Licensing International Releases Early Results from 2022 Global Sizing Study

Global sales of licensed merchandise and services surpasses $300-billion milestone as overall licensing industry grows by 7.75% since 2019.

License Global

May 19, 2022

Licensing International logo.Licensing International

Licensing International has released a topline preview of its 7th annual Global Licensing Industry Study. Available in full on June 24, the report, conducted by Brandar Consulting, shows some pandemic trends continue to strongly shape the global licensing industry.

“The study highlights the impressive growth the licensing industry has seen over the past two years,” says Maura Regan, president, Licensing International. “With the constant emergence of new innovations and trends, there are some incredible opportunities to grow even further, some of which will be previewed at next week’s

Licensing Expo.

”

The global sizing study contains two years’ worth of economic data, country-level data, product market data, royalty rate data and company-level financials, painting a full picture of what has transpired in the licensing industry. Notable findings from the early release of the study include:

Retail – An explosion of e-commerce emerged across the retail landscape, capturing 34% of global licensed sales as businesses fully embraced the move, noting a two-fold benefit of increasing distribution when physical shelf space was so compressed, while also increasing their profit margins.
Celebrities - Celebrity licensing saw significant growth (30.1%) because it served as a very close proxy to Entertainment properties, with established Celebrity brands being viewed as more evergreen with longer-term staying power at retail.
Sports – With Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) licensing becoming a reality for college athletes, the collegiate sports category was up 18.6%, showing even stronger growth than the overall sports category, which grew 8%.

Publishing – With the pandemic leading to a renewed interest in leisure reading, Publishing properties saw a resurgence in the licensing world growing share for a fifth year in a row, now accounting for 8.5% of the global licensing business.

The report dives further into additional categories, touching upon pressing topics within the industry

including sustainability, royalties, counterfeiting, and more. Further results from Licensing International’s 2022 Global Licensing Industry Study will be published in a complete report, including regional and country-by-country breakdowns for major markets. The full report will be made available for free to Licensing International members on June 24 and will also be available for purchase by non-members.