RUSS BECOMES MASTER LICENSEE FOR
RAGGEDY ANN & ANDY
Broad Rights granted to Russ Berrie and Company Primes the Popular Brand's Licensing Program for Growth
January 19, 2005 (New York) - United Media, a leading independent licensing and syndication company, today announced that industry forerunner Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. (RUSS) has signed on as Master Licensee for the Raggedy Ann & Andy brand. As part of the deal granted by rights owners Hasbro, Inc. and Simon & Schuster, Inc., RUSS will take on worldwide rights (excluding Japan) for soft dolls, giftware, and infant gift and developmental toys for the mass, mid-tier, and specialty channels. Product will begin rolling out to stores this spring, in time for Raggedy Ann's 90th Birthday.
Categories included in RUSS's deal as Raggedy Ann & Andy's Master Licensee are soft dolls and gift sets, puppets, wall plaques, bean bags, collectible figurines, photo frames, water globes, magnets, mugs, and much more. Keeping with Russ Berrie's continual commitment to quality, fans can expect the same top notch products that they have grown accustomed to seeing with Raggedy Ann & Andy over the last 90 years.
"Taking on the Raggedy Ann & Andy license and working as a partner on the brand with United Media is a huge opportunity," stated Andy Gatto, RUSS's President and CEO. "Holding the broad rights to such an extensive list of key categories will give us the leverage to build an extensive and cohesive line of products for the lovable red-haired brother and sister that has never really existed prior to our partnership."
"As an evergreen brand that appeals to kids, moms and grandparents, the Raggedy Ann & Andy licensing program has experienced consistent success over the years," said Joshua Kislevitz, Senior Vice President of domestic licensing for United Media. "By adding RUSS as the lead Master Licensee, we now have the potential to create a fully realized program for the already popular brand."
Raggedy Ann & Andy is licensed by United Media on behalf of Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing and Hasbro, Inc.
United Media (UM) is a worldwide licensing and syndication company that focuses on building brand equity around a wide range of creative content. The company recently signed on to manage D.I.C.E. and Tamagotchi Connection, two new properties from industry toy giant Bandai America, Inc. United Media licenses and/or syndicates other properties, including, PEANUTS, Precious Moments, Copyrights at United Media (The World of Beatrix Potter, Paddington Bear, etc.), Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, Arthur, Food Network, Paula Deen, and Dilbert. United Media is an E.W. Scripps Company.
Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. (RUSS), a leader in the gift industry (and its wholly owned subsidiaries), designs, develops, and distributes a variety of innovative gift and juvenile products to specialty and mass market retailers worldwide. Known for its teddy bears and other plush animals, the Company's gift and juvenile lines are comprised of a diverse range of everyday, seasonal, and occasion-themed products that help people celebrate the milestones in their lives. Founded in 1963 by the late Russ Berrie from a rented garage in New Jersey, today the Company operates offices, showrooms, and distribution centers all over the world and trades on the NYSE under the symbol RUS.
