LICENSING

To acquire a new license, the licensee (retailer) must begin by submitting a plan to the licensor, explaining their targets, sales and plan for the range. The license will then be awarded to the retailer who is the best fit with the best proposal for the job. Some licenses can be very expensive and will sometimes be split between two licensees if they cannot afford the license by themselves.

Once a license has been assigned to a licensee, they will receive a style guide of images to show the retailer what can and cannot be done under the license they have received. These guides are updated every season to reflect new trends.

Licensing in fashion is when a licensor (for example Disney) gives permission for a licensor (for example Primark) to use their name and branding on products. Bershka have got a licensing deal with Cartoon Network to produce garments with The PowerPuff Girls on. Some new films coming this year are ‘Tom and Jerry The Movie’, ‘Black Widow’ and ‘Justice League’. These films will be targets for brands to get licensing deals with, and Black Widow would be an ideal film to create a range of products with. Dark coloured t-shirts and sweatshirts would work well with Bershka’s core customer and this would help to drive sales within the first few weeks of the film release.

There are different types of licensing; commission only, royalties only and advance against royalties. Commission only means that the retailer will get paid for the designs, even if the design never gets sold. The only downside to this method is that if the product does better than expected the retailer will not get paid any extra. Royalties only means that the retailer will get paid a percentage of the sales, so the manufacturer and design need to be correct to ensure good sales. Advance against royalties combines the two methods and means that the commission rate is lower but the retailer will also get a percentage paid as royalty. Retailers will get paid based on the profile of the brand and the predicted sales for the range, the more established retailers will be paying more per licensing deal, and getting paid more per royalty.

Bershka currently have a licensing deal with Cartoon Network to produce a range of garments with ‘The PowerPuff Girls’. This range includes socks, shorts, cropped t-shirts, dresses and hand sanitizers. Designed by Bershka with the help of Cartoon Network, this range is created for their younger customer base of girls and women aged from 10 to 20. This is one of the first ranges that Bershka has manufactured in sizing for girls and not just women. They are beginning to reach out to a larger customer base and branch into children’s wear, this range could even be sold as a ‘mother and daughter’ range, as it comes in women’s sizing as well as girls. The theme of the range being The PowerPuff Girls helps with this marketing too as it appeals to both categories of customer. (Bershka 2021)

(Bershka 2021)