The top brands in France and how the Presidential election could affect the licensing business.
The UK licensing sector is in pretty rude health at the moment, but how much is this replicated in other countries?
All this week, The Source will be checking out the landscape of some key overseas territories with the help of some experts, and discovering that there are some challenges – and properties – which are universal, regardless of location.
Today: France
The French licensing market benefits from a healthy trade show – Kazachok Licensing Forum, which is held every April. It also has the French Licensing Federation, which was established in 2010 and is open to IP owners and licensing agents based in, and conducting business in the territory.
One of the main concerns this year, according to Marina Narishkin, director at TF1 Licences, is the Presidential election.
“The toy market was flat in 2016 and that mirrors well the situation of licensing,” she says. “France is still struggling economically and every five years for the Presidential elections, turnover and sales are down in general. However, last year TF1 Licences beat our budget.”
Some of the top performing brands of last year included Star Wars, Spider-Man, Pokémon, PAW Patrol, Frozen and Euro 2016, while Minions, The Smurfs and Disney brands also did well. Miraculous is notching up strong ratings on TV, while hot tips include Yo Kai Watch and Chica Vampiro.
Marina says that while French comic characters like Asterix are still strong, toy properties and movies seem to be inching into the lead again.
“Hot properties still work but our economy is down so it is tough in France,” Marina continues. “Retail wants trusted properties with events or news and that isn’t easy to find. Licensors with marketing money should use it towards retail activations and look to innovative products with tech capacities. Social media is also getting very strong for advertising and selling.”
This feature originally appeared in the summer 2017 edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
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