Daily News from New York, New York • 95

"I "Wve had clitoVhaVsmrte tut --n -s as 8ooc properties, and yet I'm sure 1 I Vl 1 1 li VQ5n there's quite a few unsold T-shirts L) MjbjJ UU jLytO J) and dolls out there." -Stan Weston Monday. July 23, 1990 19 luy r-u Gummy up the works General Mills is preparing for the September introduction of its new winter cereal. According to Advertising Age, it's a lumpy instant hot oatmeal called Undercover Bears that when the lumps dissolve in hot water, reveal chewy, flavored gummy bears. Shuck 'em, huskers In the high-stakes popcorn market Nebraska has overtaken Indiana as the No. 1 growing state thanks to a delicately nurtured corn kernal and bountiful crop yield.

Hold the phone The average business exec spends about 60 hours a year on hold on the telephone, according to a survey. Wine not Wine consumption in the U.S. dropped sharply for the second straight year in 1989, with Mississippians drinking the least and tipplers in the District of LEISURE-LY PACE: Stan Weston, chief of Leisure Concepts the 14-person company, which controls the licensing of several hot (jiupciuca, uiu iicaity 11 um in labiyedr. CJ.2UWWALI daily news He has 1 icense to make a killing Columbia the most says the Wine Vines trade publication. Smelling like a pose The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other aid donors have offered $350 million to build an ammonia plant in southern Tanzania.

Women work Women chief executive officers work longer hours than their male counterparts, according to a survey by The Executive Committee. The poll of 515 CEOs showed that women said they put in an average of 56.2 hours vs. 54.9 hours for males. Borer war Corn in the top producing states of Illinois and Iowa is under attack by ii the voracious European corn borer. an insect that can cut yields by 15 or more in heavily infested fields.

By RICHARD HER WIN Daily News Business Writer Last week, Stan Weston was trying to sneak one of the famous French chefs out of France. He wanted to get Roger Verge's name on a licensing agreement before the chef inked a deal with a rival licensing company. In fact, Weston came out the winner signing the elusive chef to a long-term deal. Next week, Weston goes to the West Coast to schmooze with the creator of an up-and-coming cartoon character. Identity: top secret.

Weston schmoozes around the world, well and often. His 20-year-old company, Leisure Concepts controls the licensing of such hot properties as Ninten do's Super Mario Brothers, the World Wrestling Federation's Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, siiper-sleuth James Bond and even Bond's spinoff cartoon character, James Bond who gets his own TV show in the fall. Weston's 14-person company did nearly $6 million in sales last year and, with partial rights to Dick Tracy (Leisure Concepts shares licensing rights with the Walt Disney Co. to both the film and comic strip characters), Weston expects to do even better this year. In addition, Leisure Concepts has total control over what some industry experts say is going to be the fall's hot syndicated animated cartoon character: Captain Planet The company also has diversified, purchasing a computer software firm it dolls, T-shirts, books, toys and films and TV shows that Leisure Concepts has thrived.

Weston's first big hit came in 1964 when he created the GI Joe doll which, says the Toy Industry Association, is the best-selling boy's toy of all time. Weston parlayed the doll's success by creating cartoon characters and other product and entertainment spinoffs. "Back then, licensing was considered a secondary vehicle only enjoying sporadic success as fads quickly changed," says Weston. GI Joe changed all that, he says, by having a long shelf life and an even longer character identity. Weston, a former account executive with the McCann Erickson ad agency, founded Leisure Concepts in 1970.

eventually may use to market character-related software. "We've been lucky enough to have some of the hottest marketing licensees for the last few years, but we know how fickle the public can be," says the 57-year-old executive. And fickle the licensing market has been. "We've had some clients that started out as good properties, and yet I'm sure there's quite a few unsold T-shirts and dolls out there," Weston admits. Chuck it out Among the bombs were a Chuck Wagon Cookin' outdoor cooking concept that was to include everything from frozen-food products to cartoon characters.

Food companies, however, were reluctant to tie into it. It is through the sale of Hoop scoop Champion Products, a subsidiary of Sara Lee has been named official supplier of game uniforms, practice wear and warmup suits to the National Basketball Association, beginning this season. McGregor Sporting Goods was the NBA's previous supplier. Hell shoe you guys French businessman Bernard Tapie disclosed that he will pay $290 million for an 80 stake in the West German sports shoe and clothing maker Addidas AG and get financing from eight French, Salaries xeSy to stay ahead of inflation German and Japanese banks. Name that swoon By KATHERINE BURTON The names Texas Air United Brands Inc.

and Ohio Mattress Co. vanished from the corporate active roster this year. But they are still in ternational business organization. This spread between the rise in salaries and inflation rate is the most during the past three years, said Elizabeth Arreglado compensation specialist at the Conference Board, which polled 537 medium to large firms in various industries. This year, salaries were up 5, a half percentage point ahead of the inflation rate.

Salary hikes next year-' will be highest in the insur- ance and services industries, rising from an average hike of 5.5 this year to 5.6 in '91. The wholesale and retail trade industry will be the closest to the inflation rate, showing an increase of 5, the same rate as this year. Executives in all industries will receive higher pay hikes than other salaried employes, Arreglado said. Katherine Burton is a freelance writer. business, now known as Continental Airlines Holdings Chiquita Brands International Inc.

and Sealy It doesn't look like you'll have to worry about that annual pay increase being devoured by inflation. For next year, at least Salaries in the private sector are expected to be up 5.5 in 1991, a full percentage point ahead of the projected rate of inflation for next year, according to a survey conduct-4 ty theCohfe retire an' ln- Corp. Despite some well-known transmutations, the overall volume of corporate name changes fell 9 in the first half of 1990 compared with a year earlier ceo rdrngtoft-stirveyi-r -j ji.tr j.i'.iiwa wean.