Merchantwise to Develop CP Program for Activision Blizzard in EMEA, APAC

Merchantwise Group, a global licensing agency headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with expertise in the gaming and digital sectors, has announced it is expanding its partnership with Activision Blizzard to support its licensing businesses and consumer products distribution in Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and the Asia Pacific region. 

Merchantwise has represented Activision Blizzard’s licensing interests in Australia and New Zealand since 2020.  

“We are thrilled to expand our international relationship with Merchantwise Group across additional regions,” says Fung Thai, senior director, consumer products, Activision Blizzard. “With the team’s talent and overall knowledge of the gaming business, we are happy to add their support to our global licensing presence in markets around the world. We strive to innovate and deliver the best-in-class consumer products for our fans globally and are excited to have the Merchantwise Group help in achieving that success.”  

Activision Blizzard is known for video game franchises, including Call of Duty, Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Crash Bandicoot and StarCraft, which are played by hundreds of millions of people around the world on console, mobile and PC.  

As a result of this appointment, Merchantwise is expanding its international reach with a talented and experienced team led by former Activision Blizzard vice president, international consumer products, Philippe Bost, who will oversee the international licensing programs across these markets. Based in Europe, Bost has 30 years of experience in senior international licensing and retail roles and has been employed by global giants, including Disney and Mattel.   

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“Merchantwise is honored and incredibly thrilled to be expanding our relationship with Activision Blizzard across EMEA and Asia Pacific for gaming brand giants, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch,” says Alan Schauder, chief executive officer, Merchantwise Group. “We look forward to bringing innovative new consumer products and brand extensions to millions of gaming fans in these markets. We are delighted to welcome Philippe Bost to head up our international licensing team based in Europe. Philippe is a highly respected licensing industry leader with deep expertise in the video game industry. His knowledge, experience and leadership will be invaluable to the success of the programs across EMEA and the Asia Pacific regions.” 

“To join Merchantwise with the purpose to establish and build its international licensing and consumer products business is an amazing opportunity and is a role I am truly excited to take on,” says Bost. “I am beyond thankful to the Merchantwise board for putting their faith in me to lead this expansion. We are ambitious and excited to develop Activision Blizzard consumer products’ portfolio with the best international partners to deliver innovative and must-have licensed products for fans in both regions.”