New Licensing, Merchandising Deals for Speed Racer

SANTA MONICA, June 12: Speed
Racer Enterprises has appointed four agencies to represent both Speed Racer:
The Next Generation and the
classic Speed Racer series for
licensing and merchandising across the world.

Speed Racer Enterprises
has tapped G Squared Promotion for Canada and Empire International
Merchandising Corporation to cover all of Asia, excluding Japan. Meanwhile,
EXIM Licensing Group will represent South, Central and Latin America, and BKN
will handle Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Middle
East.

Furthermore, Speed Racer
Enterprises has secured a dozen new licensees to produce merchandise in a
variety of categories for the new animated television series Speed Racer:
The Next Generation (SR: TNG), which is now airing in the U.S. on Nicktoons
Network. Joining the roster of 30-plus licensees are Duncan Yo-Yo and
Inter-Axions for toys; Baby Boom/Betesh Group for domestics and room décor; and
H.E.R. Accessories and Infinity Headwear for accessories. New apparel licensees
include JEM Sportswear, Kids with Character, Level One Concepts, MTC and Steve
& Barry’s. Playground Maniacs will create trading cards, stickers,
collection albums, tattoos and lenticular cards.

SR: TNG ranked as the number one series premiere of all
time among kids 6 to 11 and tweens 9 to 14 on Nicktoons Network. The DVD sales
for SR: TNG topped the charts
with first-week sales ranking in the top ten best debuts for animated
children's non-theatrical episodic series for 2008. SR: TNG was also the number one children's non-theatrical
rental of the week.

Targeted at 6- to
14-year-old viewers, the 26×30-minute SR: TNG builds on the adventures of the original series, incorporating
story lines such as renewable resources and the pursuit of a car built with a
gasless engine. After leaving an orphanage, Speed arrives at the Racing Academy
and discovers that he is the son of the famous Speed Racer who had gone missing
many years ago. Along with adventure on the racetrack, Speed and his pals work
together to solve the mystery surrounding his father’s disappearance and build
the ultimate racing machine—the Mach 6—all while avoiding the evil
schemes of oil tycoon Zile Zazic. The series made its original debut in 1967 in
Japan and was dubbed into English and syndicated nationally on television.

“Speed Racer is a brand that has been extremely successful for
decades and our new series, Speed Racer: The Next Generation is proving to be a strong performer with stellar
ratings, a rapidly growing fan base, robust DVD sales and an ever expanding
roster of licensees,” said James Rocknowski, the president of Speed Racer
Enterprises. “We have carefully
chosen our partners in the U.S. and abroad and are confident that they will
bolster our brands as we build fruitful, long-term relationships.”

—By Irene Lew