Lucas Licensing's biggest retail partner in Spain, El Corte Ingles, is currently hosting a series of in-store events to generate excitement for the scores of new Star Wars products hitting retail shelves this season.
El Corte Ingles has teamed up with several regional Star Wars collectors to display some of the older merchandise along with the new, allowing young and old fans alike to appreciate a bit of the rich merchandising legacy of the Star Wars saga. Among newer items, like Hasbro's Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon vehicle and LEGO's Y-wing Starfighter, are a mix of older collectibles from Star Wars' merchandising past, such as Galoob's classic transforming playsets from the 1990s and Hasbro's somewhat scarce Queen Amidala Royal Starship vehicle from 1999.
On the retail side, it's interesting to see so many different categories of Star Wars collectibles available for purchase in a single brick-and-mortar setting: Hasbro and LEGO toys are mixed with Gentle Giant statues and busts, Kotobukiya model kits, DVDs, apparel items and back to school supplies. In the U.S., at least, most fans are used to seeing toys, high-end collectibles and apparel items offered through separate merchandising channels.
Fans in Spain and Portugal can look for the Star Wars exhibits at the following venues:
Expo I:
- July 24 - August 29: El Corte Ingles Santander
- September 25 - November 7: El Corte Ingles Albacete
- November 17 - December 27: El Corte Ingles Gaia (Portugal)
Expo II:
- August 21 - September 26: El Corte Ingles San Juan de Aznalfarache (Sevilla)
- October 3 - November 7: El Corte Ingles Arroyosur (Madrid)
- November 17 - December 27: El Corte Ingles Gaia (Portugal)
UPDATE: Spain's ABC magazine recently posted an article (in Spanish) about the Universo Star Wars campaign, and accompanied the piece with a short video -- check it out here.
