Franklin Electronic Publishers and The New York Times Expand Alliance
September 01 2009 - 9:33AM
PR Newswire (US)
Franklin to Offer Wealth of Products Under The New York Times Brand
BURLINGTON, N.J., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The New York
Times and Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (NYSE Amex:
FEP) have inked a licensing agreement to broaden the range of
handhelds Franklin will offer under The New York Times trademark.
Earlier this year Franklin and The New York Times announced a
licensing agreement for the #1 selling SET game and are now
expanding their relationship to offer The New York Times branded
mind stimulating products ranging from crosswords to Sudoku. The
license expansion was facilitated by MODA International Marketing,
the exclusive licensing agency for The New York Times. Franklin's
electronic version of the SET game is available today at select
retailers, Amazon.com and franklin.com. Additional Franklin
products under The New York Times brand will be available starting
this fall. "The authority and credibility of The New York Times
brand and content combined with Franklin's strength in delivering
them in easy to use, value packed handheld devices is a marriage to
which one only aspires," said Toshihide Hokari, chief operating
officer of Franklin Electronic Publishers. "Designed for Franklin's
existing audience and distribution channels, which parallel that of
The New York Times, these products are sure to resonate with a wide
range of consumers, from avid readers to crossword puzzle lovers."
"Franklin has been delivering meaningful consumer experiences for
25 years with their breadth and depth of electronic gadgets that
are entertaining, fun and educational. We are excited to be working
with Franklin and their team of product developers to further
expand The Times brand," said Alice Ting, executive director, brand
development for The New York Times. "We are pleased to continue
building the relationship between The New York Times and Franklin
for licensing," said Sharon Summer, senior vice president of MODA.
"We look forward to the first new handheld product entries from
Franklin slated for launch later this year." About Franklin:
Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (NYSE Amex Equities US:
FEP) is a world leader in electronic handheld information, having
sold approximately 41,000,000 electronic books. Current titles
available directly or through partners number more than 116,000 in
sixteen languages under license from world class publishers, such
as Merriam-Webster and HarperCollins, focused in five genres:
Learning, Language Learning, Travel, Spiritual, and Leisure. The
Company also licenses its underlying technology to an array of
partners including Adobe, Sun Microsystems and Ademco (a division
of Honeywell). Franklin distributes ROLODEX Electronics branded
organizers worldwide and SEIKO branded reference products in
Oceania and the European Community. Franklin's products are
available at 49,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and
online at http://www.franklin.com/. ROLODEX is a registered
trademark of Berol Corporation, a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid
Inc. SEIKO is a registered trademark of SEIKO Corporation. About
The New York Times: The New York Times Company, a leading media
company with 2008 revenues of $2.9 billion, includes The New York
Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other
daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including
NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company's core purpose
is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing
high-quality news, information and entertainment. About MODA
International Marketing, Inc: MODA, est. in 1988, is a full service
international licensing agency specializing in corporate brand
licensing. MODA's expertise is building profitable and new
businesses from our clients' brands and other existing corporate
assets. MODA develops and executes the strategy and provides
management ensuring sustainability of the new licensed businesses.
MODA's innovative and strategic approach has resulted in successful
and sustainable brand extensions to a broad range of product
categories and retail channels. Clients include Fortune 500
companies, non-profits, hotels, restaurants and publishing.
BUILDING BUSINESSES FROM B ANDS. http://www.modaintl.com/ Except
for the historical information contained in this news release, the
matters addressed are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements, written, oral or otherwise made, represent the
Company's expectation or belief concerning future events. Without
limiting the foregoing, these statements are often identified by
the words "may," "might," "believes," "thinks," "anticipates,"
"plans," "expects" or similar expressions. In addition, expressions
of our strategies, intentions or plans are also forward-looking
statements. Such statements reflect management's current views with
respect to future events and are subject to risks and
uncertainties, both known and unknown. You are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as there
are important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements, many of which
are beyond our control. Investors are referred to the full
discussion of risks and uncertainties as included in Franklin's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE:
Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated CONTACT: Nelda
Carrizales Skevington of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc.,
+1-210-416-0418, ; or Abbe Serphos of The New York Times,
+1-212-556-4425, ; or Sharon Summer of MODA International
Marketing, Inc., +1-212-687-7640, Web Site:
http://www.franklin.com/
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