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Licensed retail sales in Australia and New Zealand grew 7.3% over the nine-year period of 2011–2019, according to TLL’s International Licensing report. The region is one of the slowest-growing in the world, compared to an average 20.2% growth in licensed retail sales worldwide over the same time period.
Note that our estimates for 2019 are subject to change as we gain a more nuanced understanding of the licensed market through, e.g., responses to TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey for 2020 as well as newly released government statistics.
Having firmly occupied the top 10 ranking among all territories worldwide by licensed retail sales in the last several years, Australia is expected to overtake Brazil for the No. 9 spot with $2,140 million in sales for 2019. New Zealand, on the other hand, is expected to maintain its position as No. 27 with $304 million in licensed retail sales in 2019.
Per preliminary TLL estimates, licensed retail sales for the full-year 2019 are expected to reach $2,444 million in Australia and New Zealand, give or take some tens of millions. The fastest-growing areas for the region since 2017 are fashion (up 4.7%), sports (3.5%), and corporate/trademark brands (2.3%).
Incidentally, these property types also recorded the most dollar growth: fashion-based sales were up $30 million in the two-year period, sports up $11 million, and corporate/trademark up $10 million.
The top three property types by share of licensed retail sales for Australia and New Zealand in 2019 are fashion (27.6% share), corporate/trademark (19.7%), and entertainment/character (17.9%).
Note: Numbers may not add up exactly due to rounding. | ||||||
(Figures in millions) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Property Type | Retail Sales, 2019 | Retail Sales, 2017 | Change, 2017–2019 | Share, 2019 | ||
Entertainment/Character | $438 | $430 | 2.1% | 17.9% | ||
Sports | $334 | $323 | 3.5% | 13.7% | ||
Fashion | $675 | $645 | 4.7% | 27.6% | ||
Corporate/Trademark | $482 | $472 | 2.3% | 19.7% | ||
Art | $190 | $186 | 2.1% | 7.8% | ||
Other | $325 | $274 | 16.3% | 13.3% | ||
Total | $2,444 | $2,330 | 4.9% | 100.0% |
Within Australia, the top three property types by licensed retail sales are fashion ($594 million, or 27.8% share), corporate/trademark ($427 million; 19.9%), and entertainment/character ($395; 18.5%). The proportion of licensed retail sales in New Zealand are similar, albeit with a slightly higher share of sales in art and other categories.
The last couple of years have seen a significant 3.5% jump in sports-based sales, following years of steady declines in Australia. Sports-based sales were down -0.6% in the 2015–2017 period and -3.3% from 2013–2015.
The fastest-growing property type by retail sales in Australia was fashion, up 4.4% to reach $594. The most recent two-year period tracked the highest rates of growth since TLL began tracking retail sales for the territory; fashion-based sales jumped 3.0% from 2015–2017, 0.6% from 2013–2015, and 1.7% from 2011–2013.
Entertainment/character, on the other hand, recorded one of its slowest growth periods with 1.6% growth from 2017–2019. Sales jumped 5.1% from 2015–2017 and 6.0% from 2013–2015. Nevertheless, entertainment/character-based sales seized the greatest market share in Australia since 2011, up 1.0 percentage points in share, or roughly $45 million.
Despite its steady growth, corporate/trademark sales stalled somewhat over the 2011–2019 period, or just $27 million, thanks to flat growth in the beginning of the period. Licensed retail sales based on corporate/trademark-based brands were up 2.0% in 2017–2019 and 3.6% from 2015–2017.
Note: Numbers may not add up exactly due to rounding. | ||||||
(Figures in millions) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Property Type | Retail Sales, 2019 | Retail Sales, 2017 | Change, 2017–2019 | Share, 2019 | ||
Entertainment/Character | $395 | $388 | 1.9% | 18.5% | ||
Sports | $302 | $292 | 3.5% | 14.1% | ||
Fashion | $594 | $569 | 4.4% | 27.8% | ||
Corporate/Trademark | $427 | $419 | 2.0% | 19.9% | ||
Art | $154 | $151 | 1.9% | 7.2% | ||
Other | $268 | $223 | 20.2% | 12.5% | ||
Total | $2,140 | $2,041 | 4.9% | 100.0% |