LIVE FROM LICENSING INTERNATIONAL: 2004 SALES REACH $1.75 B
Worldwide retail sales of licensed products rose by 1.5% to $175.3 billion in 2004.
The figures, to be released this month by License!, are based on staff research and include art and publishing, brands and trademarks, licensed characters, entertainment, fashion, online and interactive products and sports, according to Joyceann Cooney, editor-in-chief of License! Magazine, who spoke yesterday.
The art and publishing category dropped by 1.5% in 2004 to $18.6 billion, Cooney said. Though holding strong in the field was Thomas Kinkade and Precious Moments, each with $500 million in sales. Mary Engelbreit took fifth place in retail sales of licensed products with $70 million.
“Let’s face it, there’s not enough shelf space,” Cooney said.
Licensed products for brands and trademarks saw a 3.8% growth in 2004 with $35.5 billion. General Mills was a top player in the category with an estimated $675 million in licensed product sales. Contributing to the growth was the company’s program with Target stores, in which it transformed images of its cereal brands onto T-shirts, Cooney said.
Character-licensed products also reported growth at 1.8% with $40 billion in sales. The Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake brands helped fuel that growth, Cooney added. Looking ahead, the industry can expect better and more creative partnerships between QSRs, licensors and licensees, Cooney predicted. In addition, marketers will see the continued melding of education and entertainment via classroom programs, she said.
Sales for online and interactive licensed products earned a 1% growth to $5.09 billion in 2004. To continue the growth, video game developers must address the growing need for online game management, Cooney said. Sports will emerge as the leading category driver for video game sales this year, she said.
In the entertainment space, sales of licensed products rose by 5.6% to $20.8 billion, with music and film, including the Spider-Man franchise, taking leadership roles in the category. Likewise, Cooney reported good news in the fashion licensed product category, which has declined over the last few years. Fashion licensed products sales rose by a half percent, with the Cherokee Group, Liz Claiborne and the Mary Kate and Ashley brand emerging as the top three leaders with an estimated $3.5 billion, $1.4 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively.
For the future, Cooney predicted consumers will opt for a more sophisticated manner of dressing (gone will be the days of casual Fridays); the retro vibe, multicultural influences and styles from decades past will remain; and streetwear will show no signs of fading.
