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Panini Group

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Panini S.p.A.
Company typeSocietà per azioni
IndustryCollectibles,digital media,distribution,licensingandpublishing
Founded1961;63 years ago(1961)
FounderGiuseppe Panini
Headquarters
Modena
,
Italy
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsBooks,comic books,magazines,stickers,trading cardsandtrading card games
Revenue€751 million(2014)[1]
OwnerPanini Management and Fineldo
Number of employees
1000+(2014)[1]
Divisions
  • Collectibles
  • Publishing/Comics
  • Panini Digital
  • The Licensing Machine
SubsidiariesPanini America, Inc.
Websitepaninigroup.com

Paniniis an Italian company that produces books, comics, magazines, stickers, trading cards and other items through its collectibles and publishing subsidiaries.[2][3]It is headquartered inModenaand named after the Panini brothers who founded it in 1961.[1]Panini distributes its own products, and products of third party providers.[4]Panini maintains a Licensing Division to buy and resell licences and provideagencyfor individuals and newspapers seeking to purchase rights and comic licences.[5]Through Panini Digital the company uses voice-activated software to capturefootballstatistics, which is then sold to agents, teams, media outlets and video game manufactures.[6]

New Media operates Panini's on-line applications, and generates income through content and data sales.[7]Forming a partnership withFIFAin 1970, Panini published its firstFIFA World Cupsticker albumfor the1970 World Cup.[8][9]Since then, collecting and trading stickers andcardshas become part of the World Cup experience, especially for the younger generation.[10]In 2017, a 1970 World Cup Panini sticker album signed byPelésold for a record £10,450.[11][12]

Up until 2015, Panini produced stickers and trading cards for theUEFA Champions League.As of 2019, Panini had licence rights of football international competitions such as the FIFA World Cup,UEFA Nations LeagueandCopa América,as well as domestic leagues including thePremier League(from the 2019–20 season),[13]SpanishLa Liga,[14]ItalianSerie A,[15]Hrvatska Nogometna Liga,[16]andArgentine Primera División[17]among others.

History[edit]

Pelétrading card from the Mexico 70 series, Panini's firstFIFA World Cupcollection

Benito andGiuseppe Paniniwere operating a newspaper distribution office in Modena, Italy in 1960, when they found a collection of figurines (stickers attached with glue) that aMilancompany was unable to sell. The brothers bought the collection, and sold them in packets of two for ten lire each. They sold three million packets. Having had success with the figurines, Giuseppe founded Panini in 1961 to manufacture and sell his own figurines. Benito joined Panini the same year. Panini sold 15 million packets of figurines in 1961.[18][19][20]29 million units were sold the following year, and brothers Franco and Umberto Panini joined the company in 1963.[18]Umberto Panini died on 29 November 2013 at the age of 83.[21] Panini Group start sponsorModena Volley1968–1989.

The company became well known in the 1960s for itsfootball collections,which soon became popular with children. Rare stickers (figurine) can reach very high prices on the collectors' market. Some popular games were invented which used stickers as playing cards.

In 1970 Panini began publishingL'Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio Italiano(The Illustrated Guide to Italian Football), after purchasing the rights from publishing house Carcano. Panini also published its firstFIFA World Cuptrading cardsandsticker albumfor the1970 World CupinMexico,in addition to using multilingual captions and selling stickers outside of Italy for the first time.[8]Initiating a craze for collecting and trading stickers, Panini's stickers were an instant hit, withThe Guardianstating in the UK, “the tradition of swapping duplicate [World Cup] stickers was a playground fixture during the 1970s and 1980s.”[10][22]Another first for Panini, in the early 1970s, was introducing self-adhesive stickers as opposed to using glue.[18]

In 1986 Panini created a museum of figurines which they donated to the city of Modena in 1992.[23][24]Panini begins assembling each World Cup squad for their sticker album a few months before they are officially announced by each nation, which means surprise call-ups often do not feature in their album. A notable example of this was 17-year-old Brazilian strikerRonaldowho was called up for the Brazil squad for the1994 FIFA World Cup.[25]

In May 2006, Panini partnered withThe Coca-Cola CompanyandTokenzoneto produce the first virtual sticker album for the2006 FIFA World Cup.The album was viewable in at least 10 different languages, such as Portuguese, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.[26]For the 2014 World Cup, three million FIFA.com users took part in the Panini Digital Sticker Album contest.[27]Panini developed an app for the 2018 World Cup where fans could collect and swap virtual stickers.[28]Five million people gathered digital stickers for the 2018 World Cup.[29]

