What do you think of when brand licensing comes to mind? You may think of cartoons for children such as “Paw Patrol”, “Star Wars” or “Minions”, whose motifs are transferred to various toys, exercise books or lunch boxes. But brand licensing goes far beyond that and is becoming more and more important. According to industry body Licensing International, revenue from the global licensing industry surpassed $300 billion for the first time in 2021, reaching $315.5 billion despite the pandemic.
The demand for licensed products continues to increase. Several leading retailers from M&S to H&M work with brands to develop consumer products that are in high demand. Research shows that brand licensing can increase revenue, increase sales and build customer loyalty. Still, many fashion retailers don’t know how to leverage the potential benefits of branded products. Below we give you an insight into the topic of brand licensing, how it can benefit your company and why you should attend Europe’s largest event for licensing and brand extension.
What is brand licensing?
In simple terms, brand licensing means that a retailer or a manufacturer borrows or leases the look and feel of a brand to manufacture consumer products. These licenses are typically granted for specific product categories and geographic areas.
With the help of brand licensing, retailers can differentiate themselves from their competitors and at the same time advance into new product categories that are considered exclusive due to the licensing agreement. Brand licensing also allows retailers to attract new customers through different product offerings.
How does brand licensing work?
Brand licensed products offer consumers an immediate emotional connection. The most famous examples of this are children’s toys – just think how excited children are when they receive a Star Wars LEGO set. However, the effect is the same for all age groups. Many adults are tempted by a sense of nostalgia to purchase these Hello Kitty socks if they liked the cartoon as a child as they remind them of their childhood.
Over the years, the topic of brand licensing has become increasingly important in the fashion industry. From fast fashion retailers to luxury fashion houses, they are collaborating to bring exciting new branded products to consumers. There has been a recent trend of fashion brands collaborating with mass market retailers such as: B. Gucci and The North Face, Adidas and Prada, Manolo Blahnik and Birkenstock or Burberry and Supreme. Such collaborations also ensure positive PR and interactions with consumers, as they open new consumer groups to both parties and encourage retailers to engage more with brand licensing.
Many fashion retailers have also become more open to brand licensing of trademarks, resulting in famous characters from Barbie to Snoopy to Thumper making their faces available for a variety of apparel styles.
Brand licensing and fashion at the BLE
“From Primark and Greggs, the Natural History Museum and Fat Face, to Selfridges opening as a fully operational online retailer in the Metaverse, and amazing in-store experiences around the world, fashion is an incredibly exciting business right now” , said Anna Knight, senior vice president of licensing at Informa Markets.
“The impact she can have on brands and that brands can have on them is endless.” Fashion is the central theme of the upcoming Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) trade show in London. It will bring together the widest range of brands available for licensing across Europe. The BLE is the hottest meeting place for the European licensing industry, bringing together thousands of the world’s best-known brands across entertainment, sports, fast-moving consumer goods, arts, heritage and more under one roof for three days of sharing, networking and trending discover.
“It’s a bonus for us that the central theme this year is fashion – a particularly strong sector for us. We’ve long had a reputation for pioneering this category,” said Julian Moon, Senior Vice President Warner Bros. Consumer Products EMEA. “We pioneered the nostalgia trend, the ‘mini-me’ fashion movement and the hugely popular high-end fashion collaborations. This includes some groundbreaking retail projects over the years. This year’s show gives us the opportunity to showcase the versatility of our brands and our expertise in developing current and future trends for all age groups from generation alpha to adults.
This year’s fashion theme will be reflected in a variety of areas, from product launches and live runway shows to a keynote speech by Mattel Chairman and COO Richard Dickson on Barbie x Fashion. Each catwalk show is specially choreographed, staged and themed. This makes it a reliable source of inspiration for branded fashion. “The catwalk at BLE is a great idea and an ideal way for us to show how adaptable our brands are,” said Richard Pink, Managing Director of exhibitor Pink Key Licensing. “There’s always a danger with food stamps that it’s difficult to see how to turn them into designs that fit a runway.”
“We’ve found that the depth and breadth of imagery available for all of our brands, as well as the flexibility in how it can be used, means that – as illustrated by Anya Hindmarch’s ongoing collaboration with Kellogg’s – our Brands don’t just work on the catwalk. They work great!” Attracting the entire licensing chain, from brand owners to license intermediaries, retailers and licensees, BLE is the place to connect with like-minded people and learn more about licensing trends across categories.
“The world of licensing is constantly evolving, and it’s important that we learn from our partners to continue being one of the leading global licensing brokers in the industry,” said John Taylor, Vice President Northern Europe at WildBrain CPLG.
Fashion retailers ready to enter and learn more about the world of Brand Licensing can register for Brand Licensing Europe in September for free at:
www.brandlicensing.eu.