PVH, ICONIX GROUP AMONG TOP GLOBAL LICENSORS

License Global magazine has released its exclusive Top 150 Global Licensors report, which ranks owners of intellectual property by annual retail sales of licensed product. The licensors included on the list reported more than $272 billion in global sales of licensed merchandise at retail in 2016, a $10 billion increase over last year.

The Walt Disney Company maintained the tip spot with $56.6 billion in licensed merchandise retail sales in 2016, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year. Among the other top 10 global licensors are PVH Corp (3), which owns fashion powerhouse brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and which had $18 billion in sales Iconix Brand Group (4), a brand management firm with a diverse roster that includes Mossimo, Umbro and Peanuts, and which owns or licenses such brands as Nick Graham and Ed Hardy. It reported $12 billion in sales.

“The Top 150 Global Licensors report offers invaluable insights and trends for the world’s major brands in the entertainment, sports, fashion/apparel, corporate, art and non-profit sectors and exemplifies the popularity of consumers’ favorite brands around the world,” said Tony Lisanti, global editorial director of License Global (which is owned by MR’s parent, UBM). This report also reinforces the importance of licensed brands as a critical business for many of the world’s largest retailers.”