious Etch-A-Sketch and Jimmy the Idiot Boy.

Pocohontas is projected to become yet another Disney merchandising hit although it may not top The Lion King. The Mask, too, had a low profile, but at Imaginings 3, which was showing the green mask on binders, notebooks and backpacks, spokesman Barrett Powers said he expects the combination of the video release of the first movie and the upcoming sequel to create heavy demand for Back-to-School.

Screenies vp Rusty Schwartz noted that licensed editions of its personal computer frames are its hottest sellers, particularly the Looney Tunes version. But Etch-A-Sketch is moving up, appealing to adults and kids alike, and a Microsoft template series is also taking off.

Speaking of the furry twosome, Ren & Stimpy originator John Kricfalusi appeared at Palmer Paint with his latest creation, Jimmy the Idiot Boy, which will appear as a textured paint-by-numbers kit with special prizes, including Jimmy's favorite corn byproduct cereal.

Already scheduled as a comic book, the character is being cross-licensed with Hanna Barbera and may soon become a cartoon series.

In addition to hot licensed characters, play value has become a key in back-to-school supplies. Creative Plastics, for instance, introduced a line of School Squad toys that double as school supplies, like rulers and tape dispensers.

Similarly, glitter and glow-in-the-dark ink have been added to glue sticks by manufacturers like Avery Dennison with its Outer Limits line of supplies.

Fellowes introduced a line of Wild Things computer accessories with toy appeal, like the world's most rodent-like mouse, a mouse crayon, and matching CD-ROM holders and copy clips. And Acco jazzed up its Swingline stapler program with a fattened, fashioncolor line called Student Locker Staplers with magnetized bases to attach to kids lockers.