Brands Director appointed for Peter Rabbit™, Flower Fairies™ and Spot™
BRANDS DIRECTOR APPOINTED FOR PETER RABBIT™, FLOWER FAIRIES™ AND SPOT™
Frederick Warne & Co Ltd (a Penguin company) and The Copyrights Group have created a new joint role of Brand Director to co-ordinate new initiatives associated with the licensing of the Peter Rabbit, Flower Fairies and Spot properties. This role will enable Penguin and Copyrights together to focus more creatively and aggressively on the intensely competitive and demanding licensed merchandise market worldwide.
Gill Thomas, Marketing Director for the Penguin Pre-school division, has accepted this new position. Her brief is to drive forward the vitally important merchandise licensing business, with a special focus on the UK and Europe.
Gill will work closely with Copyrights’ sales and marketing teams on Penguin brands. She will collaborate with licensees to create partnerships across retail, developing new business models, and driving through to market new initiatives associated with each brand. As classic properties gain renewed momentum, this new investment in support of The World of Beatrix Potter, The Flower Fairies and Spot, and the development of new properties from the Penguin portfolio, will support ambitious growth strategies for the licensing programmes and associated income.
Nicholas Durbridge, CEO, The Copyrights Group, stated:
“This new role signifies the ongoing commitment of Copyrights and Penguin Books to the licensing programmes of Peter Rabbit, Spot and The Flower Fairies. Our intention is that the Brands Director will drive new initiatives and we are very pleased that Gill Thomas, with her unrivalled experience across these properties, has accepted the role.”
Sally Floyer, Managing Director, Frederick Warne, commented:
“As the Peter Rabbit licensing programmeenters its second century the Brands Director will ensure the programme continues to expand and Gill’s first task will be to invigorate Beatrix Potter and all our brands across retail in the UK and Europe. I and the rest of my team look forward to continuing to work with Gill as she takes up this exciting new role.”
The new position became effective in January 2006.
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NOTES FOR EDITORS:
Gill Thomas
Gill Thomas joined Frederick Warne (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) as UK Marketing Manager in 1993 and was promoted to UK Marketing Director in 1998. In 2002 she added responsibility for Warne’s international marketing and later the same year became Marketing Director for Ladybird as well as Warne when the two divisions were brought together to form a Pre-School Division.
Penguin
Frederick Warne (a part of the Penguin Group) has been the publisher of Beatrix Potter’s Original Peter Rabbit BooksTM since 1902. Frederick Warne is the owner of all rights, copyrights and trademarks in the Beatrix Potter character names and illustrations. Today Frederick Warne is the publisher of classic literary properties of which the best known globally is Beatrix Potter, and manages an international programme of publishing, licensing and entertainment. Penguin Books (UK) Ltd is a Pearson Company.
The Copyrights Group
The Copyrights Group Ltd is the licensing agent appointed by Frederick Warne to manage its licensed merchandise programmes globally, including The World of Beatrix Potter, The Flower Fairies and Eric Hill’s Spot and have been involved in the Beatrix Potter merchandise licensing programme for 21 years.
The Copyrights Group was established in 1984 and has its headquarters in the UK and offices in Japan and Australia and work with a number of independent agents in the US and Europe. The Copyrights Group is one of the world’s leading independent licensing companies with a portfolio of classic characters, fine art and lifestyle brands.
For further information and images please contact
The Copyrights Group
Kathleen Caper, Marketing Executive
Tel: +44 (0)1295 672 050
Email: enqurires@copyrights.co.uk
Web: www.copyrights.co.uk
Penguin
Jennifer Norton, Publicity Executive
Tel: +44 (0)20 7010 3000