Greetings boost as licensed toys outperform overall industry sales in Europe
As the link between greeting cards and licensing gets ever stronger, new data published by market research and technology company Circana shows licensed toys continue to outperform the overall toy market in 2024.
With the three-day Brand Licensing Europe trade show coming to an end today, 26 September, where publishers and card brands have made an excellent showing as potential licensors as well as licensees looking for characters to licence in, the new figures show licensed products represent 28.8% of total toy sales in the EU5 area of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The EU sector grew by 2.4% to buck an industry decline of 3.1% during the first seven months of this year, thanks in part to the popularity of major sporting events this summer, including the UEFA Football Championships.
Top gaining licences in Europe this year are UEFA National – European Cup, Lilo & Stitch and Mercedes Benz, showing the breadth of licences embraced by the toy market.
With the big franchises of Star Wars, Marvel and Pokémon distributing more content on streaming platforms in addition to the cinema, entertainment is naturally fuelling toy licensing, which feeds into associated industries such as greeting cards, stationery and calendars with publishers like Danilo, Hallmark, UK Greetings and Moonpig at the forefront.
And the toy industry has also seen recent incremental growth thanks to older consumers, with the big studios focusing on fans and particularly those in the higher age brackets.
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 among consumers aged 12-plus, while Pokémon is growing its share among older fans.
However, sport licences have 2.2% of overall toy sales in Europe and are the main growth driver at 34% up this year, while toys derived from animé represent an even larger share, with 5.8% of total toy sales thanks to 8% year-on-year growth.
The rising popularity of animé in the European market has been facilitated by the likes of streaming giants Netflix and Amazon, as well as dedicated animé platforms such as Crunchyroll.
“The UK really embraces both characters and licences,” commented Melissa Symonds, UK toys director at Circana. “Football, of course, is particularly strong here and, with England’s men making it through to the final of the Euros, sales of related merchandise did really well despite the team falling short against Spain. In a year with fewer blockbusters, the toy industry was able to successfully pivot from big screen names to small screen legends and sports heroes.”
Major film releases will resume in the final quarter of this year with Wicked, Sonic and Moana set to provide much excitement on and off screen. The return of Jurassic World, Superman, James Cameron’s Avatar, Fantastic Four, Captain America, and Gabby’s Dollhouse, and live action movies Minecraft and Stitch will also provide plenty to look forward to in 2025.
Frédérique Tutt, global industry advisor for toys at Circana, added: “Even if the box office drives the bulk of consumer product sales, licensing is more than just what’s on the big screen for the toy industry. It’s about collaborations with consumer brands, sports teams and motor vehicles, video games and music content, as well as shows from streaming platforms.
“It’s about building new franchises for new generations, but also nurturing fandom and nostalgia, particularly among older toy buyers. Most of the major franchises are fuelling this fandom among kids and adults who enjoy buying merchandise of their favourite characters. It’s a lucrative market with a healthy pipeline.”
Bestselling character-driven or licensed toys for selected categories in the year to July 2024 are:
- Action Figures and Accessories– Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem Figure, Character Options
- Building Sets– Star Wars Millennium Falcon Ultimate Collector Series, The LEGO Group
- Dolls– Disney Princess Dolls Assortment, Mattel
- Games and Puzzles– Match Attax UEFA Euro 2024 Mega Starter Pack, Topps
- Infant Preschool Toys– PAW Patrol Vehicle and Pup, Spin Master
- Plush– Snackles Small Plush with Snack 5.5”, ZURU
- Explorative and Other Toys– UEFA Euro 2024 Sticker Collection Pack, Topps
