Candy brands have long been participants in fashion collaborations, but they seem to be experiencing a particularly active period in this space these days. Designs tend to go all-in on prominently featuring the shapes, colors, mascots, and packaging associated with the IP, and the focus is largely—but not entirely—on accessories categories, in part because consumers […]
Tag Archives | Coach
A Potential Path to Prosperity
The luxury space has experienced a steady drumbeat of M&A activity this year. The sector has been troubled since the second half of 2023, when many players started to report declining sales and stock prices. While things have turned around a bit for some players in the first half of this year, growth overall has […]
Pop Stars
With their bright colors and pop-culture references, painters identified as pop artists, from Roy Lichtenstein to Damien Hirst, have been attractive as licensing and collaboration partners almost since they first came on the scene in the 1950s. The past year is no exception as pop artists, both current and classic, have been expanding their licensing […]
Art x Fashion
Collections pairing the imagery of established artists with high-profile apparel and accessories labels have represented a trend in the licensing and fashion businesses for some time, and that continues, as recent deals attest: Keith Haring’s estate and its agent Artestar are collaborating with Coach on a spring/summer 2018 collection of handbags and wallets, representing the […]
A Meditation on Mergers & Acquisitions
Last month came news that Learfield and its competitor IMG College were in late negotiations to merge. If the plans go through, this move would bring together the two major agents in the collegiate licensing business, not to mention their vast sponsorship and multimedia operations, marking a big change for the collegiate licensing business. It […]
Front and Center
Licensing has become a key marketing tool in the higher-end specialty store tier, even in shops that tend to focus mostly on private-label goods or products from established brands. Several such chains are currently demonstrating this fact by highlighting licensed collaborations, often devoting their front windows to these partnerships: J. Crew is touting its alliance […]