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
Tesco Releases its Top Ten Toy List for Xmas 2020
What’s the top toy on every retailer’s Christmas list this year? According to the Britsh supermarket giant Tesco, a doll that talks about its feelings tops the Xmas Wish List for 2020, followed closely by Lego’s Super Mario Starter Course, which also placed highly last year. The Kindi Kids ‘Shiver & Shake’ Rainbow Kate is an interactive doll featuring over 40 sounds and phrases, allowing kids to engage in fun role-play as they make their doll feel better. Moose Toys launched a licensing program for its bobblehead doll property Kindi Kids in 2019. The Licensing Shop Inc. was appointed as the agency in charge of the new program which began rolling out products in the program during the back-to-school season of 2020. The Super Mario Starter Course remains hugely popular… . . . 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…