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, entertainment/character, sports, and celebrity.
Note: Numbers may not add up exactly due to rounding. | ||||||
(Figures in Millions) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Territory | Retail Sales, 2015 | Retail Sales, 2014 | % Change, 2014-2015 | Share of Market, 2015 | ||
U.S./Canada | $40,211 | $38,536 | 4.3% | 60.6% | ||
Europe | $13,780 | $13,391 | 2.9% | 20.9% | ||
Asia | $8,641 | $8,332 | 3.7% | 13.1% | ||
Australia/New Zealand | $1,076 | $1,058 | 1.7% | 1.6% | ||
Latin America | $1,805 | $1,711 | 5.5% | 2.7% | ||
Middle East/Africa | $412 | $397 | 3.8% | 0.6% | ||
Other | $140 | $130 | 7.8% | 0.2% | ||
Total | $66,064 | $63,555 | 3.9% | 100.0% |
Apparel/accessories/footwear is also the largest product category in both the U.S./Canada and the rest of the world, accounting for, respectively, 38.9% and 43.2% of all sales of licensed goods within those markets. But while relative domestic shares are roughly equivalent, more than 60% of worldwide sales of apparel/accessories/footwear based on licensed properties come from the U.S./Canada. In 2015, the category grew 4.3% in U.S./Canada to $40.2 billion.
[pieChart title=”Share of Retail Sales of Licensed Apparel/Accessories/Footwear Merchandise, Worldwide, by Territory, 2014–2015″] [‘Territory’, ‘Retail Sales, 2015’ ], [‘U.S./Canada’, {v: 40211, f: ‘$40,211’} ], [‘Europe’, {v: 13780, f: ‘$13,780’} ], [‘Asia’, {v: 8641, f: ‘$8,641’} ], [‘Australia/New Zealand’, {v: 1076, f: ‘$1,076’} ], [‘Latin America’, {v: 1805, f: ‘$1,805’} ], [‘Middle East/Africa’, {v: 412, f: ‘$412’} ], [‘Other’, {v: 140, f: ‘$140’} ] [/pieChart] |
In fact, sales of licensed wearables were up in all territories for the year. Europe, home of the world’s second biggest market at 20.9%, followed the sluggish 0.1% growth of 2014 with a 2015 increase of 2.9%. Asia, the number three market at 13.1%, followed a similar trajectory going from 0.5% to 3.7% growth. Latin America posted the highest growth rate for the segment at 5.5% but still accounts for less than 3% of world consumption of licensed wearables.