Genius Brands International Adds Thread Collective to the Growing Roster of Partners for the Luxury Fashion Apparel and Lifestyle Brand Psycho Bunny

Thread Collective to Create a High End Line of Men's Outerwear to Launch at Retail in 2016

BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/20/15 -- Genius Brands International "GBI" (OTCQB: GNUS) and its wholly owned subsidiary A Squared Entertainment, have partnered with premium apparel manufacturer Thread Collective to create a line of high-end Psycho Bunny branded outerwear for the global retail market. They join the growing roster of best-in-class licensees developing a coordinated spectrum of product lines under the Psycho Bunny brand.

Thread Collective will create a fashion-forward collection of essential outerwear crafted from distinctive, yet high-performing, durable cloth primed for cold weather. Features include sleek silhouettes, creative use of materials such as technical stretch shells, impervious heat-sealed seams, impermeable zippers, and other functional embellishments. The new apparel line is anticipated to debut at high-end department and specialty retail stores in fall 2016. Licensing Agent Sheldon Nutkevitch, President of Brand Appeal Inc., brokered the deal on behalf of Thread Collective.

"Outerwear is a key category in our strategy for expanding the Psycho Bunny apparel program, and Thread Collective has a stellar reputation for its ability to identify market trends and to merchandise the right product at the right price," notes Stone Newman, President, Global Consumer Products, GBI. "We will offer fans of the brand a new collection featuring season must-haves while maintaining the authenticity of the Psycho Bunny brand."

"Psycho Bunny has truly captured and captivated men looking for classic product with a contemporary edge, and we are excited to have formed this partnership with Genius Brands and the Psycho Bunny team to build the outerwear category globally," said Alen Brandman, Chief Executive Officer of Thread Collective. "And we look forward to launching the collection utilizing design details drawn from our extensive experience of making premium outerwear."

GBI continues to actively seek partners around the world to expand the Psycho Bunny brand into additional product lines, including active and athleisure wear, bags and luggage, women's and children's active wear, accessories, fragrance, electronics and more.

"The addition of outerwear through our partnership with Thread Collective fulfills a demand we know exists in the marketplace with both our retail partners and fans," said Robert Goldman Psycho Bunny Co-Founder. "This is an important and strategic category extension for us, and we look forward to the collection's debut at the end of this year and its availability at retail in fall 2016."

Since 2015, consumers have enjoyed the expansion of the brand into key licensed categories with the debut of the Apparel Partnership Group's collection. This has been enhanced by introductions from the rest of the licensees that are being rolled out throughout 2015 and into 2016.

In North America, GBI and Psycho Bunny have attracted an impressive roster of leading manufacturers to round out its core sportswear collections through licensing agreements, including Apparel Partnership Group (men's basics, loungewear), Zeon America (watches), Idea House (bottoms), Leg Resource Inc. (hosiery), S3 (footwear) and JRM Accessories (headwear).

GBI is further developing the brand internationally and seeking partners, particularly in Asia and Latin America, to complement the successful Psycho Bunny programs currently existing in these territories. The Company recently signed an agreement with Itochu for luxury accessories in Japan and with Neroli Group SA as the brand's core Latin America sportswear distributor.

Inspired by 17th-century maritime marauders and secret societies such as the infamous Skull & Bones, Psycho Bunny creates timeless wardrobe essentials that couple refined English tailoring with bold American design. The brand is built on timeless classics, wardrobe essentials, the finest materials, meticulous design, and superior craftsmanship. Psycho Bunny redefines the classics with inimitable wit and peerless quality, giving tradition an updated edge and passionate style.

Since its creation 10 years ago, Psycho Bunny has grown from a line of upscale, irreverent ties to an expanding, international lifestyle brand, including ties, polo shirts, sport shirts, sweaters and hoodies, and scarves and accessories. For more information please visit www.psychobunny.com.

About Genius Brands International
Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, Genius Brands International, Inc. "GBI" (OTCQB: GNUS) is a publicly traded global brand management company that creates and licenses multimedia content for toddlers to tweens. Led by award-winning creators and producers CEO Andy Heyward and President Amy Moynihan Heyward, GBI creates "content with a purpose," meaning content that is as entertaining as it is enriching. GBI's growing library of content includes the award-winning Baby Genius, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab, NY Times bestselling children's book franchise Llama Llama, and Stan Lee's Mighty 7, the first project from Stan Lee Comics, a joint venture with legend Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment.

A Squared Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of GBI, is a brand management and licensing company that represents third-party properties across a broad range of categories in territories around the world. The company currently represents Psycho Bunny, a luxury apparel line, From Frank, a humor greeting card and product line, and Celessence Technologies, the world's leading microencapsulation company.

For additional information please visit www.gnusbrands.com.

About Thread Collective
Thread Collective Inc. has evolved from our 1982 roots as a Canadian domestic denim manufacturer to earn its reputation as a leading North American consumer products company.

From design to delivery, the Company offers full-service creative, technical design, global sourcing and quality, while distributing branded, licensed, and private-label apparel to a highly diverse retailer base. Over the past 35 years, Thread Collective has built a complete vertical operation that includes a world-class sourcing and global supply chain infrastructure across a wide-range of apparel categories to produce private label and branded product, commercialized for specific retailer and consumer needs.

Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), not limited to Risk Factors relating to its business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Source: Genius Brands International, Inc.

Released August 20, 2015