15th Feb 2008 - EK company snaps up Scooby Doo and Superman

Some of the leading names from the world of animation have joined an East Kilbride-based company after it secured a series of high profile licenses from one of the world's leading entertainment companies.

Premium Mobile Distribution (PMD), which is based at Colvilles Park Industrial Estate, specialises in designing, manufacturing and distributing charms and socks for mobile phones as well as iPod accessories and other mobile accessories. The company has been awarded a number of additional licenses from Warner Bros as well as securing a licensing deal with one of the UK's biggest girls brand Bratz .

After receiving funding from UK Steel Enterprise (UKSE), the Corus subsidiary tasked with economic regeneration, PMD secured licenses for Bratz, Superman, Looney Tunes and Scooby Doo and is now the only company to hold the UK/Ireland licenses for the popular brands.

The addition of the new brands is a boost for the Lanarkshire company, which already holds the licenses for names such as Manchester United Football Club, Me to You and Paddington Bear, Harry Potter and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Established in 2006 by managing director Tony Ianniello, PMD sells its products in 3,500 stores nationwide including New Look, Carphone Warehouse, O2 , Claire's Accessories, Borders, JJB Sports, T Mobile and Play.com.  The company's range of phone socks proved to be Tesco's fastest selling accessory last Christmas.

Tony Ianniello, managing director of PMD, said: "Our success is dependent on our ability to secure exclusive licenses so the addition of these new brands is not only a major coup but a huge boost for the business.  The funding support we received last year from UKSE allowed us to expand our distribution channels and enhance our capability so we were in a great position to chase and secure new business.

"We have also recently invested in developing our e-commerce website  www.gizymo.com which will help us to reach a wider market and we have plans in place to expand our product range to include car and laptop accessories.  Going forward, we want to continue to work with companies such as Warner Bros and Nickelodeon to explore opportunities in Europe."

Anne Clyde, area manager at UKSE, added: "Despite having only traded for one year, PMD has already enjoyed tremendous success. To have secured so many high profile brands in a relatively short period of time is testament to Tony's drive and ambition and we will continue to work with the company as it seeks to expand and help it to realise its undoubted potential."