Bioworld International’s Richard Radford on the rise of gaming brands in Europe.
The global licensing market continues to grow both in terms of value and diversity.
Europe, in no small way, is playing its part with the value of retail sales of licensed product growing to $60 billion in 2016 (according to LIMA’s 2017 Licensing Report).
The Source spoke to some key players across continental Europe, seeking opinion on how retailers approach licensing, what is working for them and what the future holds.
Today: Richard Radford, head of licensing, Bioworld International
“We would highlight a number of key retailers including Germany’s mail order music EMP, online retailer Elbenwald and El Corte Ingles in Spain.
“For the likes of EMP and Elbenwald (pictured), licensing is incredibly important as they sell a very high proportion of licensed product. As with a number of gaming based retailers across the globe, licensed merchandise is becoming a bigger and more prominent offering within their stores, as they diversify their operations to keep up with the change in physical games sales.
“Looking ahead and following on from the UK’s lead a little, Harry Potter seems to be increasing in prominence across a number of regions, then when you add in box office success of Wonder Woman, this also has had a positive influence across the continent. As is reflective across a number of territories, the rise of gaming based properties is gathering pace across a number of categories.
“The continued conveyor belt of new anime properties continue to delight fans in places such as France and Germany.”
This feature originally appeared in the autumn 2017 edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
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