Celebrity chefs regularly lend their names to licensed cookware, bakeware, tableware, cutlery, gadgets, and other categories closely related to cooking and entertaining. One area that makes good sense, but where chefs have been infrequent players to date, is in small kitchen appliances. Typically, these sorts of collaborations, when they happen, are positioned as offering professional […]
Archive | Consumer electronics
Now Hear This: OTC Creates Opportunity
Hearing aids became available over the counter in the U.S. in October 2022, making them more accessible and lowering prices. The change has enticed consumer electronics companies including Bose and Sony, who see potential in the market and are entering the category alongside the traditional specialist marketers. A few collaborations are starting to emerge in […]
Characters Clean House
“Robot vacuums,” the small, self-propelled appliances of which the Roomba is the best-known example in the U.S., are popular in Japan, which is a leader in the manufacture and design of robots for industrial and consumer use and where small house sizes make the devices practical. And, as is the case with other small appliance […]
Is Now the Time for Smart Eyewear?
There was a period in the mid-2010s when many fashion and consumer electronics industry watchers thought smart glasses, especially paired with designer or other licenses to give them a stylish slant, would represent a growth category. But while some deals were done—Diane Von Furstenberg with Google Glass in 2014, for example—neither the category nor licensing […]
CE Brand Extension: A Note of Nostalgia
The recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show is a good time to take stock of what’s new in brand-extension licensing in the CE industry. Following are some recent deals involving electronics brands expanding into adjacent categories. Most reflect a resurgence of nostalgic, legacy, and retro brands, reimagined for modern consumers. This represents a key current trend […]
Now Hear This
Kids’ audio is hot, with everything from podcasts to musical albums on the rise. One of the most active areas within this sector consists of a growing number of low-tech, screenless audio players designed to allow young children to control what they listen to independently and safely in a closed eco-system. The proliferation of these […]
Cooking Up Kitchen Collaborations
Most kitchen- and food-related housewares and appliance categories have experienced strong growth over the past year, thanks to consumers’ reenergized interest in cooking during the pandemic. Not surprisingly, a number of new and expanded licensed collections have come to light since the crisis began: This month, actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore and Walmart […]
Accessorizing with Tech
Properties of all types have extended their names and designs into mobile phone cases and other accessories for personal electronics. With the ubiquity of smartphones in daily life, such licensed products have become important means of social expression for consumers. Tech accessories have also taken their place as a fashion statement, and that fact was […]
Licensing Insights from CES 2021
Licensed products did not have a particularly high profile at the first-ever all-virtual Consumer Electronics Show, held last week. But several speakers offered interesting news and insights related to the licensing business. Most of these tidbits were related not to consumer products, but to apparel: The WNBA saw a 350% increase in merchandise sales last […]
Giving Voice to Smart Electronics
One of the biggest topics of conversation at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the prominence of voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant, Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s Bixby, Roku’s Entertainment Assistant, and Microsoft’s Cortana. Not only are such voice assistants associated with smart speakers (e.g., Amazon’s Echo or Google’s Home), which […]