Sartorially challenged men and women everywhere can rest easy, knowing a new licensing agreement will bring the Emmy award winning fashion sense of Queer Eye to an ecommerce portal near you. Scout Productions, the company behind the hit series, announced on November 5 a multi-layered licensing program of new products and the launch of QueerEyeStore.com, bringing fans all … [Read more...] about We Can All Look Better, Thanks to Queer Eye Licensing Deal
Walmart
Discount, Ecommerce Channels Add $1.3 Billion in U.S. & Canada Licensed Sales
Contact the editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com The discount/mass and online/ecommerce channels alone added an additional $1.3 billion in licensed retail sales in 2018, according to TLL's Annual Licensing Business Survey. That's exactly 91.0% of the $1.5 billion growth in licensed retail sales from 2017. The share of retail sales of licensed merchandise conducted … [Read more...] about Discount, Ecommerce Channels Add $1.3 Billion in U.S. & Canada Licensed Sales
M&A: New Faces, Same Places
Contact the editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com Penske Media Corp. (PMC) purchases the last remaining 49% stake in Rolling Stone from BandLab Technologies, giving it full ownership over the magazine brand, including all event and licensing rights, as well as the parallel entity Rolling Stone Intl. Other PMC properties available for licensing include Variety, Deadline … [Read more...] about M&A: New Faces, Same Places
Retail Watch: Thanksgiving, Black Friday & Other Trends
Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Here are the top trends and data points to help you digest this five-day holiday weekend. This story has been updated for Dec. 3, 2018 to incorporate additional data, especially for Cyber Monday. The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that holiday sales, both in-store and online, will increase anywhere from 4.3% to … [Read more...] about Retail Watch: Thanksgiving, Black Friday & Other Trends
One-Quarter of Top 2018 Holiday Toys are Licensed
Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Roughly 29% of the top 2018 holiday toys are licensed, according to lists created by Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Kmart. In 2017, retail sales of licensed toys/games sank -4.4% to $7.7 billion in the U.S./Canada, according to TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey. This was largely due to the impact of the Toys 'R' Us … [Read more...] about One-Quarter of Top 2018 Holiday Toys are Licensed
Media Magnates
Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group vaults itself into the entertainment business after having acquired VStar Entertainment Group this July. The combined entity currently has 29 shows in production, including branded offerings for Nickelodeon's Bubble Guppies and Paw Patrol. In 2019, Cirque will launch the first of six … [Read more...] about Media Magnates
Retail & Experiential: Theme Parks, Amazon Go & More
A Nickelodeon theme park is headed to the Mall of China in Chongqing, China. The 28,000 sq. meter (or just over 300 sq. ft.) park will showcase 29 attractions and 14 Nick properties, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and PAW Patrol. The theme park is slated to open in 2020. Animaccord and Italian theme park Leolandia will open a … [Read more...] about Retail & Experiential: Theme Parks, Amazon Go & More
Who’s News—7/9/2018
Are you hiring—or being promoted, changing jobs, retiring, launching a new company, or otherwise changing your employment? Email the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com to announce the news in our next issue of Who's News. Jennifer Lee and Pete Docter are appointed the new Chief Creative Officers of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, … [Read more...] about Who’s News—7/9/2018
Retail Sales, Partnerships & M&A
The U.S. Commerce Department released its first estimate for Q4 GPD, which increased at an annualized rate of 2.6%—and consumer spending, which was up by 3.8% and saw its fastest growth rate in over a year. A successful holiday season, however, means that retailers are also having trouble restocking shelves. A report from the Wall Street Journal suggests that businesses are … [Read more...] about Retail Sales, Partnerships & M&A
Retailer Alert: Holiday Sales, TRU & New Innovations
The economists have weighed in, and it looks like holiday sales will be strong this year. Deloitte projects that holiday sales between November and January will rise 4% to 4.5% from a year earlier to as much as $1.05 trillion. Online sales will rise at a much faster pace, gaining 18% to 21% to as much as $114 billion, or 11% of the total holiday retail sales. AlixPartners … [Read more...] about Retailer Alert: Holiday Sales, TRU & New Innovations