Mooncakes are baked goods traditionally eaten during China’s Mid-Autumn Festival, which celebrates the moon and the fall harvest and is one of the most important Chinese festivals each year. Traditionally, mooncakes are round, two to four inches in diameter and up to two inches deep, with a filling commonly made of red bean or lotus […]
Archive | International
For China’s Eyes Only
For some time, licensors ranging from luxury and sportswear labels to owners of character and sports IP have been developing their brands in China. Many have started to see some success there. In fact, a growing number identify the territory as one of their fastest rising in terms of merchandise sales. As a result, an […]
Sportswear Brands Still Competing in Asian Esports
By Karen Raugust on September 28, 2020 in COVID-19, Interactive gaming, International, Licensing, Sports
COVID-19 has had a big impact on global esports revenues. Newzoo predicted in July 2020 that revenues for the esports industry worldwide would increase by 1.7% this year, compared to growth of 23.3% year-on-year in 2019. Sales of esports merchandise and tickets—Newzoo tracks the two revenue streams as one segment of the total industry—will take […]
Surviving the Blast
The ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut on August 4, which killed more than 200, turned 300,000 people homeless, and damaged and destroyed businesses throughout the city, occurred close to the shopping and arts district. This is an area where luxury designer shops and the headquarters of many creative companies, including fashion designers—of which the city […]
Honoring Indigenous Artists
Indigenous artists from around the world have been at the core of several recent initiatives in the worlds of licensing, collaboration, fashion, and retail. Some announcements in the past couple of months have included: Last week’s debut of the National Indigenous Fashion Awards in Australia, developed by the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation. Nominations included […]
Russian Properties Reach Out
The global expansion of children’s animation properties originating in Russia continues in 2020, with a growing number of distribution, consumer product, and licensing representation deals announced since January. There has been a particular flurry of activity in April and especially May: 0+ Media signed Maurizio Distefano Licensing as its rep for Leo and Tig in […]
Piece of Cake
By Karen Raugust on June 1, 2020 in Celebrity, Food/Beverage, House and home, International, Licensing
U.K.-based celebrity chefs, cooking show presenters, and especially bakers have been at the center of a number of licensing, collaboration, and representation deals, and/or new products or promotions, over the past few weeks: Jane Devonshire, a past MasterChef winner who is known for her gluten-free cooking and cookbooks, retained Start Licensing as her agent for […]
Kid Stuff
At Toy Fair New York in February, one of the trends was the large number of influencers signing toy deals. Most of the celebrities associated with the products on display there were young adults whose content appealed to children or collectors. More recently, a raft of agency representation and toy-centric licensing agreements have been focused […]
A Full-Court Press for Chinese Sportswear Firms
China continues to get back to business after the Covid-19 outbreak, which peaked in that country from mid-January through early to mid-March. As a result, the leading Chinese sportswear and footwear companies are still hopeful they can come out of a terrible first half with positive numbers for the year as a whole. Anta, the […]
Garden Products In Bloom
Botanical and public display gardens have long had licensing programs in place. Some have been actively extending their brands and imagery for at least two to three decades, and in many cases their merchandise efforts have been on the rise in recent years. Their brands are well-positioned in the current landscape, given consumers’ growing interest […]