Major US companies such as retail giant Wal-Mart and food producer Frito-Lay hope to cash in on the new Star Wars and Spider-Man movies with big sales of action figures, snacks and video games, but don't expect to see Anakin Skywalker boxer shorts.
While there will be plenty of lightsabers on toy store shelves, owners of the Star Wars movie franchise cut back on the number of products tied to the upcoming
PHOTO: REUTERS
Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones to avoid oversupply.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Spider-Man merchandise, from cellphones to shot glasses to children's party plates, is everywhere.
"There are Spider-Man licenses for every conceivable product category," Russ Brown, executive vice president for consumer products at Marvel Enterprises Inc, which co-owns the rights to Spider-Man, said in an interview last week. These included footwear, collectibles and health and beauty aids.
Spider-Man hit US theaters on May 3, raking in US$115 million in its first weekend and becoming the first movie ever to gross over US$200 million after nine days at the box office, while Star Wars: Episode II debuted yesterday in most countries.
But companies have gotten burned in recent years by stocking up on too much movie merchandise. Although retailers in 1999 rang up about US$2 billion in worldwide sales of products associated with Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace, oversupply was a problem.
Restaurant chain Taco Bell, a unit of Tricon Global Restaurants Inc and toy maker Hasbro Inc were among many to find that The Force was not with them when Episode I failed to live up to the promotional hype.
"It clearly was over-licensed," said Bret Jordan, an analyst who follows Hasbro at investment bank and brokerage firm Advest Inc. "And, the movie myth failed to deliver on the content side."
This time, Lucasfilm Ltd, the parent of the Star Wars franchise, has cut the number of domestic licenses for Episode II to about 50 from the 85 that were granted for Episode I.
"We'll be the first to admit that, at the end of the day, it was over-proliferated," Howard Roffman, a licensing executive at Lucasfilm, said. "We're much more tightly focused this time."
Gone are what Roffman describes as "fringe" items such as fast-food tie-ins or Star Wars inflatable furniture. Instead, Lucasfilm is focusing on toys, games and books -- categories that typically sell well. Episode II is forecast to generate US$1.6 billion to US$1.7 billion in worldwide merchandise sales, Roffman said.
For Episode II, privately held Lego Co and toy maker Hasbro hold license agreements to make action figures and other toys. There are also deals with snack food company Frito-Lay, cereal maker General Mills Inc and publishers Random House, owned by Bertelsmann, and Scholastic.
Hasbro is making a smaller line of toys for Episode II. An executive told analysts on a conference call last month that the company wanted to "make sure the demand is proper and we keep it a little bit hungry."
Web of profits
Marvel granted about 150 licenses to companies creating Spider-Man products and is about to strike deals for the Spider-Man sequel, due in 2004, and an animated television series set to launch this fall, Brown said.
"All of our stuff has already sold through," Marvel's Brown said. "Everyone is in reorder mode right now."
For the Spidey fanatic, there's a Cingular Wireless red cellphone decorated with a black spider web. Users can even download the Spider-Man theme song to use as a ring tone. Kellogg Co is selling Spider-Man toasted oat cereal and Pop Tarts pastries.
There is a Spider-Man version of the board game Monopoly with tokens featuring the film's heroes and villains, Dr. Pepper, a unit of Cadbury Schweppes Plc, has special Spider-Man packaging on some of its products. Dr. Pepper is also putting Spidey's image on its NASCAR race car. Kids can even brush their teeth with a Spider-Man toothbrush.
Despite the deluge of products, items from both movies appear to be doing well so far, companies say.
CKE Restaurants Inc have Spider-Man promotions at its hamburger chains, Hardee's and Carl's Jr. Hardee's said last month it was running out of Spider-Man heads that fit the tops of car radio antennae, while Spider-Man figures featured in kids meals are also a hit.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer and No. 1 toy seller in the US, has loaded its toy department with lightsabers, Jango Fett action figures and Spider-Man toys, including a "huggable" Spider-Man that says 15 phrases when you squeeze his chest.
Discount rival Kmart Corp is pushing Star Wars hard, hoping to draw shoppers with contests to win a life-size C3PO and exclusive collections of 16 figurines.
"We're seeing strong sales on both licenses," Dave Karraker, a Kmart spokesman, said.
For example, someone bought US$3,000 worth of the US$89 Star Wars collectors sets that are exclusive to Kmart from the company's Web site, (http://www.bluelight.com). Spider-Man Web blasters and Goblin Gliders are also selling very well, Karraker said.
One Wall Street analyst said that Episode II need not be a huge hit to sell toys and games because there is already an established group of fans and collectors.
"Of course everyone would prefer that the movie is very popular and a big hit, but with Stars Wars it is really an established franchise," Sally Wallick, retail analyst at Legg Mason, said. "There's going to be business done."
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
RSS