Harry Potter meets JAKK
biz.yahoo.com
Flying Colors Awarded ''Harry Potter'' License
MALIBU, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2000--Warner Bros. Consumer Products has awarded Flying Colors, a division of JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq:JAKK - news), the licensing rights to develop a line of crafts and activities products based on the literary phenomenon Harry Potter.
Harry Potter is the central character in a series of books for children and adults alike that has swept the world. Written by British author J.K. Rowling, the books follow the exploits of a boy who learns on his eleventh birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own. He is summoned from his life as an unwanted foster child to become a student at Hogwarts, an English boarding school for wizards. There, Harry meets several friends who become his closest allies and help him discover the truth about his parents' mysterious deaths at the hands of a powerful adversary.
Stephen Berman, president and chief operating officer of JAKKS Pacific, Inc., noted that the world of Harry Potter, which is full of magical and intriguing characters and suspenseful plot twists, will provide an enormous reservoir of theme material for JAKKS' Flying Colors division. ``Fans of all ages have been captivated by the magical world of Harry Potter,'' said Berman, ``and we are pleased to be able to bring these moments and characters to life through our products. Harry Potter is expected to be one of the most exciting properties ever in the crafts and activities segment of the children's toy market.''
``We are truly excited to have the opportunity to bring Harry Potter from the pages of a literary phenomenon to the playtime of children worldwide,'' added Michael L. Bianco, senior vice president of sales and development for Flying Colors.
``It is the creativity and expertise of our licensees such as Flying Colors that will be key in developing merchandise that reflects the true spirit of this worldwide phenomenon,'' said Karen McTier, senior vice president, North American sales, Warner Bros. Consumer Products.
JAKKS Pacific is a multi-brand toy company that designs, develops, produces and markets toys and related products under various brand names (including Flying Colors©, Road Champs©, Remco©, and Child Guidance©) in multiple product categories including: Wheels; Action Figures; Crafts/Activities/ Stationery; Infant/Pre-School; Trading Cards/Games; Plush; and Dolls.
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a division of Warner Bros., a Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P., is one of the leading and most diversified licensing and retail merchandising organizations which includes a vast library of intellectual properties and the Warner Bros. Studio Stores, including wbstore.com, an e-commerce Web site. With more than 3,700 licensees, Warner Bros. Consumer Products licenses the rights to names, likenesses and logos for a variety of entertainment properties and categories, and Warner Bros. name icons that include Looney Tunes, Batman, Superman, Scooby-Doo, The Wizard of Oz, Friends, ER and its newest member, Harry Potter.
``Safe Harbor'' Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual future results or events may vary materially from those described herein.
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Contact:
JAKKS Pacific, Inc.
Stephen Berman, 310/456-7799
or
Silverman Heller Associates
Philip Bourdillon/Eugene Heller
310/208-2550 |
