Maurizio Distefano Licensing’s Maurizio Distefano on growing the agency’s kidult brands, plus food and drink brand extensions.
Licensors and agents based outside the UK share their takeaways from 2024 and their goals for 2025, the challenges affecting the licensing industry and the opportunities waiting to be seized, plus the one word they’d use to sum up business in the year just gone and the one we’re in now.
Today: Italy: Maurizio Distefano, president and owner, Maurizio Distefano Licensing.
“2024 saw some difficult market conditions. At retail, reduced consumer spending and the falling birth rate have hit inventory. Retailers are buying fewer goods and only the best-selling properties make it to the shelves.
However, 2024 was a good one for our agency in terms of success and awards. We secured many new deals and renewals for our core properties and added some new ones to our roster, such as Care Bears and MGA Entertainment.
The kidult market is a strong part of our focus now, as is IP targeting young adults. This includes food and drink brand extensions (we already work with Baileys and Guinness) and music. These have grown substantially during 2024, and the outlook for both is positive for 2025, too.
We announced some major new partnerships for kids’ property Bing, including one with the Italian Society of Paediatrics (SIP). Masha and the Bear remains a big hit, with new master toy licensee Giochi Preziosi launching a number of products.
2024 was about resilience. 2025’s word is growth – of course!”
This feature originally appeared in the spring 2025 edition of Licensing Source Book. To read the full publication, click on this link.
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