- Nicolas Loufrani
-
Nicolas Loufrani (born December 17, 1971 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is the CEO of SmileyWorld, which owns the trademark and copyright over the Smiley face and name in over 100 countries[1].
Smiley
Nicolas Loufrani
In 1996 Nicolas started the Smiley licensing company with his father Franklin Loufrani[2] in London taking back all pre-existing rights he had maintained in the Smiley trademark[3].
Nicolas decided to register the name and to start using the logo in connection with the name by creating a real brand identity (labels, packaging, catalogs, etc.), opening international representation on all 5 continents and manage all licensees in a more professional way. He wants the logo as successful as the swoosh of Nike or the crocodile of Lacoste[4].
He also started creating new designs to use on products and this is how hundreds of variations of the original Smiley logo began[5].
In the following years Nicolas has created partnership with well known designers like Ora ito[6], Charles de Castelbajac[7] and Smiley started to appear in the most famous concept store in the world, like Colette in Paris or Stierblut in Munich[8].
In 2001 He entered into a legal dispute with the supermarket brand Wal-Mart in the US which estimate to be the owner of the rights over the original figurative brand[3]. This conflict does not concern the rights on the icons created by Nicolas Loufrani, nor on the nominative brand[9].
All these efforts have resulted in massive exposure of the Smiley logo with hundreds of licensing partners coming on board to do everything from clothing to perfumes, plush, stationery, promotional campaigns, etc[10].
In 2005 the Loufrani’s created a charity, The SmileyWorld Association (SWA)[11]. He decided to commercialize ethical products by using organic cotton for clothing, by realizing products coming from fair trade[12] or by reversing a part of the revenue from the company to the SmileyWorld Association[13].
The Smiley Company is now one of the 100 biggest licensing company in the world according to licencemag.com[14] with a turnover of 100 million[15].
References
- ^ http://www.capital.fr/enquetes/hommes-et-affaires/ses-petits-smiley-lui-rapportent-de-plus-en-plus-gros-423154
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/08/walmart-smiley-trademark-cx_po_0508autofacescan08.html}}
- ^ a b http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/business/worldbusiness/05smiley.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
- ^ http://www.challenges.fr/magazine/encouverture/0220.031554/riches_par_le_plus_heureux_des_hasards.html
- ^ http://www.lefigaro.fr/societes/2010/01/05/04015-20100105ARTFIG00704-smiley-ou-l-histoire-d-une-opa-sur-un-sourire-.php
- ^ http://www.challenges.fr/magazine/portrait/0099.004649/?xtmc=philippe_perrier&xtcr=2
- ^ http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/2008-04/080402-de-castelbajacs-smile.aspx
- ^ http://old.glamour.de/glamour/1/1/content/08425/
- ^ http://www.liberation.fr/economie/010147962-fini-de-sourire
- ^ http://www.licensing.biz/company-profiles/24/Smiley-Licensing
- ^ http://www.fusion-consulting.com/fashion-denimwear/nicolas-loufrani-smiley-company
- ^ http://www.berlinfashion.tv/_video_/interview-nicolas-loufrani/
- ^ http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio/vesto-bio%3Cbr%3Ela-nuova-vocazione-verde-della-moda/2049235
- ^ http://www.licensemag.com/licensemag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=664500&sk=&date=&pageID=38
- ^ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbthpt_l-heritier-du-smiley-prefere-parler_news
External links
Categories:- French businesspeople
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