![]() "We're trying to make the Simpsons part of people's lives rather than merely a fad," said Al Ovadia, president of Fox's licensing division in Los Angeles, adding that Simpsons merchandise rang up a satisfying $250 million last year. Then, Fox began signing higher-caliber deals, with promotional tie-ins with companies like La Choy Food Products, which has a Marge Simpson recipe book, and Ramada International Hotels and Resorts, which has a family vacation pitch. The products based on "The Simpsons" television series had a $2 billion run, before Fox let all its licenses expire in 19 to clean the slate - and retailers' inventories. So, Lyons Group now faces the challenge that Twentieth Century Fox did when its Simpsons products crashed: rebuilding the franchise to create Mickey Mouse status for a dinosaur.īut their strategies are different. Still, some licensees have winnowed their lines because of reduced orders from retailers. "We tried to limit the supply by putting a moratorium on new licenses in the fall of 1992," Cecilia Anzaldua, director of licensing for Lyons Group, said of Barney. In contrast, Bandai of America, which is based in Cerritos, Calif., and sells the Power Rangers, has kept excitement high by restricting availability. An exception is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, whose sales during the past six years totaled $4 billion, making it the biggest licensing blockbuster ever, Raugust said.Īnalysts say the Lyons Group may have created a Barney backlash by selling too many licenses and not adequately limiting the supply of the products. Many other licensing stars, from the Simpsons to Cabbage Patch dolls, faded almost as quickly as the demand for products was filled. She could not provide a figure for this year but said sales were down significantly.īarney's demise has been especially quick, coming only a year after Hasbro introduced a "talking" Barney doll, at $35, which became the top-selling toy in 1993. The products took in an estimated $500 million last year, said Karen Raugust, executive editor of the Licensing Letter in Brooklyn, N.Y., which tracks product licensing. While children still enjoy the programming, parents appear to have had their fill of Barney merchandise. Lyons Group, which is operated by Leach, produces the Barney television program, videos and records, and licenses Barney toys, dolls, books, sheets, toiletries, towels, luggage and clothes. ![]() "But oversaturation really contracted the life of the product."īarney, the only product of the Lyons Group, a privately held company in Allen, Texas, was created in 1988 by Sheryl Leach, after she searched in vain for a television program of value for her 2-year-old to watch. And therein may lie a marketing lesson in overexposure.At Hasbro Inc., the toymaker in Pawtucket, R.I., that is the biggest Barney licensee, revenues from the Barney product line have tumbled to an estimated $30 million this year, from more than $130 million last year, said Jill Krutick, an analyst at Smith Barney.īarney shares the blame for a fall in Hasbro's stock, which closed at $31.625 on the American Stock Exchange Wednesday, up $1.125 on the day, but down from a high of $40 in 1993.īarney's problem may be that he has become too popular. The most popular toys in stores this year are the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers action figures. Sales of Barney merchandise are dropping as briskly as they took off last year. The plush purple-and-green tyrannosaurus rex, beloved by toddlers if not their parents, is having a bad year.
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