Toei Animation Sets Up U.S. Licensing and Merchandising Arm

LOS ANGELES, May 14: Toei Animation has established a new
in-house consumer products licensing division for the U.S. market and has
tapped Coy Edmunds to head the unit as the director of business development and
licensing.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Toei’s new licensing operation
will make its official debut at the Licensing Show in New York this June. The
dedicated licensing operation will launch with the representation of the
company’s popular Digimon brand.

Edmunds joins Toei Animation from Focus Sports Management in
Los Angeles, where he served as a director and agent. He previously was
marketing manager for United Global Artists in Tokyo, where he developed and
executed numerous high-profile entertainment and sports-based promotional
events.

“With the formation of an in-house licensing unit, Toei
Animation becomes a fully integrated kids-based entertainment studio that develops,
produces, distributes and controls the licensing and merchandising for our
brands,” said Yosuke Kobayashi, the president and COO of Toei Animation.