JCPenney has survived the ups and downs of the economy for 118 years … but whether it will survive much longer is open to question. The company now hopes new blood in the CEO suite will help JCPenney turn around a dire situation that saw the department store chain file for bankruptcy in May, after losing money for 10 straight years. CEO Jill Soltau, who took on the position just two years ago, left the company on New Year’s Eve and the company has announced it is actively searching for her replacement. The new owners of the company—Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management—appointed Simons’ Chief Investment Officer Stanley Shashoua as JCPenney’s interim CEO, who will be backed by current members of the company’s C-level executive team. In a press… . . . read more
Fanatics & Lids Reach Long-Term Deal With BNED
The sports merchandise company Fanatics has added to its long list of critical deals in 2020 with a long-term merchandising partnership with Barnes & Noble Education Inc. (BNED), the campus store division of the Barnes & Noble parent company. Fanatics will offer BNED campus stores an expanded product selection and a direct-to-consumer platform. Fanatics’ partly-owned Lids will also provide BNED trend and sales performance data on licensees, product styles and design treatments from more than 1,200 Lids stores. As well, Fanatics and Lids will jointly make a $15 million strategic equity investment in BNED and receive 2.3 million shares of BNED in exchange, representing a share price of $6.50 per share. BNED expects to use these proceeds for its strategic growth initiatives. BNED is a college retailer that was spun off from bookseller… . . . read more
Discounters, Specialty Channels Drive Licensed Entertainment/Character Sales in 2019
Brick-and-mortar channels fielded 81.2% of all licensed entertainment- and character-based sales in 2019, according to TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey. Physical retail’s share of U.S. and Canadian sales has decreased…
Licensed Ecommerce Sales Jump 3.5%, Outpacing B&M Channel Growth in 2019
Licensed retail sales in the U.S. and Canada were up 3.2% in 2019, with ecommerce sales outpacing the industry average at 3.5% growth and sales through brick and mortar channels up 3.0% per TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey…
Fashion, Corporate Trademarks Drive Licensed Sales through Ecommerce Channels in 2018
In 2018, licensed retail sales through online/ecommerce channels reached $13.7 billion in the U.S. and Canada, up 4.7% from the previous year. In comparison, sales through brick and mortar channels were up just 0.8% compared to the previous year…
Discounters, Grocery Drive Corp/TM Growth in 2018
The largest distibution channels as ranked by retail sales for corporate trademark/brand-based goods also led in sheer dollar growth in 2018, propelling U.S. & Canada sales to almost $29.8 billion…
Discount, Value Channels Drive Fashion Brand-based Growth in 2018
Retail sales of licensed fashion brand-based goods jumped 1.6%, with most of the growth emerging from discount and value retailers. Despite the loss of thousands of retail storefronts over 2018, sales through brick-and-mortal locations grew…
Discount, Ecommerce Channels Add $1.3 Billion in U.S. & Canada Licensed Sales
The discount/mass and online/ecommerce channels alone added an additional $1.3 billion in licensed retail sales in 2018, according to TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey…
Experiential Roundup: Garfield, Scooby-Doo, YooHoo & More
Notable initiatives around the world from Mattel/IndyCar, Warner Bros./Monlove, Nickelodeon/Red Cross, Sesame Workshop/Suburbia, Fanatics/NFL, and more…
Experiential & Partnerships Roundup: Worldwide
Muji launches another hotel, while Peter Rabbit hops into a kid-friendly lodging; Bulu crafts subscription crafts for Crayola; Live Nation launches a Kidz Bop Workshop, and more…