Hasbro hosts key licensees at spring Partner Day

Jazwares awarded Partner of the Year; Nikki Gie to cover UK consumer products director role.

Hasbro has named Jazwares as its Partner of the Year, celebrating its work on the Nerf brand.

The accolade was presented at the licensor’s spring/summer 2019 Partner Day, held at its UK offices on Tuesday February 26.

Hasbro invited 45 execs from key UK licensees to the event, with attending licensees taken through the Hasbro franchise brand rooms and presented with brand priorities for 2019/20 across My Little Pony, Nerf and new franchise brands Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons.

“We truly value our partners, and these licensee days give us a great opportunity connect with key partners on our future visions and also recognise their outstanding work,” commented Nikki Gie, director UK consumer products and EMEA fashion and home (pictured (centre) with Maja Elliot, senior manager category licensing at Hasbro and Sam Ferguson, vp global licensing at Jazwares).

“This year, we awarded Jazwares with our Partner of The Year Award, celebrating their great work in delivering such a fantastic Nerf line and seeing significant growth throughout 2018.”

New licensed categories for Nerf will continue to roll out in 2019, including partywear and accessories following the successful launch of the NERF Nation apparel line at Tesco and Asda in late 2018.

Meanwhile, Hasbro also confirmed that Nikki will step in to cover the UK consumer products director role while Sally Carnota is on maternity leave.

Nikki has been with Hasbro for over seven years, with the first five years spent working in the UK consumer products team leading the fashion and home business. More recently, she has been regional fashion and home director, leading the EMEA strategy and managing regional and global DTRs and brand collaborations including H&M, Inditex group, C&A and PUMA.

Nikki will continue to hold the EMEA role while heading up the UK for 2019.