With winter approaching, retailers in northern climates are in the midst of the ski and après-ski wear season. The number of licensing partnerships and collaborations in this space remains strong, especially on the luxury end of the spectrum, with many initiatives pairing fashion-forward, high-end apparel labels with technical winterwear specialists. Some examples of collaborative capsule […]
Tag Archives | Disney
Entertainment Licensors Collect Trading Card Deals
Retail sales — and licensing deals — in the trading card category have been growing at a fast pace over the past year or two. While sports cards and entertainment-based trading card games dominate this sector and continue to contribute significantly to its growth, there has also been expansion in other niches of the industry. […]
Getting More Bang for the Buck
A handful of dollar stores and their international equivalents are using licensing and collaborations to stand out in an increasingly crowded market in which they face growing competition from a variety of different types of low-cost retailers. Many of these chains have raised their prices above the $1 mark, or similar milestones, which puts them […]
Licensed Mahjong Sets Are Multiplying
Licensing and collaboration deals involving mahjong sets are proliferating as the pastime continues to gain popularity beyond its home region of Asia, including in the U.S. market. The properties dipping their toes into the category are expanding beyond the art, lifestyle, and fashion labels that first gained a foothold and remain common partners. Meanwhile, the […]
K-pop and Characters Unite
K-pop artists have long created cartoon-style characters as a way to promote their music and brands, with the creations appearing in music videos, marketing materials, and sometimes merchandise. Recently, K-pop soloists and groups alike have been pairing with existing characters — often from the Sanrio family — to create fashion and other products featuring themselves […]
Playing Around with Piano Partnerships
Collaborations and licensing deals involving musical instruments mostly fall into the realms of guitars, amps, and accessories, as well as drum kits and related products. Pianos and digital keyboards are not as common as a focus of collaboration deals. But these types of agreements do pop up from time to time, typically yielding very limited […]
Studios’ Altcasts Play the Long Game
Character-centric altcasts of pro sports events have become regular occurrences over the past five years, with three of the four of the biggest U.S. pro sports leagues; studios including Disney, Nickelodeon, and Warner Bros.; and networks including ESPN, TNT, and CBS all involved. These alternative viewing feeds are real-time simulcasts of pro sports games in […]
Stylists Remain in Style
Stylists generally work behind the scenes to help celebrities look their best on the screen or the red carpet. But, backed by social media, TV appearances, books, and more, many stylists’ personal fame has grown. And as a result, they have been increasingly featured front and center in the world of fashion collaborations. Some examples […]
Lighting The Winter Nights
By Karen Raugust on December 22, 2025 in Character/Entertainment, Experiential licensing, Holiday, Licensing
Winter light displays in Japan, of which there are many, are festive events meant as destinations to bring people together in the dark winter months and to put forth an aura of hope and magic. The practice began in a big way in the 1990s. The peak time period each year occurs during the Christmas […]
Drone On
Drone shows have become a fast-growing experiential category for licensors looking for new ways to engage consumers and promote their properties and initiatives. Not only are drone shows appealing to fans as a relatively new type of experience in their own right, but they are also gaining popularity as an alternative to fireworks, which are […]