The home goods category has been among the most active over the past couple of years when it comes to new licensing deals and collaborations involving licensed IPs. One property type of note in this sector of late has been food-related lifestyle influencers and their brands. Three recent deals serve as examples, all involving celebrities […]
Archive | Retail
Retail Results: Hard Times for Home Goods
Four major multi-category retailers that released their 2024 financial results in the last month showed significant declines in sales of home goods. The category often (but not always) lagged behind other segments, according to the companies’ filings and third-party analyses of the results. The numbers illustrate the continued challenges that have been facing this sector […]
Elevating the Fast-Food Drink Selection
Quick-service restaurants have long been at the forefront when it comes to creating offbeat novelty items to raise visibility for their brands and give something new to their loyal customers. One of the latest trends may also be one of the most unexpected: The pairing of fast food with wine. Such collaborations make a PR […]
Stop & Shop These Licensed Collections
Licensed foods have become an everyday sight in supermarket aisles around the world. A number of deals announced in the past 12 months show the growing importance of supermarkets as partners for exclusive licensed collaborations in non-foods categories as well, especially home goods, gift/stationery, and décor: Aldi paired with Disney last month to introduce a […]
Growth is a Piece of Cake for These Bakeries
Bakery chains from Asia—especially South Korea and Taiwan—are quickly expanding on a global scale, including in the U.S. Their combination of Asian and western (typically French) baked delicacies, made on-site daily, along with a range of hand-crafted beverages, appeals to the global Asian diaspora as well as a wide spectrum of western consumers. These shops […]
Happy Returns For Former Retail Brands
Several formerly defunct retailers have announced relaunches, or expanded on recent relaunches, this year. Through a variety of strategies, their well-known IPs are coming back, both online and as shop-in-shops and/or standalone retail locations: Bed Bath & Beyond returned to bricks-and-mortar retail through partnerships with The Container Store and Kirkland’s, both announced in October. The […]
Masterpieces on the Clothes Rack
For fast-fashion retailers, offering continuous collaborations with licensed properties, from character and entertainment IP to luxury fashion labels, has long been fundamental to their business model. Working with licensed IP is a critical tool for enabling a never-ending stream of in-and-out products that keeps their young customers coming back regularly to hunt for inexpensive treasures […]
Asian Retailers Expand Reach
Retail chains from Japan and China that specialize in affordable, stylish merchandise, especially home goods, gifts, and stationery, are expanding quickly on a global scale. Known for their Asian design sensibility—which has become popular worldwide—they turn products over quickly to encourage return visits and give fans new surprises each time. They are often open to […]
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 […]
Hooked on Fast Fashion
Sustainability concerns have taken some of the luster from the fast fashion retail sector. The core business model, after all, is to encourage purchases of inexpensive clothes that are meant to be replaced quickly with trendy new pieces, creating an ongoing cycle of waste. Based on the number of deals being done with fast-fashion retailers, […]