As of early March, most of the major public toy companies have released their financial results for fiscal 2018. Here are some of the topline insights from each as they relate to licensing: Hasbro. Outbound entertainment and licensing revenues for the company’s proprietary brands increased 5%, attributable mostly to a digital streaming deal for Hasbro […]
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Child’s Play in China
By Karen Raugust on October 8, 2018 in Character/Entertainment, International, Licensing, Toys/Games
The escalating trade war with China is creating uncertainty for the global toy industry, with tariffs on toys, if they are implemented, potentially affecting the profitability of manufactured-in-China playthings in the U.S. market. But that isn’t stopping Western entertainment and toy companies from continuing to make inroads into the Chinese market by forging distribution, co-production, […]
Playing Well Together
Mergers and acquisitions involving makers of toys, many of them key licensees, have been occurring at a fast pace in 2018. The first three of the following examples took place in late May, while the last two were announced in March and February, respectively: PlayMonster, marketer of Yeti in My Spaghetti and Wonder Crew, purchased […]
Licensing Is No Joke
Many of the top-ranking influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms, as ranked by sheer numbers of followers, specialize in comedic sketches, observations about their daily lives, pranks, and similar content. A few of the social media stars of this sort have fairly broad licensing programs. Jake Paul, represented by Brand Central since 2017, is […]
Korean Cachet
Celebrities, designers, and other properties from Korea are increasingly influential in U.S. pop culture, and several are making their mark in consumer products as well: K-pop. Last month, Hot Topic announced it would carry a collection of t-shirts for BTS’s Wings Tour, the latest addition to its roster of K-pop merchandise. In addition to BTS, […]
Online Properties, Offline Products
By Karen Raugust on March 20, 2017 in Character/Entertainment, Digital, Licensing, Publishing, Toys/Games
Original entertainment series distributed on streaming platforms, rather than on traditional television, have quickly gained traction as viable licensing opportunities. The first licensed products for these sorts of IP, which began to emerge in the world of licensing nearly two years ago, tend to be toys and/or books. Some examples: Jim Henson Productions’ Word Party, […]
Blind Bag Bonanza
When the NPD Group released its estimates for U.S. toy industry growth for the first nine months of this year, it called out the collectibles category as a particularly strong segment, with sales up 64% year-to-date. Blind bags—impulse-priced foil or plastic bags with a surprise mini collectible toy inside—represent a bright spot even within collectibles, […]
Join the Crowd
Licensees and retailers increasingly want to profit from the popularity of social media stars, whose fame is derived from their presence on YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, Twitter, and/or Snapchat. Not only do these new celebrities have ever-expanding and very loyal and engaged audiences, but they can have a great influence on their fans’ purchasing habits […]