The Hit Factory


Its portfolio is one of the most envied in the business – Harry Potter, Batman, DC, Scooby-Doo, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit… need we say more? Before we take a closer look at some of the brands, general manager of Warner Bros. Consumer Products UK, Paul Bufton, explains to Samantha Loveday why he believes the firm has hit a sweet spot within the toy sector…


LET’S BEGIN by talking about your toy partnerships. I understand you have achieved one of your main ambitions?


The one thing that I really want to stress is how excited we are to have a major toy partner on every property. That was one of my ambitions when I first started [at WBCP] – to be covered across the whole portfolio with blue chip partners. We invest heavily in our properties and we want to work with best in class partners. And we definitely have those.


Can you talk us through the main toy licensees you work with now? We have global partnerships with Mattel, LEGO, Rubie’s, Thinkway, Jakks, Spin Master… we’ve got all of these powerhouses. Plus, we’re working with The Bridge Direct and Vivid Imaginations on The Hobbit, which is definitely the right way to do it. The Bridge is very much focused on the Americas and is doing a fantastic job over there, while Vivid has its own nuances and brings its own product to the mix. It’s a virtuous circle; they’re kind of helping each other out.


And Character Options is a local partner with a global deal for Scooby- Doo, and that’s no mean feat in an organisation like ours. Character has been a partner on Scooby for over ten years and they took the very brave


step to move into North America and open up Toys R Us as an account. The impact of that has been beyond anyone’s expectations. That’s delivered results, which has then given us the confidence that we can move into a new category with Scooby, which is construction.


It sounds like you have quite a unique and flexible way of working? We take a very pragmatic approach to how we do business, and we do establish, create and form partnerships in unique ways.


of Steel [which hits cinemas in June 2013] at the beginning of this year. The principle photography was finished this February, we’ve got a vast amount of assets and we’ve been out there telling the story of Man Of Steel. The feedback has been massively positive; it’s been great to have those assets in advance so we can create a big statement for next summer. We’ve gone through similar processes with The Hobbit; we have had terrific materials and assets and, obviously, a hugely successfully trilogy to build off. We were talking to all


We invest heavily in our properties and we want to work with the best in class


partners. And we definitely have those. Paul Bufton, General Manager, WBCP UK


The Bridge and Vivid alliance is a


great example. We can be flexible; we can shape it, mould it and tweak it for what works for the property, the partner and the retailer. We’re prepared to work in a way that deals with the realities of the market as it is and gets the product into market.


After the success of Harry Potter and Batman, all eyes are on The Hobbit and Man of Steel now… We were already thinking about Man


our major retail partners early, and beginning to set the scene for Vivid, Rubie’s and LEGO.


And your classic brands continue to perform well too… We signed the construction piece deal on Scooby-Doo with Character in the summer, which is just a phenomenal extension of what we do with them already. Shortly after that, we announced Tom & Jerry and the European Giochi Preziosi deal.


It’s a 2013 launch and we’re going to have the benefit of being able to work with Flair at home in the UK. The Looney Tunes Show has also been massively successful for us, and there are some key developments coming up in the toy space.”


So, will this be the biggest year yet for WBCP? Well, we’re in a really good place with all of our major accounts and have a good understanding of what works for them. We constantly talk to them and have an open and transparent dialogue with them. It will be the biggest year for a while actually, when you think across all the different properties. I think the combined effect of Batman, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the ongoing support for Scooby-Doo, and then 2013 will see Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry and Man of Steel coming online too… so maybe the biggest two years [laughs]…


And, to top it off, WBCP is back at Brand Licensing Europe… Yes, I’m really pleased that we’re back, it’s a big commitment from us. A lot of it is to do with Brand Licensing Europe’s status as a true European show; the attendance reaches beyond the UK and into many European markets. We’ve got a lot to talk about and a lot going on, so the timing is good for us.


OCTOBER 2012


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