Jun 21, 2016

LIMA study: global retail sales of licensed goods

Retail sales of licensed products grew to $251.7 billion in 2015, a gain of 4.2 percent from the previous year, according to the 2016 International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association’s (LIMA) Annual Global Licensing Industry Survey conducted by Brandar Consulting, LLC. Royalty revenue from retail sales of licensed merchandise jumped 7.8 percent to $13.9 billion, due to robust retail sales and higher royalty rates that averaged 8.5 percent in 2015 versus 8.2 percent in 2014. Overall, Entertainment/Character licensing remains the largest category, accounting for $113.2 billion, or 45 percent of the total global licensing market.

“The 2016 survey showcases the resonance that licensed intellectual properties continue to have among consumers around the world. The size of the Global Licensing Market is on the rise, and is showing strength as our industry expands into new corners of the world,” said Charles Riotto, president, LIMA.

The U.S. and Canada remain the largest global market for licensed merchandise with retail sales of $145.5 billion last year, up 3.9 percent for a 57.7 percent share of the market. Retail sales of licensed goods outside the U.S. and Canada totaled $106.35 billion, up 4.8 percent from 2014. The next largest global region was Western Europe, with especially strong results in the U.K., Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands tallying revenue of $51.8 billion. This was followed by Northern Asia, including China, Japan and South Korea, with retail sales of $22.1 billion.

After Entertainment/Character, Corporate Trademarks was the next biggest property type, generating $52.8 billion in retail receipts for 21 percent of total revenues. Fashion was the next largest survey category, with $29.8 billion (11.8 percent of the total), followed by Sports at $24.9 billion (9.9 percent).

As the overall retail marketplace is characterized by a move toward omnichannel sales, survey respondents reported that online sales accounted for an average of 18.3 percent of their business, up from the 16.4 percent they reported a year earlier.

Further excerpts from the LIMA Annual Global Licensing Survey will be published in future issues of LIMA’s Inside Licensing, and the complete report, including regional and country-by-country breakdowns for major markets, will be made available free to LIMA members later this summer. Non-members can purchase the survey at licensing.org.