Pinocchio and Friends Bring on New Licensees

Lisle Licensing, U.K. licensing agent for Rainbow, has announced two new licensees for “Pinocchio and Friends.” The series, which quickly became a ratings winner on the BBC’s flagship free-to-air channel, CBeebies, when it launched earlier this year, is poised to launch its master toy range from Flair GP in the Spring following a positive unveiling at Brand Licensing Europe. 

Fashion UK is on board to create a range of clothing for the series across all age groups for the target audience (4-7 years), which will cover all key apparel categories including daywear, outerwear and pajamas and expected to launch at retail in late spring. 

Smiffy’s has signed and will lead on the dress-up category, developing a range of costumes including key characters, Pinocchio and Freeda. 

“We are thrilled by the enthusiasm of the industry at this beautiful series which hit the ground running on

CBeebies and has continued to grow in popularity,” says Francesca Lisle, managing director, Lisle Licensing. “We look forward to making further announcements in the New Year.”

 “We are really confident that, thanks to the assets and support from Lisle Licensing, Pinocchio and Friends will achieve even greater results in the U.K. and more deals will soon be disclosed,” says Matteo Olivetti, sales director global consumer product, Rainbow Group. 

Additionally, in an agreement brokered by Rainbow’s in-house CP team, Kennedy Publishing is producing a bespoke Pinocchio and Friends magazine which launched this Autumn at ASDA, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Spar, Booths and Londis.