Cute food-themed designs and characters are currently in fashion within the licensed products landscape, thanks to a number of driving forces: Collectible toys. Moose Toys’ Shopkins and MGA’s Num Noms have been showing strength in both in their core playthings and in their licensed brand extensions. Kid Robot’s plush-based Yummy World is another example. Emojis. […]
Fun With Figures
A growing slice of the sports-licensing pie consists of part-toy/part-collectible figures depicting uniformed athletes from the pro leagues, along with pro and collegiate mascots. The products, made under license from the leagues and their players’ associations, are moderately priced and have play value, but also appeal to collectors young and old. Some of the key […]
Garish Garments for All
As we approach the core holiday selling period, and as seasonal items start to appear for sale at retail and online, it looks like the melding of ugly Christmas sweaters and licensed properties is set to continue for a third year. The segment has evolved since it hit in 2014, moving beyond the licensed sports […]
Ni Hao, China
A number of Western character/entertainment licensors operating global businesses have forged deals to strengthen their relationships with Chinese companies in the past six months. Some are bringing their own IP into China, while others are helping Chinese properties expand locally and globally. The initiatives take many forms: Signing consumer products licensees and licensing agents. CBS […]
Fright Night
If you live in a country that celebrates Halloween, especially the U.S., there will probably be a superhero at your door tonight. The top Halloween costumes each year—whether licensed or DIY—tend to reflect current social and pop culture trends. And according to this year’s crop of consumer surveys focusing on Halloween shopping in the U.S. […]
Of Makeup and Men
Makeup brand CoverGirl announced earlier this month that James Charles would become its first-ever male endorser. That news put a spotlight on a previously little-known segment of Internet celebrity: male social media stars who have gained followings for transforming their looks through the application of color cosmetics, often in dramatic fashion. Marketers are starting to […]
Smart, Chic, and Strategic
The fall season has seen a flurry of activity in the wearables sector, focusing on both fashion and fitness and encompassing not only watches and bands but also eyewear, belts, and apparel. Some of the deals have centered on upping the fashion quotient. Hermès partnered with Apple for a Hermès edition of the Apple Watch, […]
All You Can Eat
Food-to-food licensing, in which food and restaurant brands extend into non-core food and beverage sectors that represent a good fit with their flavor profile or positioning, continues to proliferate. Taking a look at some of the deals announced within the last year and a half shows the wide variety of food and beverage categories impacted: […]
The Expanding World of Character Collaborations
Collaborations between globally recognized cartoon characters and emerging and established fashion designers have become ubiquitous, with new examples arising weekly. Most of the activity to date has been in the key territories of North America, U.K. and Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Japan. But the practice is starting to gain a foothold in some […]
An Ear for Music
Key players in the headphone industry have been experiencing some upheaval in the past few months, thanks to bankruptcies, mergers, and lawsuits: SMS Audio, rapper 50 Cent’s company, filed for bankruptcy in April and shut down in August. Its licensed and signature products included gear for Reebok; Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars; and 50 Cent. […]