Andrew Cooper is the new President of Sequential Brands Group.HMD global Oy appoints Pekka Rantala CMO. Following NBCUniversal’s acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group restructures its management team. Vince Klaseus leads the combined Universal and DreamWorks Animation games, digital and consumer products divisions. Margie Cohn helms the … [Read more...] about Who’s News
Articles
Retail Sales of Licensed Wearables Up in Every Territory in 2015
By Glenn S. Demby, Esq. Worldwide retail sales of apparel/accessories/footwear tied to licensed properties were up a robust 3.9% at just below $66.1 billion in 2015. Wearables is a bellwether of overall licensing business due not only to its size, but because it provides an outlet for so many of the industry's most important property types including fashion, … [Read more...] about Retail Sales of Licensed Wearables Up in Every Territory in 2015
Billboard the Latest to Use Private Partners to Expand in China
By Karina Masolova Billboard expands into China with a number of branded media platforms in partnership with Vision Music, a Chinese media company focusing on the entertainment, fashion, lifestyle and sports sectors. Under the agreement, Billboard will provide music content channels via multiple platforms, including print, internet and mobile. The announcement follows … [Read more...] about Billboard the Latest to Use Private Partners to Expand in China
Music Licensed Goods Down 1.7% as Movie Merch Spread Out on Shelves
By Marcy Magiera U.S. and Canadian sales of licensed goods based on music properties trended down for the second consecutive year in 2015, though not as steeply as in 2014. Music licensed goods represented $2.45 billion in North American retail sales in 2015, a drop of 1.7%, according to The Licensing Letter's Annual Licensing Business Survey. In 2014, sales of music licensed … [Read more...] about Music Licensed Goods Down 1.7% as Movie Merch Spread Out on Shelves
Rogue Film’s Miniature Launch
By Karina Masolova In a move reminiscent of last year's Force Friday unboxing events, Disney revealed the new toy line for upcoming film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story via a series of fan-made videos on Star War's YouTube channel. Unlike last year however, the toys—from Hasbro, LEGO, Funko, Jakks Pacific, Mattel and Disney Store—are brought to life in scripted stop-animation … [Read more...] about Rogue Film’s Miniature Launch
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
6 Trends in Global Entertainment/Character Licensing
By Glenn S. Demby, Esq. Worldwide retail sales of licensed merchandise based on entertainment/character properties totaled $28.7 billion in 2015, according to TLL's Annual Licensing Business Survey. For the second year in a row, entertainment/character was the fastest growing property type—outdoing 2014's 4.8% increase with even more impressive growth of 6.3%. Here's a look at … [Read more...] about 6 Trends in Global Entertainment/Character Licensing
Disney Dresses Up with Fashion
If you think Disney licensing is all about mass merchant toys and T-shirts, think again. Fast fashion retailer Forever 21 this week rolls out a limited-edition Disney Pixar capsule collection of women's, men's and kids's clothing and accessories that feature character portraits of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Dory, Nemo, Mike Wazowski and others along with phrases that play off the … [Read more...] about Disney Dresses Up with Fashion
Licensed Consumer Electronics Up 3.5% in the U.S./Canada
According to TLL's Annual Licensing Business Survey, U.S./Canada retail sales of licensed consumer electronics merchandise grew 3.5% to $5.41 billion in 2015. Although it makes up only 5.2% in market share, the category is one of the most stable we track—and has been trending upwards for the last 10 years. While most electronics licensing historically emerged from the … [Read more...] about Licensed Consumer Electronics Up 3.5% in the U.S./Canada
M&A & Expansions
Coty has plans to divest or discontinue licensed lines representing 6-8% of its net revenue—a significant portion of these will be in the fragrance area. As part of Coty’s deal to buy 41 P&G beauty brands in October, the company will take over Hugo Boss and Gucci, among other licenses, which it plans to hone its focus on. William Morris Endeavor acquires Rabineau Wachter … [Read more...] about M&A & Expansions