The Licensing Letter

Health and Beauty Products

Fragrance: Hit Me One More Time

Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com Retail sales of licensed fragrance grew 1% in 2017 to reach $3.98 billion in the U.S./Canada, according to TLL's Licensing Business Survey. Britney Spears and Revlon have teamed up to launch Britney Spears Prerogative, a new fragrance inspired by the singer’s career and her 24th in all. The gender-neutral scent features an … [Read more...] about Fragrance: Hit Me One More Time

Fashion Rumble in Eyewear & Fragrance

Both the FTC as well as EU antitrust regulators have closed their respective investigations into a proposed $58.49 billion (€48 billion) merger between eyewear giants Essilor and Luxottica. The EU said that it "coordinated closely" with the FTC on the case, unconditionally approving the merger and stating that the deal would not harm competition. French-based Essilor controls … [Read more...] about Fashion Rumble in Eyewear & Fragrance

HBA Gets Fashionable

Licensed consumer goods based on fashion brands generated $21.45 billion worth of retail sales in the U.S./Canada in 2016—HBA goods accounted for $2.55 billion's worth of that. This year, we can expect to see more competition in the HBA space from home-brewed brands (the types of which would have been obvious picks for licensing in prior years) and new, innovative extensions … [Read more...] about HBA Gets Fashionable

Keeping Up With the Kardashians

By: Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com Kim Kardashian launches her first direct-to-consumer venture in the fragrance category under her KKW Beauty brand. The limited-edition fragrances are first come, first serve—but the star also plans to release new scents in time for Valentine's Day. Sales were exclusively digital, albeit with a small launch at e-commerce site … [Read more...] about Keeping Up With the Kardashians

In & Around 34th Street

By: Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com I try to trek down to 34th St. Herald Square, in central New York City, every once in a while. As we enter the holiday shopping season, there were some interesting licensed retail activities in and around town. The newest addition to Herald Square is the Build a Bear Workshop. The central attraction is the retailer's three … [Read more...] about In & Around 34th Street

Roundup: Promotional Partnerships

Real Madrid's official console partner is Xbox. To celebrate, Xbox will host a series of events at Microsoft Stores throughout the U.S. during Real Madrid’s U.S. Summer Tour. Betty Boop is the new face of Foulbi Co., Ltd.'s J-esthetic—over 100 esthetic salons and day spas. The campaign includes a commercial as well as print and digital ads. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. … [Read more...] about Roundup: Promotional Partnerships

L’Oreal Ranks as Top Beauty Company of 2016

The top beauty company grew its sales 2.3% to reach $28.60 billion worldwide, according to a ranking by WWD. Unilever was No. 2 at $20.52, while Proctor & Gamble slid in at No. 3 despite a 12.5% drop in sales. To put the numbers into context, retail sales of licensed health and beauty products in the U.S./Canada stayed flat at 0.1% growth in 2016 to reach almost $7.7 billion, … [Read more...] about L’Oreal Ranks as Top Beauty Company of 2016

Licensed Fragrance Back on Track?

Since we last looked at licensed fragrances, the business has certainly changed—and it seems that it might be looking up, at least for established celebrities and fashion brands. Revlon finalized its purchase of Elizabeth Arden on Sept. 7, 2016, forming a beauty enterprise with net sales of approximately $3 billion worldwide. In the latest financial reports—Q3 ending Sept. 30, … [Read more...] about Licensed Fragrance Back on Track?

What Not to Do: Kardashians Score a Win in Fight Against Licensee

By Karina Masolova The Kardashian sisters got a pretrial court order barring Haven Beauty from using their names and trademarks—effectively opening the door for new licensees to step in, since the Kardashians want to ultimately terminate their licensing agreement. The Aug. 23 ruling, from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (2Die4Kourt v. Hillair … [Read more...] about What Not to Do: Kardashians Score a Win in Fight Against Licensee