Some analysts and observers have been predicting the end of the celebrity beauty trend for several years, as the market has grown saturated with myriad examples of celebrity-owned, licensed, and collaborative brands. While predictions of the demise of the entire sector haven’t come to pass, as Rihanna, Jessica Alba, Serena Williams, Harry Styles, and dozens […]
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These Kitchen Appliances Are *Chef’s Kiss*
Celebrity chefs regularly lend their names to licensed cookware, bakeware, tableware, cutlery, gadgets, and other categories closely related to cooking and entertaining. One area that makes good sense, but where chefs have been infrequent players to date, is in small kitchen appliances. Typically, these sorts of collaborations, when they happen, are positioned as offering professional […]
Court Craze Continues
Summer is peak season for pickleball, and the newly popular sport—which was invented in 1965—continues to gain strength as the fastest-growing participation sport in the U.S. It follows that commercial partnerships centered on the activity remain top of mind as well, from sponsorships and promotions, to logoed paddles, to designer-driven pickleball collections featuring apparel, footwear, […]
A Focus on Hearth and Home
Licensing has its cyclical ups and downs in every category, and it has been on a definite upswing over the past few years in the home goods sector. Recently, three high-profile celebrities have added their names to the list, each with extensive home goods programs or plans, with a focus on the kitchen. None has […]
Bulking Up
Recently, a number of celebrities and brands have announced initiatives (licensed and otherwise) centered on heavy-duty strength-training and fitness equipment such as stationary bikes, treadmills, squat racks, weight benches, and barbells. Licensing deals occur fairly frequently in the fitness equipment space, but are typically focused on light-weight tools such as yoga mats, handheld dumbbells, ankle […]
Christmas Characters Are Comin’ to Town
Seasonal merchandise programs tied to perennially favorite Christmas films, TV shows, and books have been strengthening in recent years, with more products available as each holiday season rolls around. This year, the collections seem to be particularly prominent, fueled by a couple of anniversaries, customers’ still-growing taste for pairings of licensed properties and seasonal themes, […]
Augmenting Adaptive Apparel Assortments
By Karen Raugust on October 30, 2023 in Celebrity, Demographic groups, Diversity/Inclusion, Fashion, Licensing
The fashion industry has been slowly putting more focus on consumers with disabilities since the mid-2010s, when it began picking up the pace of adaptive apparel releases. The technique has been flourishing in the last 18 months, as the business has seen several launches of adaptive clothing lines from retailers and brands, not to mention […]
New Cooks in the Kitchen
As more actors and actresses dip their toes into the foodie space with cookbooks, food-based TV series, and other related content, they are increasingly lending their names, or their proprietary brands, to products for the kitchen, namely cookware and appliances. At least four such partnerships have launched or expanded in the last year: Stanley Tucci […]
Making News with Consumer Products
Legacy newspaper and magazine brands have been struggling financially for years, in part because of increased competition from digital news and information sites. More recently, however, the latter have been facing equally steep challenges, as consumers rely less on—and often mistrust—official news organizations and turn instead to independent, often opinion-driven sources they follow on social […]
Good Buys
The home goods industry struggled in 2022 after the robust sales of the lockdown era, and most observers expect that trend to continue into 2023. But licensing has been a bright spot lately, and new licensing deals continue to be forged at a regular pace. One notable current trend—not surprising given consumers’ concerns about inflation […]