Via the very readable
IP Finance blog -
On May 1, 2013, the Global License publication released its annual list of the top 150 (in the past this was a lower number) licensors. According to Global License, the top 150 licensors account for around US$230 billion in retail sales of licensed products and information.
The top 10 licensors include:
1) Disney Consumer Products (US$39.3bn) (eg Mickey Mouse and Avengers);
2) Iconix (US$13 billion) (eg Umbro);
3) PVH Corp. (eg Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein);
4) Meredith (US$11.2bn) (eg Better Homes and Garden);
5) Mattel (US$7bn) (eg Barbie);
6) Sanrio (eg Hello Kitty);
7) Warner Bros. Consumer Products (US$6bn) (eg Batman);
8) Nickelodeon Consumer Products (eg Dora the Explorer);
9) Major League Baseball (US$5.2bn); and
10) Hasbro (eg Transformers).
Other notables in the top 25 include Weight Watchers International, the Collegiate Licensing Company and Ralph Lauren.
The publication indicates that the Cancer Council of Australia is at rank 138, followed by the US Army (US$70m), described thus -
The U.S. Army licensing program leverages the brand's values of pride, performance and personal development to build positive brand awareness and create multiple touch points for Americans to show support for the U.S. Army. The program consists of 120 licensees across categories including apparel, footwear, jewelry, personal accessories, paintball, sporting goods, consumer electronics, gift and novelty, collectibles, cutlery, health and beauty, and toys. Several new product launches and high growth programs will drive growth in 2012 and beyond. The brand finds best-in-class licensees to manufacture quality products that bear the Army marks. The U.S. Army translates well into licensed products across many categories, and a major win for the brand was expanding the brand's footprint in the sporting good space by adding a new airsoft gun line by Crosman Sports along with a fitness apparel partnership with Adidas. These licensed programs piggybacked on the success of the U.S. Army Paintball line to grow the brand in the sporting goods space. The Army went digital in 2012, by adding two consumer facing portals with Café Press and Zazzle. The Army made it a point to increase their presence at retail by signing on Global Tissue Group, one of the world's largest consumable companies, to create a line of consumer paper goods including paper towels. The brand has focused on reaching consumers in authentic categories that embody the equities of the Army, and an initiative for the brand was to expand in the toy/video game category. It is a goal to embody the characteristics of being a soldier, "strong in body and strong in mind", so the Army signed on Kidz Toyz to do a line of U.S. Army branded Walkie-Talkies, role play toys, binoculars and flashlights available at retail across the country. This category was strengthened with the further expansion of video game peripherals and accessories by CTA Digital. The camping/outdoor category is an area of tremendous growth for 2012 and beyond. The Army has taken on Bestway International as a licensee to manufacture a line of PVC inflatable airbeds for outdoor and indoor use, to allow consumers the chance to use the brand on the go. U.S. Army licensed products are available at major retailers across the U.S. including Walmart, Target, Toys "R" Us, Dick's Sporting Goods, The Sports Authority, J.C. Penney and K-Mart, among others key retailers. Several key programs drove growth in 2012. Eugene Textiles secured orders from JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby and Hancock for its line of U.S. Army branded fleece and cotton fabrics. Tippmann Sports established the U.S. Army brand as the second best-selling brand in the paintball category, right after its proprietary Tippmann brand, with product available at Walmart and virtually every major sporting goods retailer. Select-A-Vision launched a line of Army sunglasses at Wawa and Walgreens locations nationwide and for a second year in a row, with over $1 million in sales for the line. Additional U.S. Army program successes in 2012 included Jerry Leigh's T-shirt program at Target and Walmart, BioWorld's t-shirt program at Walmart, U.S. Army branded knives, axes and pens by Master Cutlery sold in sporting goods and specialty stores across the country (including Dick's Sporting Goods, Big 5 and Academy Sports + Outdoors) and MBI, Inc.'s line of jewelry sold via direct mail and catalogs. A new and exciting retail win is the partnership between Zappos and Authentic Apparel.
