School Supplies

Supplies maker Plymouth, Inc. (Radford, Va.) has taken on movie properties like Jackie Chan Adventures and Men in Black 2 (both from Sony), plus The Lord of the Rings. It is similarly banking on the appeal of performers like Backstreet Boys (The Firm), *Nsync (Winterland), O-Town and separately Aaron Carter (both handled by Signatures Network) in addition to young hip hop star Lil Bow Wow (Bravado).

However,

In the schoolbag and backpacks realm, Pyramid Accessories, which has had the good fortune of supplying retailers with blockbuster properties like Backstreet, *Nsync and Britney Spears (Signatures Network), is peppering its brands portfolio with fashion and sporty-active labels.

Pyramid's new licenses include young men's denim resource Plugg (handled by Ingroup Licensing), footwear-rooted brand Pony (The Firm), edgy athletic competition brand Gravity Games (Primedia) and California lifestyle labels like Op (handled internally by the Irvine, Calif.-based surf-rooted company).

Since acquiring the Wheat Group (which held the Op license) more than a year ago, Pyramid is focused on supplying fashion-forward accessories (including headwear and luggage) for all ages of consumers. It is even targeting moms; the licensee is in negotiations with Mommy & Me (Los Angeles), a property geared to interactive fun play between babies and parents.

But make no mistake - Pyramid's musical interests are not disappearing anytime soon. Destiny's Child (Global Icons) and Dream (Bravado) are new; and Pyramid is working with retailer Musicland (a subsidiary of Best Buy) on an exclusive program for metal band Slipknot (handled by Winterland).

Expect supplies firm Norcom (Norcross, Va.) to re-enter the licensing game after a hiatus of a year or so. The former licensee for Pink Panther (MGM, Santa Monica), Yahoo! (Sunnyvale, Calif.) and MTV (New York) intends to "work with licensors with greater flexibility than ever before," says a spokesperson.

On the licensor side, a few tween properties are just making their mark on accessories. Plymouth has taken on She's Charmed & Dangerous, handled domestically by Crank2 (New York). Pesky Meddling Girls, brokered by Warner Bros. Consumer Products (Burbank. Calif.) will be showing up on bag, stationery and room d???r made by Pyramid.

On the rise is new property Yo Girl!, a cartoony big-eyed character owned by EFX Marketing (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and targeted to tween-favored shops. Her licensees include back-to-school supplies maker Colorbok (Dexter, Mich.), backpacks and bags firm Skyhigh Int'l (a division of IMT, New York) and room d???r/personal care resource Prime Source Accessories (Eden Prairie, Minn.), among other partners.

EFX, a one time licensee to such brands as Mary Engelbreit, Save The Children and Precious Moments, for items like jewelry and accessories, decided to launch a proprietary icon and splashed her images on stationery products. Claire's Stores is one of its strongest retail supporters, says Ike Panigel, EFX president.

Necessary Objects (New York) a juniors'-serving fashion label in the mid-tier and department store level, has launched lean and luscious feminine cartoon characters as part of its new advertising campaign. The characters, Natalie and Olivia, will be used on packaging, and NO is seeking to license the girls out to makers of school supplies, day planners, calendars, cell phone cases, in addition to apparel and home goods.

Walter Foster (Laguna Hills, Calif.) the How-to-Draw book publisher and kit maker that for decades has been teaching America to draw everything from horses to Mickey Mouse, is opening its year-and-a-half-old calendar/diaries division to licensing. Dubbed My Chaotic Life, the journals enable users to track and keep opinions, details, event memorabilia and more.

My Chaotic Life would consider co-branding with an established girl-targeted property with established product distribution, says Ross Sarracino, CEO, Walter Foster Publishing.