Sticker trade in Brazil for Panini's2018 World Cupsticker album

The classic football stickers today are complemented by the collectible card gameAdrenalyn XL,introduced in 2009. In 2010 Panini released aUEFA Champions Leagueedition of Adrenalyn XL, containing 350 cards from 22 of the competing clubs, including defending championsFC Barcelona.Beginning in 2015,Toppssigned a deal to produce stickers, trading cards and digital collections for the competition.[30]The fourth edition of Panini FIFA 365 Adrenalyn XL was released for 2019, featuring top clubs, teams and players.[31]

In January 2009, Panini acquired an exclusive licence to produceNBAtrading cards and stickers, effective with the 2009-10 NBA season.[32]On 13 March 2009, Panini acquired the US trading card manufacturerDonruss Playoff LP.With it, Panini inheritedDonruss' NFL and NFLPA licences.[33]

Panini at the Comic Con Germany 2018

In March 2010, Panini acquired a licence from theNHLandNHLPA.[34]The 2010-11 ice hockey season was the first in five years that more than one company, with Upper Deck producing their own NHL cards.[35]In July 2010, Panini acquired a licence to create an official sticker collection for theOlympicandParalympicGames in London 2012.[36]

In 2014, Panini made cards for that year'sFIFA World Cup,and did the same for the2018 edition,albeit with price hikes for packets across the world. Dubbed the “Panini Cheapskates”, in 2018 a UK couple won fans all over the world by filling in their 2018 World Cup sticker album by drawing in each player.[37]Panini (along with Bandai) were distributors of the 2012 English dub of the 2011 Spanish television seriesJelly Jamm.

During the2018 World Cup,Panini produced an average of 8-10 million card packages per day.[38]In 2018, Panini signed a deal with the EnglishPremier Leagueto produce cards under licence from the 2019–20 season.[13]

Some of Panini's releases in 2019 included collections of moviesAvengers: Endgame[39]andToy Story 4,[40]and the2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[41]

In October 2023, Panini became the Official Trading Card partner of EuroLeague.[42]

Panini America[edit]

SuperstarsKobe Bryant(left) andCristiano Ronaldosigned exclusive deals with Panini in 2009 and 2015, respectively.

In January 2009, theNational Basketball Association(NBA) announced Panini would become the exclusive trading card partner of the league beginning with the2009–10season.[43]In March of the same year, The Panini Group purchased assets of the industry's second-oldest trading-card company,Donruss,and formed the new subsidiary, "Panini America". The company continued to operate out ofIrving, Texas,with much of the existing upper management.[44]

Panini signed an exclusive agreement with five-time NBA championKobe Bryantof theLos Angeles Lakersas its official company spokesman and global trading card ambassador in 2009. Bryant's special affiliation to Panini goes back to his time growing up in Italy where he collected Italian football stickers.[22][43]In March 2010, theNational Hockey League Players' Association(NHLPA) andNational Hockey League(NHL) granted the Panini Group a multi-year trading card licence, marking the third major sports licence that The Panini Group had secured since establishing a presence in the U.S. in 2009.

According to the Panini Group, the2010 FIFA World Cupsticker album sold 10 million packs in the U.S. alone.[22]In 2016, Panini America paidCristiano Ronaldo$170,000 for signing 1,000 Panini stickers, whileNeymarreceived $50,000 for signing 600.[45]

This subsidiary holds official licences for NBA,NFL,NASCAR,WWE,FIFA,The Collegiate Licensing Company,Disney,DreamWorksandWarner Bros.[46]Panini also has exclusive partnerships with Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc., theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame,andPro Football Hall of Fame.

In January 2021, Panini America signed an exclusive multi-year trading card deal with theUltimate Fighting Championship(UFC).[47][48]Later in August 2021, Panini America also partnered with the UFC to releaseNFTs,commemorating big fights, milestones and moments.[49]

Panini family philanthropy[edit]

