Paddington, the affable clumsy bear from British children’s books, has transformed into an international sensation over the past decade, thanks to a clever film strategy and with the help of the royal family. Visitors to London’s train stations and airports are never far from a flood of Paddington soft toys, replete with his signature red hat and blue duffle coat, displayed alongside souvenir staples like mini double-decker buses and toy royal guards. Paddington bear toys have become a “must” with 27 million units sold since 2021, according to StudioCanal, the French film distributor that owns the rights to the character.
One family on holiday to London from Sardinia made a detour to Paddington Station –- where the character gets its name -– just to take a photo with a bronze statue of the bear. “It’s one of the attractions we wanted to see, just like Big Ben or Tower Bridge,” said Carlo Piga, whose young daughter is a fan of the films. Toys, clothes, tableware, stationery, perfumes and a thousand more licensed Paddington products exist today in addition to the 35 million books, in 40 languages, that have been sold worldwide.
“It’s a brand that was perhaps a little...
I don’t want to say ‘dormant’,” said Anna Marsh, chief executive of Studiocanal. “But in any case, we’ve managed to bring it up to date,” she added. – Big money – Paddington has long been popular in the United Kingdom thanks to the books created by Michael Bond in 1958.
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