Retail sales of licensed merchandise based on corporate trademarks and brands in the U.S. and Canada were up 5.8% in 2011-to $25.18 billion, from $23.79 billion in 2010-according to The Licensing Letter's Annual Licensing Business Survey.

Restaurant and food brands led the way, as they have for the last several years, with growth of 7.1% and 6.9%, respectively. These two property types already hold the greatest shares within the corporate trademark licensing sector, 16.4% for restaurant brands and 25.7% for food brands. The sector showing the third fastest growth was hardware, appliance, and tool brands, up 6%.

In terms of product categories, "other" witnessed the highest growth rate, signaling increased diversity within the already very diverse trademark/brand property type. Within "other," several categories showed continued strength, including vehicles (up 10.1%), automotive accessories (up 9.1%), pet products (up 9%), and gardening (tools and plants, up 8.7%). All of these are on a relatively small retail sales base.

Of the major categories, consumer electronics grew the fastest, with a 6.8% increase over 2010.  Properties from Polaroid to Travelocity saw expansion in this category in 2011.

Categories that were weak in the last year included stationery/paper (down 2%), toys and games (down 1.9%) and videogames (down 4.8%, in line with the performance of the licensing business as a whole in this category).

More than is the case in any other property type, corporate trademark and brand programs are unique in terms of category breakdown, and many diverge significantly from these overall averages.

In terms of distribution, discount stores - already the most significant channel for retail sales of licensed merchandise based on corporate trademarks and brands - saw their share rise from 35% in 2010 to 36.3% in 2011. E-commerce also was up, rising from a 3% to a 3.9% share of the trademark/brand market over the year. All other channels were flat or down slightly.

Contact: Ira Mayer, Publisher, The Licensing Letter; imayer@epmcom.com; 212-941-1633, ext. 27.

About The Licensing Letter

The Licensing Letter delivers retail sales data, news of deals, contact information, and trend analysis to owners of intellectual property, their agents, retailers, and the manufacturers who market licensed merchandise. The Licensing Letter is published by EPM Communications, Inc. EPM is a member, but independent of, the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association (LIMA).