License Magazine - August 2007 - (Page 21) bizbriefs Retail by Design Interest continues to grow at retail for established and emerging artists and designers. Karen Neuburger, for instance, recently secured an exclusive spot in The Bon-Ton Stores with the KN Luxury Home collection launching in 269 stores. The collection currently includes six beds and a full assortment of bath towels. Basic bedding (down and down-alternative pillows, comforters, and mattress toppers) and three new beds will be added this fall as will new categories such as tabletop, gifts, and decorative accessories. “We're excited about the launch of the KN Luxury Home collection,” says Bud Bergren, president and CEO of York, Pa.-based The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. “The KN Karen Neuburger brand already has outstanding name recognition among our customers. We believe that the quality and elegance of the KN Home products, in addition to the pure comfort and inspired designs of the collection, will resonate with our customers. This partnership is a significant addition to our merchandise assortment of exclusive and national brand offerings and further differentiates our stores.” In other news, designer Karim Rashid will lend his talents to a line of kitchen utensils in a deal signed with Precidio. First products will appear at retail in spring 2008. The deal was brokered by MHS Licensing, which is negotiating deals for additional categories. Meanwhile, Mary Phillips Designs has developed the Wine Tote Collection currently available at www.maryphillipsdesigns.com. The designs include wine totes with sayings such as “Why limit happy to an hour?” “Great friends drink alike,” and “Life is too short to drink cheap wine.” — Dawn Wilensky SHORT NEWS Atlantyca Entertainment has teamed with 9 Story Entertainment and MoonScoop Productions to develop and co-produce a new animated series based on the Geronimo Stilton book series. The trio will collaborate on 26 television episodes and share in the international distribution rights with 9 Story Entertainment holding the television and home video for all English-speaking territories and Taffy Entertainment, which manages distribution for the MoonScoop properties, nabbing distribution rights for French-speaking territories. Atlantyca Entertainment retains rights in Italy and the rest of the world and will handle the North American distribution along with 9 Story Entertainment. Ludia Inc. inked a multi-year deal with FremantleMedia for videogames based on “The Price is Right” for all major gaming platforms. “The Price is Right” game will debut on several major PC downloadable game destinations in December 2007. Gamer Roundup A variety of video games hitting retail shelves will be keeping gamers busy this fall and winter. UFO Interactive makes first strides in the educational marketplace with a series of video games for the Nintendo DS called “Storybook DS” developed for 3- to 6-yearolds. The games will be themed to classic fairy tales with first stories The Three Little Pigs, The Snow Queen, and The Bat just reaching retail shelves. Smart Girls Playhouse and Smart Boys Gameroom will debut in late 2007. Cartoon Network Enterprises has partnered with D3Publisher of America Inc. on Ben 10: Protector of Earth for the PS2 and PSP and Ed, Edd n Eddy: Scam of the Century. Midway will come to market with Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am for PS2 as well as Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders while Capcom will create Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law for PS2 and PSP. All titles release in the fall. Classic Media signed deals with Crave Entertainment and Ignition Entertainment to publish console video games based on its new animated TV series “George Interactive Atomic Wedgie is the first mobile channel to launch as a result of the joint venture between FremantleMedia and Mobliss. Atomic Wedgie is now on Helio's nationwide service and offers users a menu of 12 different programs to choose from with more than 150 mobile shorts to watch. The channel's launch on Helio will include 50 new shorts for some of FremantleMedia's most popular shows, including Baywatch Babes, Secret Girlfriend, and Bush Bites, as well as the debut of new programs such as White People Dancing. August 2007 www.licensemag.com of the Jungle” for Nintendo DS, Wii, and PS2 just in time for the U.S. series launch on Cartoon Network this winter. Showtime Networks Inc. tapped Destination Software Inc. to create video games based on the Showtime Championship Boxing series. The games will be released in late fall 2007 on both the Nintendo DS and Wii platforms. — DW 21 http://www.maryphillipsdesigns.com http://www.licensemag.com
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