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The staff of TLL extends our thanks to you for another great year. As we enter into 2019, we take a look back on the top stories of 2018 based on website visits. We exclude frequently-visited pages from the top ten list like the Licensing Source Book, Licensing Data Bank, Deal Sheet, and Job Bank.
- 37 Entertainment/Character Brands Earned Over $100 MM in the U.S./Canada (July). Once again, the most popular story of the year was TLL’s annual feature on the top entertainment/character brands to generate over $100 million in licensed retail sales in the U.S./Canada. The top-ranked brands based on 2017 global sales were Disney’s Mickey, Minnie & Friends with over $3.2 billion in sales, Sanrio’s Hello Kitty with almost $2.7 billion, and Disney’s Star Wars with $2.4 billion. Surprisingly, a lot of readers also visited last year’s feature on 2016 retail sales.
- Royalty Rates Flat; Average Up to 8.75% (April). Our first look at royalty rates for every product category and property type TLL tracks, fresh from TLL’s Annual Business Licensing Survey.
- Planned Feature Films with Licensing Potential (year-round). This month’s lead story has the latest update on TLL’s ongoing feature tracking English-language films that we think have the potential to be the next big licensing program.
- Company Spotlight: On Scaling Niche to Mass (February). In a TLL first, we took a look at one company’s public filings to generate a breakdown of what it takes to be the biggest name in pop culture collectibles.
- The Low-Down on Amazon Merch Collab (June). Breaking down the basics behind the Amazon Merch program for brands, designers, and manufacturers, our initial verdict on the new initiative: it’s not for everyone. We’ll follow up with a final assessment later this year.
- As Generations Shift, Preschool Market Follows (February). Applying demographic data to our retail sales estimates, we predict that the future of preschool licensing will see the fall of American dominance sooner rather than later.
- Top Ranked Brands by Millennials & Gen Z in 2018 (September). We recap the latest research on Millennials versus Gen Z, covering top-ranked brands, retailers, and dream employers.
- Franchises Drive Comics Sales in 2017 (February). Another round-up, this time tracking the best-selling comic books in 2017.
- Licensed Entertainment/Character Sales Hit $31.1 Billion Worldwide (June). A closer look at retail sales of licensed merchandise based on entertainment/character brands, with breakouts by product category and distribution channel.
- Death of a Salesman (March). One of TLL’s first features on the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy and its impact on toy sales. In the end, sales of licensed toys and games sales remained steady or even grew in most markets worldwide.