Hello. In today’s post, we’ll tell you about the

Sports and collegiate licensing continues to be among the most reliable sectors in the licensing industry. According to the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA), the sports category grew for the fourth consecutive year with $698 million in royalty revenue on retail sales of $12.8 billion, while a separate collegiate category also displayed nice growth with total revenues from licensing estimated at $209 million, or $3.88 billion at retail.

The sports category consists of major sports leagues, related to the NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL, which account for a majority of the licensing revenue generated. The collegiate category encompasses merchandise bearing the trademarks of colleges, universities, conferences and related events.

Collegiate licensing is primarily concerned with apparel manufacturers or retailers, which is still the largest licensed product category by a wide margin. However, in recent years there has been a growth of the collegiate trademark used as a part of office products, travel bags and automotive products. A somewhat recent addition to the creative collegiate licensing platform is the use of team logos and colors on fitness equipment. There also exists a college branded sunglasses company that has licenses with many universities. Yet another development affecting this category is the growth of online channels along with the expansion of offline channels that include wholesale clubs and discount superstore chains.

The separate sports category, made up of professional sports-related licensing revenue, does not have the same concerns as its collegiate counterpart. Longer strategic partnerships, positive reorganization at retail, growth opportunities in retailers’ own label products and direct-to-consumer sales through digital and specialty channels show strength that may continue to allow the category to grow for a fifth consecutive year in 2014. LIMA has determined that an important long-term opportunity for the sports category is the extension of sports properties in healthier food and beverage segments.

“The sports market is built in large part on a solid base of core fans. The emotion that keeps fans attached to a team is a powerful sales driver,” says LIMA SVP Marty Brochstein. “There are variations year to year based on ‘wins and losses’ — obviously, success draws more purchases from the core, and attracts more casual fans — but the basic appeal of sports-licensed merchandise is continual. Some of the growth drivers include the major leagues in the U.S. paying more attention to the growth potential of the children’s market, and the women’s apparel sector, where they’ve gotten increasingly attuned to applying current fashion trends to the sports category.”