Licensing International provides overview of the Global Licensing Industry study
Global sales of licensed goods and services reached a groundbreaking US$340.8 billion in 2022, while total licensing industry sales continued to grow by a solid 8 per cent compared to 2021.
Licensing International, the leading association for the US$340 billion-plus global brand licensing industry, has released a summary of its eighth annual Global Licensing Industry Study.
The study highlights the continued global sales growth of licensed products in categories such as retail, entertainment, sports and more. This year's Global Licensing Industry Study is sponsored by Amazon.
The full report will be released later this summer and was conducted by independent market research firm Brandar Consulting, LLC.
In 2022, the licensing industry outperformed the overall retail market due in part to higher revenues in the location-based entertainment and licensed services sectors.
Driving these results were global market trends that continued to be heavily influenced by the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, while industries struggled with record inflation rates and increased consumer behaviour towards location-based entertainment.
"The licensing industry has the ability to constantly adapt to consumer needs. In 2022, consumers have embraced location-based entertainment and its services.
Global brands have created these experiences through impressive innovations," said Maura Regan, president of Licensing International.
"Consumers sought to rediscover the world and make personal connections, giving categories like sports, music and collegiate (USA) a huge boost."
As economic hardships continued to impact markets, consumers were faced with the need to make smart spending decisions.
The better performance of the licensing industry compared to the overall retail market shows that brands made a critical difference, directing purchases to popular brands and characters.
The findings of the Global Study 2023 come from various sources of market information as well as data reports from 41 countries and all seven major regions.
In total, the Global Study 2023 analysis includes specific licensing data from 894 companies worldwide.
Some key findings from the Global Licensing Industry Study 2023 are:
• Consistent with the finding that location-based entertainment was a significant revenue driver,
the top performing categories in 2022 saw a 26 per cent increase in music, 19 per cent increase in sports and 11 per cent increase in collegiate (US specific).
• Respondents commented on the continued "gap" in new entertainment brands, as many theatrical releases in 2022 focused on sequels to franchise films.
Corporate brands filled this gap with fresh new properties, posting 13 per cent growth.
• The non-profit sector saw a significant increase of 25 per cent last year and there was a perceived increase in agencies representing non-profits in 2022.
• Diversity, equality and inclusion (VGI) remained in the focus of consumers and businesses, with brand owners and manufacturers supporting VGI in the production of their products and consumers* supporting VGI in their purchases.
This preview of the Global Licensing Industry Study analyses global sales across all major categories, including entertainment, corporate, sports, fashion, publishing and more in relation to broader economic and social trends.
Further findings from Licensing International's Global Licensing Industry Study 2023 will be published in the full report, including regional and country breakdowns for key markets.
This report will be available free to Licensing International members (and for purchase by non-members) in the summer.
www.licensinginternational.org