Last month, Graff Diamonds announced a licensing agreement with Inter Parfums for a multi-scent fragrance line that will launch in 2019 in high-end department stores, upscale travel retail, and Graff jewelry stores. The deal is a reminder that luxury brands with roots in fine jewelry are a force on the prestige end of the fragrance […]
Walking in Chefs’ Shoes
Chefs who enter the licensing business typically focus on items closely related to their vocation, such as kitchen gadgets, cook- and bakeware, tableware, and sometimes foods. A category that seems to be outside the scope of traditional chef-based licensing but has been growing rapidly over the past five years: sneakers. While at first glance there […]
Designing and Building a Home Décor Program
Some of the skills architects use to design buildings are also applicable to other sculptural products, from furniture and vases to home décor, handbag clasps, and drinkware. Their sketches and other artwork also make good graphics for plates or bowls. It is no surprise, then, that architects, living and deceased, have lent their names, drawings, […]
Ghosts of Fitness Past
Several of the pioneers of pop-culture fitness oversee licensing programs, joining today’s fitness trainers, such as Tracy Anderson, Tony Horton, and Jen Widerstrom, in inspiring lines of health and wellness-related goods. Three examples: Charles Atlas. This month, Pacific Swell Brands announced that it would be representing the Charles Atlas brand for licensing into core fitness […]
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, […]
Sweet Spot
Chocolate candy brands such as Hershey, M&Ms, and Godiva are known for their extensions (through licensing or ingredient sales) into compatible food categories such as coffee, ice cream, liqueurs, and the like. Meanwhile, candy-based properties outside the chocolate segment also have licensing programs that include complementary foods. In fact, the non-chocolate candy sector has been […]
Saving the Earth Through Fashion
Fashion labels’ use of synthetic fibers created from recycled plastic bottles continues to grow, including some licensed examples. Among the recent eco-friendly apparel, accessories, and footwear initiatives of this type, industry-wide: Gant paired with Seaqual, a company that makes polyester thread from plastics harvested from the ocean. They are producing a line of shirts for […]
Collecting in Style
Thanks to the pioneering efforts of companies such as Funko with its Pop! brand, Kidrobot, and Lego with its minifigures, it has become commonplace in the toy industry for licensed properties to take on the stylized look of the licensee’s brand. The trend affects not only the adult-skewing collectible portion of the market, but also […]
Going to the Gym
Intellectual property owners are increasingly looking at gyms and fitness regimens as a viable experiential category, as several recent deals around the world illustrate: Tim McGraw is partnering with Snap Fitness for a chain of gyms in the U.S. called Tru Mav Signature Clubs. The name is short for “true maverick,” and the centers will […]
On the Road
Recent deals involving Elle magazine, Star Wars, and designer Inès de la Fressange, among others, serve as a reminder of the strong marriage between special-edition automobiles and licensed properties of all types: • Entertainment. In December, Nissan released a series of seven concept cars tied to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, each inspired by a […]