Bob the Builder gets a relaunch
Hit Entertainment, the company behind children’s TV favourite Bob the Builder, today unveiled a major relaunch designed to revive the character’s popularity.
After a period of sustained growth which has seen Bob become a mainstay of pre-school television and a leading consumer products brand, Hit said sales had slipped as the character reached maturity in the UK and US.
Reporting results for the 12 months to July 31, Hit said Bob the Builder represented 30% of sales but worldwide revenues from the character dipped 12.6%.
Pre-tax profits before one-off items rose 45% to £39.7m (€57m) compared with £27.3m (€39.2m) in 2002 as Hit integrated newly-acquired Gullane and its Thomas the Tank Engine character.
Hit said the success of other brands in its stable during the past year had helped it offset the weaker performance of Bob the Builder in the UK and US.
The relaunch of Bob will see 10 new series of animated programmes recorded - 130 shows in total – featuring new adventures in which the builder will construct an entire town from scratch with help from twin brother Tom and other new characters.
Entertainment and product platforms will be developed alongside the TV programming, including toys by Lego and RC2, the company with the master toy licence which already makes wooden train sets based on Hit’s Thomas the Tank Engine character.
