Now that school’s out for the summer, home goods and other retailers are starting to debut their back-to-college collaborations in anticipation of the 2024-2025 academic year. Three such partnerships were announced in June: At Home launched its new home décor range with lifestyle expert and designer Joy Cho and her Oh Joy! brand in July […]
Archive | Licensing
Chefs Cook Up Kitchen and Table Collabs
The first half of 2024 has brought three significant chef-driven home-products collaborations focused on hard goods for cooking, dining, and entertaining: Earlier this month, British chef Jamie Oliver partnered with Lifetime Brands for a line of serveware and dinnerware called Big Love, taking its name from the chef’s sign-off phrase. The products skew toward family-style […]
New Flavors ’Til the Cows Come Home
In a presentation at the annual Dairy Innovation Strategies conference in April, Patrik Hansson, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Arla Foods, a Danish dairy cooperative, called for the industry to refocus on bringing in new consumers and addressing the unhealthy eating habits of the global population. One of directions he recommended to […]
A Matter of Pride
By Karen Raugust on June 17, 2024 in Branding/marketing, Diversity/Inclusion, Licensing, Politics/social movements
The significant consumer backlash suffered by companies such as Target, Bud Light, Disney, Starbucks, the L.A. Dodgers, and others for their Pride promotions in 2023 has led some key companies to reduce their public support of Pride Month in 2024, or avoid acknowledging the moment altogether. For example: Target is cutting back on its Pride […]
Enjoy Your Stay
High-end hotels are entering the home furnishings realm, creating collections positioned as allowing consumers to treat themselves to the feeling of being in a fine hotel while remaining in the comfort of their own bedrooms and bathrooms. Most often, hotels sell the furniture and home textiles they feature in their guest rooms through their own […]
Two-Sport Athletic Deals
With the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Finals in progress, WWE, the wrestling entertainment brand, announced last week that it was creating an officially licensed legacy championship belt for the winning team. The belt, like those given to winners of wrestling events, highlights the Stanley Cup in the center, where the WWE logo usually resides, […]
A Little Pizzazz on the Pickleball Court
Pickleball, still relatively new on the scene as a mainstream participant sport, continues to grow in popularity with players of all ages. As a result, properties of nearly every type have lent their names, logos, and other assets to pickleball apparel, accessories, footwear, and especially paddles and paddle covers over the past few years. Recently, […]
Fright Night in the Toy and Collectibles Aisle
Scary plush and plush-like characters from the worlds of video games and collectibles are currently having a moment in the licensing business. These properties do not represent a new phenomenon, but their number is currently ramping up, likely due in part to the popularity of the horror genre in general. Most are meant to appeal […]
Medaling in Olympic Fashion
When the 2024 Summer Olympic Games open on July 26, national teams from around the world will be more fashion-forward than ever, as befitting the Games’ location in the fashion capital of Paris, France. A large number of fashion brands, from luxury labels to sportswear companies to streetwear brands, are pairing with national Olympic committees […]
Grabbing a Slice of Licensed Product Sales
Earlier this month, Domino’s retained Brand Central as its agent for brand-extension licensing, joining a handful of other pizza restaurants with outbound licensing programs. Overall, relatively few of the leading players in this sector are actively involved in lending their names to retail foods and other consumer products, at least in a significant way. This […]