Top 150 Global Licensors 2014

The annual Top 150 Global Licensors report ranks the retail sales of licensed merchandise from the world's most powerful brands, spanning all consumer product segments. 

Check out the top 25 licensors from the report below and then download the full list to learn about each of the 150 companies. Also, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest news from licensing.

The Top 150 Global Licensors accounted for $251.8 billion in retail sales of licensed products worldwide in 2013 versus almost $230 billion in 2012 as a result of several licensors reporting significant increases in retail sales and new licensors that joined the rankings. The Top 10 Global Licensors reported an increase in retail sales of more than $14 billion, jumping from $112 billion in 2012 to $126.9 billion in 2013, accounting for slightly more than 50 percent of overall licensed product retail sales. A total of 59 global licensors reported retail sales of $1 billion or more, up from 56 licensors in 2012, representing $225 billion in retail sales or 90 percent of total licensed product retail sales. It is important to point out that the total year-over-year increase in retail sales is attributable to several factors–real growth of the licensors, acquisitions and the addition of new licensors. It provides a true picture of the significance of brand licensing and its importance and contribution to the overall retail industry. In this year’s report, 12 new licensors have joined the rankings, representing a combined total of almost $7 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandise in 2013. The new licensors are Ford, National Football League Players, Inc., Discovery Consumer Products, Dr. Seuss, A+E Networks, Ironman, Briggs & Stratton, Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Skechers, Crocs, Kathy Davis Studios and Green Gold TV.

There are several familiar licensors that are no longer individually broken out within the ranking as they have been incorporated into their respective parent company’s listing, either the result of a corporate decision or acquisition–ESPN and Disney ABC Television are now included with parent company Disney, for example, and HIT Entertainment is now included with Mattel. Last year, three major licensors were removed from the list but remain viable operating divisions of other major licensors. They include Lucas Licensing, now part of Disney; Classic Media, now part of DreamWorks; and Lazytown, which is part of Turner Enterprises.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REPORT AS IT APPEARED IN PRINT.