The global licensing business had a banner year in 2021 despite the pandemic, growing by 7% since 2019 to reach US$315.5 billion in sales,  according to the “2022 Global Licensing Industry Study” that Licensing International released yesterday.

One of the year’s most dramatic performances was in the apparel category, which made up 14% of global sales revenue from licensing products and services in 2021 at US$45 billion. But the report also ID’d video games and software, sporting goods, housewares, pet products, toys, home décor and food & beverage as the next fastest-growing categories over the past two years.

In terms of international growth, there was a 9.5% jump in sales revenue generated in LatAm to US$12.9 billion—putting it second only to the US/Canada, which increased 9.6% to US$186.2 billion. And every region around the world experienced a bump, including the Middle East and Africa (up 3.53% rise to US$5 billion) and Eastern Europe (up 1.59% to US$9.9 billion). Drilling down by country, Brazil made the biggest jump, moving up to eight in the world, with a 12.3% revenue increase to US$5.9 billion.

A large portion of Brazil’s 2021’s stronger global sales (almost US$6 billion) came from the entertainment and character segment, which includes TV, film and video game licensing. However, the study also found that consumers and retailers leaned on evergreen properties and well-established brands during the pandemic. Licensees focused on the celebrity, corporate, art and publishing categories last year to fill a gap in new entertainment content caused by theatrical release delays/cancellations.

Lastly, the report highlights a fundamental shift in consumer shopping habits. In 2021, 66% of consumers bought goods in brick-and-mortar stores while 34% shopped online, compared to 78% for brick-and-mortar and 22% for online in 2019.

The “2022 Global Licensing Industry Study” is a collection of data gleaned from market analysis, an industry survey and calls to licensing professionals. Licensing International did not conduct this research in 2020 because of the pandemic, so the new report offers a comparison with 2019. It’s available on Licensing International’s website.

Image courtesy of Licensing International.