Circana: Licensed toys exceed total industry sales
Licensed toys will outperform the overall toy market in 2024, according to a recent survey by market research company Circana. Sales of licensed toys in Europe (EU5: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) rose by 2.4 per cent, while industry sales fell by 3.1 per cent in the first seven months of this year. Licences now account for 28.8 per cent of total toy sales in the EU5 countries, with licences gaining market share in every country. The fastest growing licences in Europe this year include UEFA National Teams - European Championships, Lilo & Stitch and Mercedes Benz, demonstrating the breadth of licences adopted in the toy market.
Kidults as a sales driver
Major franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel and Pokémon are fuelling the entertainment offering and the licensed toy business. However, the toy industry is also experiencing additional growth thanks to kidults, as the major studios are increasingly focussing on older fans. According to Circana's State of the Toys Consumer: Teens & Adults report, Star Wars is unique in the industry, with over half of total sales coming from consumers aged 12+, while Pokémon is also growing its share with older fans.
However, this means that sports licences, which account for 2.2 per cent of total toy sales in Europe, will be the main growth driver in 2024 (+34 per cent). Toys inspired by anime have an even larger share with 5.8 per cent of total toy sales and also contribute to growth with a year-on-year increase of 8 per cent. The increasing popularity of anime in the European market has been fuelled by Netflix and Amazon as well as dedicated anime platforms such as Crunchyroll.
Future trends
Major film releases will resume in the final quarter of this year, including Wicked, Sonic and Moana, which are set to make a splash both on and off the big screen. The return of Jurassic World, Superman, James Cameron's Avatar, Fantastic Four, Captain America and Gabby's Dollhouse as well as live-action Minecraft and Stitch films will generate a lot of attention in 2025.
Frédérique Tutt, Global Industry Advisor for Toys at Circana: ‘Even though the box office drives the majority of consumer product sales, licensing for the toy industry is about more than just what's on the big screen; it's about collaborations with consumer brands, sports teams and automobiles, video games and music content, as well as shows from streaming platforms. It's about building new franchises for new generations, but also cultivating fandom and nostalgia, especially among older toy buyers. Most major franchises foster this fandom among both children and adults who enjoy buying merchandise of their favourite characters. It's a lucrative market with a healthy pipeline.’
Source: www.circana.com