Sports and animé drive toy licensing sales growth in Europe

Licences now represent 28.8% of total toy sales in EU5 with licensing gaining share in every country. 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 franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel and Pokémon distributing more content on streaming platforms in addition to the cinema, entertainment is naturally fuelling toy licensing. The toy industry has also seen recent incremental growth thanks to older consumers, with the big studios focusing particularly 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 among consumers aged 12+ years, while Pokémon is also growing its share among older fans.

However, sport licences, with 2.2% of overall toy sales in Europe, are the main growth driver (+34%) this year. Toys derived from animé represent an even larger share, with 5.8% of total toy sales, and also contributing to growth, up 8% year-on-year. The rising popularity of animé in the European market – where it is no longer a niche category – has been facilitated by the likes of streaming giants, Netflix and Amazon, and dedicated animé platforms such as Crunchyroll.

“The UK really embraces both characters and licences,” commented Melissa Symonds, UK Toys director for 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 performed really well. 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. 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.

Ben Roberts, Content director, Brand Licensing Europe, added: “Licensing has been integral to the success of the toy industry for many years and now accounts for more than one quarter of total toy sales. Licensed toys sell well through the year and always feature heavily on retailers’ Christmas lists.

“Brand licensing today is all about making connections, tapping into the power of storytelling to engage audiences, servicing fandom and creating products that enhance lives.”

Frédérique Tutt, Global Industry advisor for Toys at Circana, concluded: “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.”

Best-selling character-driven or licensed toys for selected categories, YTD July 2024, Sterling, UK:

Data is derived from Circana’s Toy Retail Tracking Service in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, Euro sales, January-July 2024.