The holiday shopping season is firmly upon us, with more retailers revealing their top picks for this year's holiday season. By the 7th of September—54 days before Halloween, 78 days before Thanksgiving and 108 days before Christmas and Hanukkah (which this year begins on Christmas Eve)—the two largest toy retailers in the U.S., Walmart and Toys 'R' Us, had announced the toys … [Read more...] about Top Retailers Tag Holiday Toy Favorites
Articles
Mergers & Acquisitions
The leading bidder for collegiate sports marketing agency Learfield Communications is now TPG Capital. As the majority stake owner of CAA, TPG plans to merge the two agencies if its rumored $1.2–1.3 billion bid is successful. UBM, LIMA, and Alifish—the licensing and entertainment business unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba—join forces. In addition to online licensing … [Read more...] about Mergers & Acquisitions
Who’s News
NBCUniversal Brand Development names Jonathan Baker as its new VP EMEA NBCUniversal Consumer Products and Hannah Mungo as Country Director U.K. & Ireland NBCUniversal Consumer Products. The entertainment giant has established new regional offices in both Japan and China, as well as the newly created EMEA central office in London. Beginning Jan. 1, 2017, NBCUniversal is … [Read more...] about Who’s News
Halloween Spending Up; Entertainment Tops Costume Choices
By Karina Masolova Halloween spending is expected to reach an all-time high this year, according to the National Retail Foundation (NRF)'s Halloween Spending Survey; total spending is expected to reach $8.4 billion, up 21.7% from $6.9 billion in 2015. The last time sales came close was in 2012, at a previous high of $8.0 billion. Over 171 million Americans expected to celebrate … [Read more...] about Halloween Spending Up; Entertainment Tops Costume Choices
Demographics of the Licensing Industry: U.S. Leads the Pack
TLL crunched the numbers from Licensing Source Book Online—and, surprise, the U.S./Canada leads with 66% of licensing executives. Europe comes second at 22.8% and Asia third at 6.5% share. See our latest update with licensors and licensees by cateogory below. Share of Licensing Executives, Worldwide, Sept. 2016 Note: Numbers may not add up exactly due to rounding. Data … [Read more...] about Demographics of the Licensing Industry: U.S. Leads the Pack
Mergers & Acquisitions
Toys 'R' Us sells the FAO Schwarz brand to California-based toy manufacturer and distributor ThreeSixty Group. ThreeSixty will develop FAO Schwarz-branded toys and retail experiences, to launch next fall. Target partners with Alibaba to sell goods in China via the Tmall ecommerce marketplace. Viacom's Board of Directors forms a Special Committee of Independent Directors to … [Read more...] about Mergers & Acquisitions
Trump, Hilary, and… Cannabis?
By Karina Masolova With election day fast approaching, there's another vote Americans are preparing to make. Nine states have ballot measures for cannabis legalization—a sector worth $60–100 million in licensed retail sales in 2015, according to TLL estimates. Although we've reported on the state of licensed cannabis products and accessories throughout the year—with 2016 … [Read more...] about Trump, Hilary, and… Cannabis?
Preschool: A Passport to the Worldwide Market
By Karina Masolova As one of the first categories in which properties originating outside the U.S. became part of global culture, the worldwide preschool sector essentially provides licensors with a passport to the global licensed consumer products market. The trend is only accelerating as the over-$10 billion market for licensed preschool products expands. See the complete … [Read more...] about Preschool: A Passport to the Worldwide Market
Celebrating Coffee With Food
By Marcy Magiera To celebrate National Coffee Day, Dunkin' Brands Group announced that it will launch a Dunkin' Donuts branded ready-to-drink coffee line in early 2017. The new products, to be manufactured and distributed by The Coca-Cola Co., will strengthen Dunkin' Donuts' position as a coffee authority and extend the brand into new distribution channels, the company … [Read more...] about Celebrating Coffee With Food
Pumping Up Brands
By Karina Masolova Despite our love for athleisure and all things healthy, a recent study by Nautilus shows that Americans and Europeans fail when it comes to general health and fitness knowledge (scoring an average of 42% and 39%, respectively). But it can't be denied that fitness is a big business, even if it is more aspirational than not. The 2016 update to Inc.'s 5000 list … [Read more...] about Pumping Up Brands