Giuseppe Panini, the eldest brother and the founder of this business, and a collector himself, financed the creation of theRaccolte Fotografiche Modenesi(Modena's photographic collections), an archive of more than 300,000 photographs and a similar number of postcards, describing the life of the city and the evolution of photographic art.[50]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abc"Panini Group: Corporate".Panini Group. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-04-27.Retrieved2016-04-23.
  2. ^"Panini Group: Collectibles".Panini Group. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-03-29.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  3. ^"Panini Group: Publishing".Panini Group. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-04-15.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  4. ^"Panini Group: Distribution".Panini Group. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-04-14.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  5. ^"Panini Group: Licensing Out".Panini Group. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-06-25.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  6. ^"Panini Group: Panini Digital".Panini Group. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-04-25.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  7. ^"Panini Group: New Media".Panini Group. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-04-27.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  8. ^ab"Brand collaborations".FIFA.com. Archived fromthe originalon May 8, 2015.Retrieved8 September2018.
  9. ^"Panini World Cup 2018 stickers: When is the iconic sticker album release date? And how much will it cost?".London Evening Standard.Retrieved8 September2018.
  10. ^ab"Panini World Cup sticker book".The Guardian.Retrieved3 September2018.
  11. ^"Panini 1970 World Cup album signed by Pele auctions for £10,450".ESPN.Retrieved3 September2018.
  12. ^"The world's most expensive Panini album, signed by Brazilian legend Pele, has been auctioned off for £10,450".Irish Mirror.Retrieved3 September2018.
  13. ^ab"Panini lands worldwide Premier League card, sticker exclusive starting in 2019–20".Beckett News.Retrieved29 September2019.
  14. ^El álbum oficial de LaLiga Santander 2019-20!on Mundo Deportivo
  15. ^Calciatori Collezioneon Panini Italia
  16. ^"Panini and the Croatian Football Federation sign a long-term agreement".
  17. ^Álbum Oficial del Fútbol Argentino Superligaon Panini Argentina
  18. ^abc"Panini: FAQ".Panini Group.Retrieved2010-04-18.
  19. ^"Fifty Years of Italian History Through Famous Album".ANSA.Retrieved2010-04-18.
  20. ^"The Pleasure of the Figurines, from Album 40 Years of Heroes".Ricerca.Retrieved2010-04-18.
  21. ^“Der letzte «Vater» der Panini-Bildli ist tot”.20minutes. Retrieved 8 September 2018
  22. ^abc“The Magic, Global Craze and Tradition of Panini's World Cup Sticker Albums”.Sports Illustrated.Retrieved 2 September 2018
  23. ^"The Museum".Museum of Figurines.Retrieved2010-04-18.
  24. ^"Sandwiches new adventure museum made figurines".L'espresso.Retrieved2010-04-18.
  25. ^"Watch: Got, Got, Need! The Story of Panini Stickers – a FourFourTwo Films exclusive".FourFourTwo.Retrieved4 October2018.
  26. ^"Coca-Cola and Panini Launch First Digital Trading Platform: Officially Licensed Football Stickers for 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany".Coca-Cola. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-10.Retrieved2010-04-18.
  27. ^"Panini Digital Sticker Album launched for Russia 2018".FIFA.com.Retrieved8 September2018.
  28. ^"Panini World Cup sticker album: Inside story behind the craze".Sports Illustrated.Retrieved5 October2018.
  29. ^"12 Years Running: Panini's FIFA World Cup Digital Sticker Album is More Popular Than Ever".Coca-Cola Company.Retrieved5 October2018.
  30. ^"Topps join UEFA licensing programme".UEFA.com.Retrieved6 January2020.
  31. ^"Panini FIFA 365 Adrenalyn XL".Adrenalyn.Retrieved5 October2018.
  32. ^"Topps No Longer Tops with NBA."CNBC
  33. ^"Panini Buys Donruss."CNBC
  34. ^"NHL and NHLPA Awards Panini with Multi-Year Trading Card License".Panini Group. Archived fromthe originalon 6 November 2010.Retrieved16 April2010.
  35. ^"Angilly: Panini, Upper Deck each get NHL deals".The Bristol Press.Retrieved2010-04-18.[permanent dead link]
  36. ^Panini to make Olympic debut with London 2012 sticker collection,The Guardian,14 July 2010
  37. ^"'Panini Cheapskates' to draw each World Cup 2018 sticker ".BBC.Retrieved8 September2018.
  38. ^Negocio multimillonario: así funciona la fábrica de figuritas de Panini
  39. ^Avengers Endgameon Panini website
  40. ^Toy Story 4on Panini UK
  41. ^FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 Official Sticker Collection
  42. ^Terranova, Gena."Euroleague Basketball and Panini America sign multi-year trading card partnership".Panini America.
  43. ^ab"Bryant Leaves Upper Deck, Signs with Panini".CNBC.Retrieved10 September2018.
  44. ^"Panini Buys Donruss".CNBC. 13 March 2009.Retrieved2009-03-13.
  45. ^"Revealed: How Cristiano Ronaldo 'cashed in £139,000 from Panini stickers'".Eurosport.Retrieved9 September2018.
  46. ^"Sports Card Packs, Boxes and Cases - Shop All Trading Cards!".www.steelcitycollectibles.com.Retrieved2022-05-17.
  47. ^Cracknell, Ryan."Panini Lands Exclusive UFC Trading Card License".Beckett.
  48. ^"2021 Panini Prizm UFC Hobby Box".Steel City Collectibles.Retrieved2022-05-17.
  49. ^Novy-Williams, Eben (August 5, 2021)."UFC to Sell First NFTs as Fighters Gain Share of Licensing".Yahoo.
  50. ^“Fondo Giuseppe Panini”.Fondazione Fotografia. Retrieved 8 September 2018

External links[edit]

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