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 list of preschool-geared properties with some licensing activity here.
The preschool market is remarkably stable compared to other product categories; while all-ages brands like sports-based properties and Star Wars have made inroads into licensed preschool merchandise, preschool-based brands still made up the bulk of extensions on shelves.
Look forward to our upcoming The Global Market For Licensed Preschool Properties report, to be released later in 2017, where TLL calculates 2016 worldwide retail sales data for all of the 200+ preschool properties listed here.
Increasingly, properties are created in the hopes that they will hold global appeal. For example, Iconix Entertainment of Korea developed Pororo the Little Penguin as a universal character meant to have international appeal. Its name, color scheme, and species were selected for their universality, and any traces of ethnicity and cultural specificity were left out. Even so, the property’s success outside of Asia and some other territories has been limited to date.
Origin Stories
When TLL last compiled our list of preschool properties with active merchandising programs in 2014, 42% of properties originated from the U.S., followed by 28% from the U.K. Today the breakdown has a greater global spread—although the two countries still lead, the U.S. counts just 36% of properties and the U.K. 27%. Note that some properties count more than one origin, such as the British/Arabian Driver Dan’s Story Train and Canadian/British Mike the Knight.
[pieChart vaxis=”{title: ”}” haxis=”{title: ”}” title=”Origin of Preschool Properties With Some Licensing Activity, Worldwide”] For the most part, a small group of global properties—including those from media and consumer products powerhouses such as Disney (Doc McStuffins, Frozen), Nickelodeon (Dora & Diego), and Mattel (Thomas & Friends) and joined by smaller and mid-sized licensors such as eOne (Peppa Pig) or American Greetings (Strawberry Shortcake)—tends to dominate store shelves consistently around the world. In each country, these global brands are displayed beside homegrown properties that are often equally popular locally. This year saw the expansion of previously regional properties like Peppa Pig, which broke $100 million in retail sales worldwide in 2015. The top five licensors collectively manage 28.9% of all preschool properties with some licensing activity worldwide—and while they don’t necessarily dominate preschool licensed sales, the lists are overlap. Disney reigns as the number one owner of preschool properties worldwide, followed by Nickelodeon and BBC Worldwide. [pieChart vaxis=”{title: ”}” haxis=”{title: ”}” title=”Source of Preschool Properties With Some Licensing Activity, Worldwide”] Typically however, there are always domestic properties that are so localized that they do not transfer easily to the U.S. or other territories. Examples include Teddy & Chick/Bamse og Kylling (Denmark), Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf (China), and Postman Pat (U.K.). One reason that they boast a significant presence at home yet not internationally is that preschool properties tend to have support from local broadcasters—especially the free TV channels that dominate children’s television in certain countries—and governments may mandate a certain percentage of local programming on preschool channels. But as social media platforms like YouTube and SVOD providers like Netflix and Amazon become the go-to source for preschool programming, it is becoming easier for properties to cross borders without facing the limitations posed by traditional broadcasters. Property TypeWhile most preschool brands are entertainment/character-based (65.7%), some orginated as publishing properties (30.9%), and a smaller portion as toys/games (2.9%). Note that while some series, such as Franklin and Friends or DC Super Friends, have arguably outgrown their source material with TV or film adaptations, they are still considered publishing- and toy-based brands for the purpose of our classfication. But practically speaking, entertainment- and publishing-based brands are strongly interrelated, with one boosting the other’s visibility and extending the property’s life. [pieChart vaxis=”{title: ”}” haxis=”{title: ”}” title=”Source of Preschool Properties With Some Licensing Activity, Worldwide”] Preschool Properties With Merchandising ProgramsClick here to see the complete list of preschool properties with current licensing programs for which we calculate 2015 worldwide retail sales in our upcoming update to Preschool report. And for those looking forward to the next new thing, here’s a sample of those preschool properties that are launching licensing programs in 2016 and beyond. While a good number are spin-offs or reboots (Lion Guard, Teletubbies), there are a significant number that are original programs. Unlike our upcoming films with licensing potential list, for example, franchises aren’t the end-all-be-all marker of success in the preschool market. In many countries, the true classic properties beloved by parents and preschoolers are local properties that retailers and licensees know from their own childhoods—but aren’t easily transferrable to the international market. Don’t see a preschool property you think should be listed here? Contact Karina, TLL’s Executive Editor, to have it added to the list. |