Trends in Producing Successful Toys

The article BLE Preview: Toy Stories examines trends in the children's licensing and merchandising business. As reported in the article, sales of licensed entertainment merchandise accounted for $2.66 billion in royalty revenues in the U.S. and Canada. But one difficulty facing those in the licensing and merchandising industry is the reluctance of retailers to work with new, unproven brands. According to Marie-Laure Marchand, "Retailers are looking for sure-fire hits ...". Another aspect in today's marketplace is that "more and more alliances are being formed early-on between retailers and independent producers". These alliances are used to implement a balanced approach where all facets of a new brand are considered including physical and digital products, live events, theme parks, and video games.