Before getting started with our usual summary of the past 12 months, I would like to start by sincerely congratulating Total Licensing on its 20th anniversary. It is quite a milestone. Congratulations to Francesca and all her team.
Let’s start with news that fills us with pride and satisfaction. Our clients, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe and Global Merchandising Services have been nominated along with Toxic (the licensee) for Best Retailer, Corporate, Lifestyle, Fashion, Sports, at the Licensing International Excellence Awards 2023.
This is the second consecutive nomination for KOPA. We are extremely happy, especially for our Mexican licensee. The passion and attention to detail shown by Benny Levy and the entire Toxic team welldeserved this recognition. We are grateful to Licensing International for this great honor.
Toxic is truly at the forefront of the music category while setting up an example worth following by other licensees in LATAM. The licensed capsules, store atmosphere, product display, and marketing campaigns in support of Iron Maiden and Mötley Crüe during their visits to Mexico were unprecedented.
Each collection was composed of tees, hoodies, denim jackets, caps, backpacks, and even skateboards. It was available at 16 brick-and-mortar stores across popular malls, plus nine more pop-up stores.
On the night of September 7th of 2022, Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden, cheered on the more than 65,000 fans gathered at the Foro Solo with his classic battle cry. Scream for me Mexico City! Scream for me Mexico City! There is nothing more exciting and fulfilling than being immersed in that celebration, to look around and thinking that we were all there to see Iron Maiden (a.k.a. our client!). It truly was a dream come true.
Thanks to our dear friend José Santiago, International Licensing Manager at Global Merchandising Services, we pulled off the unthinkable when it was Mötley Crüe’s turn.
Hours before the show in Mexico City, with the help of Kyle Compton (a colleague who was traveling with the tour) the four members of the band signed five skateboards inspired by 1989 Dr. Feelgood album. The skateboards, produced locally by Toxic, were later on raffled off among its customers. That’s what you call connecting a brand with its fans!
At the beginning of the year Toxic renewed and widened its licensing contract for two more years. Who would’ve believed it, rock is in fashion in LATAM and the program keeps growing in the territory. In the last 12 months it got to a total of eight licensees.
Distribuidora de Textiles Avante is currently working on a collection inspired by Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Mötorhead, Mötley Crue and Megadeth. It is expected by the end of this year and will be available at top department stores in Mexico, including specialized retailers such as Cuidado con el Perro, Optima and Tops & Bottoms.
Apparel Studio will strengthen the offer on the modern Mexican channel with Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Alicie Cooper, Judas Priest and Rob Zombie. The collection, made up of t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts and pajamas, will be available at Liverpool, C&A, Coppel and Suburbia.
In Colombia, besides Rock Activity (announced a year ago), two more licensees joined the program, Permoda and Stilotex.
The overall experience with Rock Activity, a Colombian family-owned business, has been very positive. Their designs and screen print quality is outstanding. So much so that John 5, guitarist of Mötley Crüe, loved the t-shirts we were wearing on the day of the concert in Bogota. He highlighted the design and the clever use of just two inks. We had the opportunity to meet the musician at his hotel, hours before the show. The metal fan inside me was freaking out; my hands were so shaky that I barely managed to take a selfie!
The grey hoodies that we are wearing in the group photo were produced by Stilotex. The first collection was available on Pepe Ganga’s online site and at some physical stores. In addition to Mötley Crüe, the Christmas collection featured Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest.
Permoda, another Colombian manufacturer, renewed its contract with Iron Maiden for two more years. The new collection will be at Koaj’s fashion stores in Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica.
Global Merchandising Services will be at booth H226.
Precisely a year ago, in the summer issue, we announced that KOPA would be representing Tetris in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Well, shortly after returning from Las Vegas our good friends at The Brands Club signed the license for Chile, Peru and Colombia.
The first collection, designed by YOU (the licensee’s fashion brand), was available online and at their physical stores in Chile. The release was right on time for the film’s premiere on Apple TV, on March 31st. If you haven’t seen it yet, we highly recommend it. Everyone who is part of the industry should see it. In addition to being exciting, it is a master class in licensing.
The brand will soon be bolstered up in the region thanks to the arrival of a new licensee. Cornejotex, an Ecuadorian company with more than 35 years of experience in the textile industry, it’s Tetris’ most recent licensee. In addition to t-shirts, jackets, hoodies and sweatshirts, it will produce underwear, pajamas and accessories. We’ve been working intensively on this property with our good friend Megan Forst Buettner and more is coming soon!
Tetris will be at booth N226.
News regarding Godzilla is also very satisfying. Our beloved monster had its first official apparel collection in Colombia. Stilotex developed a beautiful line for kids ages 6 to 9, which was available for Christmas at all Pepe Ganga stores in the territory.
On a very personal note, I had the satisfaction of gifting several garments to my niece Melissa. She loves her black Mechagodzilla hoodie; she wears it all the time!
There are more negotiations currently underway and we already foresee that we are going to be booked solid this year at Licensing Expo, and that is actually very good!
It hasn’t been easy, this business has never been, but it was a good year.
We continue to grow and learn. Thank you very much to all those who continue to believe in KOPA, Total Licensing, our clients, Licensing International, friends and family. See you in Las Vegas!
June 2023
